“We would’ve loved to be in this position a month ago”
by Manu Ginobili
SAN ANTONIO.- The end of the regular season was amazing. I’ve been through other extremely even seasons, including 3 team tied for positioning, but it’s difficult to remember an almost quadruple tie in the last day of the season. We had a spectacular ending and we arrived to the last game with a chance to be the 2nd seed after a very irregular season, with a mul ude of injuries that made it complicated to build towards our best game.
It’s true we didn’t play a great game against New Orleans, but it’s also true that the opponent was desperate, they had a great game and we ended up with the sixth seed. On the same night we went from having home court all the way to the conference finals to not having any home court. Crazy. But even then, if we look back a bit, we would’ve loved to be in this position a month ago. We finished playing well, and that sixth spot I think it’s fine. Now we have to face the Los Angeles Clippers, a complicated opponent, that’s been playing very well, has a lot of good players in many positions, and is healthy. It’s very, very complicated. That said, even if we would’ve been the top seed and we would’ve needed to play against the Pelicans we wouldn’t have been super confident this season. So this is what we have, and that’s the way the Western Conference is. We’re heading to Los Angeles tomorrow very motivated, wanting to play our best basketball, to try to at least take one of the games.
And we’re going to need to try to play our best game, because we’re facing a extremely athletic team in the post and experienced in general. They have a point guard (Chris Paul) that’s experienced, very smart, controls his team very well and can be a difference maker. But he’s also surrounded with very good talent. They have a great shooter like J. J. Re and another one like Matt Barnes, who’s a role player that’s a very intense defender and is shooting the ball very well. And then they have Jamal Crawford, that’s coming from the bench and is extremely dangerous. He can come in and win them a game in a matter of minutes, because he has an arsenal of offensive moves that are difficult to stop. They’re well coached, by one of the best coaches in the NBA (Doc Rivers). It’s a very difficult opponent. That’s why we have to play our best game, make our experience count, and everybody has to step up. I think we can play a good game, valuing each possession. We have to make sure nothing comes easy for them.
We have to take as reference our last 10 games, skipping the Pelicans one, to understand that’s our best level. We can always shoot a bit better or make fewer mistakes. But we need to sustain that defensive intensity, we have to move the ball on offense, we have to try to make sure we have an inspired night, because that’s what you need to win on the road. That’s why I insist that we need to value each possession, be focused so we don’t give them anything easy, and follow our game plan. It will also be important to exploit the talent we have. Leonard, nowadays, is our key. When he’s inspired and dominates, our game changes, because of his defensive intensity and because he can now create his own shot. We will also need an inspired Tony (Parker), like he’s been in most of those games, because he’s also key. And well, Tim will do his thing, like he always does, he will have an excellent game, then a normal game, but Tim is Tim, he’s reliable, the guy that will always do his part. But Leonard is the X Factor. He will have an interesting matchup with Barnes, because Barnes is also tough physically, so we’ll see how he does.
This is the moment we all want to be at. It’s easy to get motivated and be focused. Although, as I said before, I have a different role now. Now my job is to make sure that second unit I’m a part of is effective. Perhaps in the last game we couldn’t pull it off, and it was the opposite of what we wanted. At the time we walked in, they made their run and that hurts. So we’ll try to get back to try to extend leads when we come off the bench. And when I join the starters, we’ll see what comes out. So right now my main focus is to try to make the second unit as great it’s been in the last 10 games or so and how it was last season in general. That’s going to be a key factor for this playoff series.
http://canchallena.lanacion.com.ar/1...irmabamos-esto
Last edited by ElNono; 04-17-2015 at 11:58 AM.
I love this guy how he talks about wanting his team to be the best and how embraces being the key to the second unit. Man I am going to hate when Manu retires one of the best players to wear the Spurs jersey...Good Luck Manu On Getting Us Another Ring!!!!!!
Thanks Nono.
Let's hope Manu is right about valuing possessions.
Thanks for posting.
Manu, always candid, always team first!
Thanks for translating.
I think Manu himself is the X-factor in this particular series. Go Manu!
As always appreciate the translations, ElNono. I don't think google does the best job with the automated translations and they usually don't make sense. Thanks for taking the time out of your day to run the text.
Thanks for the translation!
As always appreciate the translations, ElNono. I don't think google does the best job with the automated translations and they usually don't make sense. Thanks for taking the time out of your day to run the text.
Downplaying his job vs Pelicans
Of course
This guy should be in politics
What a ing re .
Many thanks El Nono.One of the many things I like about Manu is his honesty. And he's right, the perceived mismatch of Kawhi against Barnes is one of the keys to the series. If Leonard can exploit that, we'll have a decided advantage.
¨we have to move the ball on offense¨
How about you stop turning it over every other play?
Assists Per Turnover Leaders - Qualified
RK PLAYER TEAM GP MPG AST APG TO TOPG AP48M AST/TO
1 Chris Paul, PG LAC 82 34.8 838 10.2 190 2.3 14.1 4.41
2 Ty Lawson, PG DEN 75 35.5 720 9.6 185 2.5 13.0 3.89
3 J.J. Barea, PG DAL 77 17.7 263 3.4 70 0.9 9.3 3.76
4 Matthew Dellavedova, SG CLE 67 20.6 204 3.0 61 0.9 7.1 3.34
5 George Hill, PG IND 43 29.5 220 5.1 69 1.6 8.3 3.19
...
36 Tony Parker, PG SA 68 28.7 335 4.9 146 2.1 8.2 2.29
...
53 Manu Ginobili, SG SA 70 22.7 293 4.2 154 2.2 8.9 1.90
...
Yeah... those are the first two Spurs. So shut the up and watch the game.
Parker ranks #30 among PG, Ginobili instead ranks #7 among SG.
turnobili
It doesnt matter if he loses the ball on every possesion, last season we won a ring without Tony Porky so... This team goes as far as MVPManu goes.
so with his 4 points we probably are getting swept then
sigh
oh and it does matter. see NBA Finals game 6
It doesnt, Tori Dorky shot 6/1044 during games 6 and 7 causing the biggest defeat ever.
So Evitas 8 turnovers didn't matter in that game 6.
A new low for even Manu s
No, what really did matter was that 3/32130 shooting and that fake hammy injury.
You call Manu Evita but your bisexual hero should be called Antonia
¨Well, actually, I’m a bisexual lesbian in a man’s body… but it’s more complicated than that¨-Tony Parker
Read more at http://www.quoteswave.com/authors/to...ADCTeuLdyKc.99
Parker fanboys are just mad brah..
Manu Called Kawhi as the key, as the guy..
It hurts their feelings bro.
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