Unless Green is having a very off-night, he should play more minutes than Manu at this stage. A less Manu is a better Manu for Spurs. The missing free-throw notwithstanding, Manu becomes less efficient when he plays too many minutes and is asked to initiate the offense too much.
Also, Pop has to settle down on one backup PG, at least for each game. I feel that Mills played relatively well, but he got no playing time in the second half.
Last one is the most critical one to Spurs' playoff hope. That's when/if Tony cannot penetrate like he wants, what's plan B?
Blair had a decent game....Finally, but once again his shortness was exposed on the defensive end! I'm afraid if one of our bigs gets injured before or during the playoffs...thus insert Blair, will be in serious trouble once again. Pop needs "to get over himself" and start letting the big Aussie play.
I'd prefer Blair on defense over Bonner anyday though. Blair plays far better defense then Bonner.
word........................
I couldn't disagree more about Manu. Yes, he's looking very long in the tooth at times but he's also still a player that relies on rhythm and once he gets his touches and they start falling in, he's the Manu of old. Even though he had his off moments in the Warrior game, he still looked sharp for the most part, especially in the 2nd half as he was the main reason we got up to a 13 point lead in the game until Pop pulled him and inserted Neal to guard Curry...and that was ballgame for the Warriors. When he gets limited minutes and Neal is on the court at the same time, Neal just chucks it like usual and doesn't get Manu nearly enough involved in the game that he is limited to a spectator and/or decoy. That's not how Manu should be utilized. No, right now he just needs to get back in a run of decent games and then get ready to give everything he has left in the tank in the playoffs. I know he has this one good run left in him.
If Green is playing better than Manu come playoff time, we can't win a championship. We need about 32 good minutes/night from Manu in May. If he can't do that, he might as well retire in the summer.
Manu can't do that and should retire. He can't even knock down game winning FREE throws any more. It's pathetic and he shouldn't see the floor until he proves himself in the gym.
Couldn't agree more, it's almost a soon or never situation with "He's Manu Ginobili".
SMFH that we are still talking about these two on the team in 013.. WOW.
He needs that bat to make another appearance, tbh.
He's a s of himself. Imagine what this season would look like if Manu was having a Duncan or Parker resurgence season. But he is not because he isn't physically capable and believing that our le hopes rest in his hand is "fools gold" if I've ever properly interpreted the term.
Playing Green more does not mean he is more important to Spurs' success than Manu. It just means that current Manu is more efficient when he is not a focus of the offense for like 5 consecutive minutes. He play much better when Tony or Tim tried but didn't succeed, 10 seconds left on the shot clock, and then he leads the second round of attack.
Green is like a solider, and Manu is a general. But Manu is too old to do all the solider's work as well like during his younger years.
Agreed, mostly because the fools gold thing is gone; I believe last year folks thought Manu's clutchness, and true grit would eventually lead us to the promise land, if he was healthy. The expression "if Manu was healthy" has to leave people's minds. That's not to say he won't be a valuable asset in our drive for five, but he just can no longer be our guiding light as some people see him.
I'm not saying that Manu should never have the ball in his hand from the top of the key with 20 seconds left. It's just that the Spurs should rely more on his craftiness, which is always there, and less on his legs.
Look at the bright side, in 014 at least one of them is guaranteed to be gone.
No. The system Pop has ingrained into SAS will live for the rest of your lifetime. They can plug any scrub (Green, Neal, Splitter, Blair, Bonner) into the system and still win 50+ games a year without a superstar.
What do you mean by Parker's resurgence? He's in the prime of his career... it would actually be alarming if he did the disappearing act he did tonight every other game...
I've been saying Manu has been on the decline for a while now. He's still a useful vet that can give you a great game here and there, but people that expect SuperManu every night are just completely deluded. He's at the tail end of his career, and this isn't his team anymore.
This team is at the stage where it will go as far as TP takes them, and when TP gets into a lull like last night, Manu simply won't be able to bail his ass out every time like in the past...
Hitting a FREE throw in the waning moments of the game is not considered a "bail out". The only reason he's on the floor is to get fouled and make 2 throws. And he can't even do that. F all your BS about "tail end of his career" when he cares more about the Olympics and World Championships than competing in the NBA.
Asking for the ball, and taking on the responsibility when your teammate is hiding is absolutely a bailout. Tim bailed out Tony first with that jumpshot. Why isn't Tony taking the freebies? How did Tony do with his freebies in OT? CROFL
And he's definitely a compe or. He wouldn't be Manu otherwise.
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