Don't expect Manu to play Monday

[kolko]

He should play vs Minny because the game will be on tv in Argentina.

[MaNuMaNiAc]

Where are the Manu Defenders who were saying that Manu can play 35+minutes a game? Pop played him 37, 35 and 35 minutes in three straight games and that made him dead tired in the Nets game and now miss three games.

Manu is an awesome player, but he should never average more than 30 minutes per game. If you play him any more than that, he can't last an NBA season and his career is going to be shortened.

Best case scenario is bringing him off the bench for something like 28 minutes a night. That way he can play an entire NBA season and it will ensure that he'll still be able to walk by the time his contract is over. At this right, he's seriously setting himself up for trouble.

When he comes back, Pop must limit his minutes. From now to the end of the season, Manu has to rest up. If he doesn't, he's not going to be good enough in the playoffs for the Spurs to do anything.

This offseason, I'd really consider making it known that Manu is going back to the bench and going out and finding a starter. Manu's not going to make it at this rate.

I think you should pipe down a notch tim, you have to take into account this guy hasn't had time to recover from last season because of the Olympics, and neither has Tim as you probably can see. If you think Manu can't average more than 35 minutes, perhaps you should wait till next season to make that assesment. Either way I think you're wrong, and Pop is not going to limit his minutes by putting him on the bench. Plus I would say that his injuries are more a product of the kind of game he plays than playing too many minutes.

[picnroll]

I'd rather see Manu's minutes limited to 30 regular season and go into the playoffs in great shape able to play 35+ minutes at peak performance in games if needed than average 35+ regular season and go into the playoffs banged up and exhausted, slowed by a groin, hip, ankle or hamstring. You don't win the trophy in the regular season.

[Nikos]

Manu had a few stretches where he played 35+mpg, and he did not get injured. Does that strengthen his case for being able to play those 35 mpg? No. So why because he goes out now, its automatically assumed its because he got a stretch of 35mpg+?

I just don't buy he can't play 33-35mpg if he had to. And I won't even if he gets injured for a season. Look around you in the NBA. Plenty of guys get injured every year. Look at the entire swingman unit on the Dallas Mavericks seemingly injured all the time (not just Stack and Finley either). Guys get banged up and injured even if they play 25-30mpg.

Look at all the guys 2 years back who ended up getting injured coming off the Summer Basketball play. The Ray Allens etc... Does that mean Ray can't play 35mpg+ cause he played 56 games last season?

This is a reach. Even if Manu were to get injured for an extended period of time I still don't buy that he cannot play 33-35mpg.

Nothing will change your mind or mine on this. Some people have it burned in their heads that Manu cannot play more than 30mpg, and some people like me think if HE REALLY HAD TO, he could play 35mpg if a team required him to.

Sure Pop likes to keep that injury risk down, and wants to use Manu efficiently while still utilizing the strengths of Barry, and Brown. Not to mention having Bowen as the defensive tone on the wings.

[MaNuMaNiAc]

Manu had a few stretches where he played 35+mpg, and he did not get injured. Does that strengthen his case for being able to play those 35 mpg? No. So why because he goes out now, its automatically assumed its because he got a stretch of 35mpg+?

I just don't buy he can't play 33-35mpg if he had to. And I won't even if he gets injured for a season. Look around you in the NBA. Plenty of guys get injured every year. Look at the entire swingman unit on the Dallas Mavericks seemingly injured all the time (not just Stack and Finley either). Guys get banged up and injured even if they play 25-30mpg.

Look at all the guys 2 years back who ended up getting injured coming off the Summer Basketball play. The Ray Allens etc... Does that mean Ray can't play 35mpg+ cause he played 56 games last season?

This is a reach. Even if Manu were to get injured for an extended period of time I still don't buy that he cannot play 33-35mpg.

Nothing will change your mind or mine on this. Some people have it burned in their heads that Manu cannot play more than 30mpg, and some people like me think if HE REALLY HAD TO, he could play 35mpg if a team required him to.

Sure Pop likes to keep that injury risk down, and wants to use Manu efficiently while still utilizing the strengths of Barry, and Brown. Not to mention having Bowen as the defensive tone on the wings.

I agree

[picnroll]

Also a possibility that this is a pattern you'll start seeing from Pop every year. Give the key players that are a little banged up a few consecutive days off to rest up, relax and heal in ealy-mid March, get them hungry and ready for the stretch run and playoffs. Also give the non-key players a chance to step up, get some confidence as key players and see who can and can't be counted on.

[Ginobilly]

Well, with all that time off Manu is getting because of his injuries he should head off to Padre Island to fish for some college girls and for some relaxing. That should do his groin good.

[Nikos]

Another thing I notice this year is Manu simply isn't as daring as he was on defense in the previous few seasons. He paces himself a bit more at times.

I have seen him (even early in the season), not even attempt a shot or steal in 6 minutes of play then go straight to the bench. And this was early in the year when he was playing great ball.

He is being used more on offense late in the game. Basically Pop used him as a sparkplug on O and D the past few years. Now he is a semi-focal point of the offense this season, especially in the crunch time.

Maybe he doesn't try as hard on the defensive end because he pacing himself a bit on offense. But I do see stretches in games where he simply is not being that active on defense. And times where he will be taken out of the game in the 1st Q without even making a peep on the floor. If he is tired from those type of sequences, then I don't see why the Spurs wanted him at his contract if he can only play 27mpg or be a simple bench player or sparkplug. If the coaching staff knows he gets this tired etc...and feel he cannot last a season playing 30mpg, then I have a hard time understanding why they signed him up.

Use the guy, don't typecast him as a sparkplug. If coaching knew his endurance was this weak relative to his style of play and effectiveness why sign him up for 6 years? I would like to think they DO beleive he can play 32-33mpg come playoff time and do a good job.

[MaNuMaNiAc]

I don't really buy the argument that he'll magically be able to play more minutes because he'll have the summer off. He's still going to get banged around in games when he starts playing again and will still be playing at 110%. The summer rest will help in the first half of the year, but by the playoffs it'll be the same ish.

Please tell me, based on anything you can come up with, what makes you think a summer rest isn't going to affect that much his ability to play more minutes?? You have to be kidding tim, really.

[T Park]

Start Devin Brown.

bring Ginobili off the bench.

Ginobili just can't handle big minutes, its that simple.


The only people denying are just diehard blind Manu homers.

[Mark in Austin]

If Manu stays in SA this summer and works on his strength and conditioning, he should be able to handle 33-35 minutes a night.

I think he needs to add about 10 pounds of muscle to his frame, to help with some of the impact his body takes. The stronger you are, the harder it is to knock you around or down.

Manu is a smart guy. His basketball idol was Jordan. He's smart enough to realize that Jordan evolved as a player as he aged. It didn't change how intensely compe ive he was, or his will to win. The spirit in which he approached the game stayed the same, but the strategy evolved.

I would think the same will be true of Manu. Those of you who read his comments and assume "this is the only way I know how to play" refers strictly to the physical side and not the mental side of the game don't give him enough credit.

[Uncle Donnie]

First the Spurs are "better without Manu", now Manu shouldn't start.

The hate continues.

[smeagol]

Start Devin Brown.

bring Ginobili off the bench.

Ginobili just can't handle big minutes, its that simple.


The only people denying are just diehard blind Manu homers.

I don't thinks Nikos is a diehard blind Manu homer.

His takes a pretty much more elaborate and well thought then the takes from most posters in this forum.

[donkey2400]

If you go by PoP's statement:

"I don't think (Ginobili's injury) is quite as serious as Nazr's," coach Gregg Popovich said. "Hopefully, he'll be back with us. If he's not ready, we just won't play him."

Which means he is could simply be resting Gino. C'mon give the guy a freakin break he has played about 60 games + 20 or so during summer and you are saying he cant make through a whole freaking season with his style of play so bench him. By the same standard you may as well bench TD who seems to be in much worse shape than Gino. Any one remembers he himself has said as recently as AS game that he is not 100%.

[Athenea]

I think it has to do more of being pro-"homeboy"Brown that against Manu, for some "posters" here.
Keep up the campaign; it might pay its due...but do it w/o messing w/our ALL STAR SG, please.

[Frenchise player]

I don't think everyone realizes how much the Olympics is hurting Manu right now.
He gave two weeks of pure energy carrying his team troughout the compe ion.
After he won, he had to cope with all the media and fans asked for.
He is playing without interuption for the last two years, that's is affecting the way he is recovering from each game. When Manu carried the Spurs in the beginning of last season without TP and Tim, he was playing a lot more than 30 minutes.

Stern sould try to find a solution to the Olympics problem. The most clever one will be to shorten the season and begins it in December. Ignoring the International compe ions won't help the league to have fresh players.

[Kori Ellis]

Any word on how worse timmys ankle is? I thought he wanted to play! I hope he will be okay...

Tim's ankle is completely fine. He was out because he tweaked his back.

As for Manu, he is obviously worn out because of his style of play and because of playing in the Olympics, etc. If he really takes this summer off and does was he needs to do to increase his stamina, he should be okay for next season. But I was still never have him AVERAGE 35mpg (that doesn't mean he can't do it sometimes), I'm not sure that anyone's body can take the all out style, 35 mpg over a course of a season. So it's not a knock on Manu. But he SHOULD be able to average 30mpg in a season and not get worn out to the point he starts getting injured.

[Aggie Hoopsfan]

I don't know where to find the stats, but I feel safe in saying that Manu played somewhere between 30-35 minutes per game in the Olympics, and he was the focal point of that team.

I really feel that having to deal with the rigor of the Olympics (from Argentine training camp to travel over to Greece, to the games themselves, etc.) wore him down - you've seen it in the past several years with a plethora of NBA players, not just energy guys like Manu.

I have no problem with what Pop is doing right now WRT Manu, I just wish he'd maximize Barry's time starting by running some of the offense through him.

[ChumpDumper]

Parker and Manu are at their best when they play 30 mpg or so. Their thin frames and the fact they play so intensely on both sides of the court make them vulnerable to late-game burnout (especailly Parker) and long-term fatigue. This is why the bench is so critical to the success of the Spurs; their sucking of late has done nothing to help this team's fortunes.

I'm all for limiting Manu's minutes, but I disagree the first six minutes of a game are a waste. I can't think of a better front-running team than the Spurs. He can continue to start, his minutes can be limited to preserve him and the whole of our Argentinian contingent can keep their collective panties unbunched. All depends on getting someone else who can bring it when he's out. If we have to get rid of Barry and/or Devin to achieve that, so be it.

[TMTTRIO]

This is why the bench is so critical to the success of the Spurs; their sucking of late has done nothing to help this team's fortunes.

I agree with that. I remember in an interview Manu was saying something to the effect that if the bench starts doing things like hitting shots it makes the job so much easier on Tony and him (besides a couple of games the bench really hasn't done that much). Tim, Manu, and Tony for the most part has had to carry the whole team on their backs and you can see the effects that it's had on our olympians carrying their teams to a medal this summer. I'm not surprised that Manu is finally worn down, tired, and injured. It's been a long year for him. Hopefully this will give the bench a chance to step up in games.

[ChumpDumper]

but I feel safe in saying that Manu played somewhere between 30-35 minutes per game in the Olympics

I feel safe saying he played a second under 30mpg, and I can't believe the warmup and tournament lasted 82 games with several back-to-backs.

[timvp]

I'm not saying to "bench" Manu. That has a bad connotation. I'm saying to better utilize his 28-30 minutes, bring him off the bench. It's not a huge deal because he'll be the go-to player in the fourth quarter.

It's a simple basketball adjustment. The problem is Manu Defenders would go crazy and see it as a slap in the face when it was just a tweak to make Manu an even more important player on the team.

Oh well.

[ChumpDumper]

It would be easy to bring Manu off the bench if we had someone as consistent as even Hedo to start.

Right now, we don't.

[timvp]

If you think Manu can't average more than 35 minutes, perhaps you should wait till next season to make that assesment. Either way I think you're wrong, and Pop is not going to limit his minutes by putting him on the bench.

1) Manu will never average 35 minutes a game in the regular season. He wouldn't make it through the year.

2) I never said to limit his minutes by putting him on the bench.

[timvp]

Manu had a few stretches where he played 35+mpg, and he did not get injured. Does that strengthen his case for being able to play those 35 mpg? No. So why because he goes out now, its automatically assumed its because he got a stretch of 35mpg+?

I just don't buy he can't play 33-35mpg if he had to. And I won't even if he gets injured for a season. Look around you in the NBA. Plenty of guys get injured every year. Look at the entire swingman unit on the Dallas Mavericks seemingly injured all the time (not just Stack and Finley either). Guys get banged up and injured even if they play 25-30mpg.

Look at all the guys 2 years back who ended up getting injured coming off the Summer Basketball play. The Ray Allens etc... Does that mean Ray can't play 35mpg+ cause he played 56 games last season?

This is a reach. Even if Manu were to get injured for an extended period of time I still don't buy that he cannot play 33-35mpg.

Nothing will change your mind or mine on this. Some people have it burned in their heads that Manu cannot play more than 30mpg, and some people like me think if HE REALLY HAD TO, he could play 35mpg if a team required him to.

Sure Pop likes to keep that injury risk down, and wants to use Manu efficiently while still utilizing the strengths of Barry, and Brown. Not to mention having Bowen as the defensive tone on the wings.

What do you mean if "HE REALLY HAD TO"? Like if his life was on the line, could he average 33-35 minutes per game? Yeah, in that case he probably could.

But unless you want to just bury your head in the sand, you should be able to see that he fatigues when he plays too many minutes.

Again, I'm not taking anything away from him. I'm just pointing out a byproduct of him playing so hard.