Ginobili Has found his place, coming off the bench

[RuffnReadyOzStyle]

As long as he gets 30 minutes at the end of the day, I don't really care if he starts or not.

Exactly! Wherever he fits in the rotation, it doesn't matter, as long as he plays 25-35 mins a night.

He could score 18-20 off the bench if we pitted him against the other teams' second units, and when we need him in with the starters, use him there.

And yes, now that he's in shape, Eric Williams should play 15 minutes a night behind Bruce, or even more if Bruce is having a tough night.

[Kermit]

it should be obvious to anyone who has watched the spurs the last 4 years that the team is much more dangerous and deadly with manu coming off the bench. there is a dominace to that subs ution unlike like any other, harkening back to the days of mchale. when he is subbed into the game, it's a tidal wave of energy and offense. i don't know why they won't make this move permanent. some players are bench players and manu fits that role to a tee. this is not a knock on the man, just an observation of his talents. like the old adage goes, it's not who starts the game, but who finishes.

[T Park]

Cousey never started.

, does this really come up every year

[phxspurfan]

when he is subbed into the game, it's a tidal wave of energy and offense

oooh a tidal wave of offense!!!

[Kermit]

pretend that bill walton saying that and it makes perfect sense.

[T Park]

do you also accuse champagne of being apple cider?

[timvp]

If only we found a decent shooting guard we could make play D and start, then we'd have the greatest bench player in the league.

My pipe dream is to get a good rebounding small forward and start him in place of Manu and slide Bowen to shooting guard ... much like the Spurs did when they had Hedo.

Not only does that solve the rebounding problem (that 2003-04 team was the best rebounding team in modern Spurs history), it allows Bowen to avoid the matchups that most trouble him (Artest, LeBron, etc).

The reason it works so well is Manu plays as well, if not better, off the bench. He comes in and attacks right away. It's such an advantage to have a guy come in and dominate the way Manu does.

One problem with this theory is that as it stands, the Spurs have no one to really fill that rebounding small forward role. Finley and Barry aren't good enough defenders or rebounders. Oddly enough, the player this strategy would work best with is Eric Williams. But I don't see him starting anytime soon

[T Park]

Oddly enough, the player this strategy would work best with is Eric Williams. But I don't see him starting anytime soon

Don't know why not.

After he gets into shape, go ahead and put him in there.

Hes long, rebounds, defends, and seems to have his shot coming around.

Don't know why it wouldn't work.

[Solid D]

Cousey never started.

S***, does this really come up every year

Cousy started.

[timvp]

Cousy started.

By Bob Cousy, I think T Park meant John Havlicek.

[T Park]

sorry got Cousey and Havilcek confused.

The memory gets fuzzy pre 75...

[Solid D]

No problem, although Havlicek did start during the back half of his career.

[milkyway21]

it should be obvious to anyone who has watched the spurs the last 4 years that the team is much more dangerous and deadly with manu coming off the bench. there is a dominace to that subs ution unlike like any other, harkening back to the days of mchale. when he is subbed into the game, it's a tidal wave of energy and offense. i don't know why they won't make this move permanent. some players are bench players and manu fits that role to a tee. this is not a knock on the man, just an observation of his talents. like the old adage goes, it's not who starts the game, but who finishes.

i don't think Manu is 100% okay at all. Lower back injuries take longer to heal. He's just eager to go back and play, you can see his eyes while watching from the bench before playing against the Warriors. He can't stay long sitting & just watching from the sides

They are about to go to Lala Land w/ 1 B2B. I hope he can sustain his stamina & strength. He shld play in limited minutes or must come from the bench. It's December and the Spurs are the BEST team during this time.

[Emanuel20]

when ginobili comes off the bench, it DOES hurt his confidence...and he attacks the basket right away because he wants to prove that he should start.....i mean there was an article where Oberto said that he really worked hard so he would start this season and oberto said that manu told him to practice a lot and have patience and Pop will start him...Well Manu has proven himself to Pop and when Finley come to SA...pop told him that the starting position is taken...

I do agree that when tony and tim are on the floor there is little shots manu could take...
Hey y'll may be pop can bench tony .....and play manu the first 5 minutes and then put tony may be he has some kind of Energy he can bring.

But either way, gino is making $52 million so I don't think Pop will bench him....not after 2005 playoffs...

[Kermit]

$52 million for this season? damn.

i think you meant $8,250,000. pop sit that much and not feel bad about it. , mike finley is making $19,000,000 this year. think pop thought twice about bringing him off the bench as it benefited the team?

if it hurts his confidence to come off the bench, then he's a pussy.

[Emanuel20]

$52 million for this season? damn.

i think you meant $8,250,000. pop sit that much and not feel bad about it. , mike finley is making $19,000,000 this year. think pop thought twice about bringing him off the bench as it benefited the team?

if it hurts his confidence to come off the bench, then he's a pussy.

well, think about it, gino has 2 rings, gold medal blah blah blah.....some europian stuff also....he is 29 (the years when he can play 27-30 minutes) the years when he can be effective as a starter and then when he is 32-....then he can off the bench....of course it's going to hurt his confidence...he is a human being
(don't you think that tony's confidece will be hurt if he is benched or whoever)

[easjer]

I think a real professional shouldn't get caught up in who starts the game. It should come down to who is getting the crunch time minutes. If Manu is playing better off the bench, then that should be taken into consideration in the lineups. Right now it's happening because of injury. If the ego starts getting in the way, that's when I've got an issue with things.

Hopefully, all the decisions will be based solely on what is best for the team.

[Phenomanul]

Coming off the bench should not be seen as a demotion as long as it helps the team, and as long as Manu is there when it matters most... in 4th quarter crunch time.

He will still see the same amount of minutes....

Gee people... this isn't soccer. On a loaded team like the Spurs, being the sixth man does not mean that Manu <<< whomever the starting two guard happens to be. He is the Man. Which means that when Manu subs in - he immediately becomes the focal point of offense; whereas when he starts alongside Tony and Duncan they are the focal points of offense. It really diminishes our effectiveness when our three main offensive weapons are all on the floor at the same time with the limited number of shots that our system produces.

Granted if Pop ever changed the style to an up and down "small ball" style of play where the offense would generate about 10-15 more shots per game then and only then does a maximation of the overlapping minutes of the team's best offensive combination make sense. Otherwise the offensive focus needs to be staggered by subbing in Ginobili.

This should boost his confidence, not hurt it.

[diego]

Im a manu homer and i prefer he comes off the bench. mostly because it allows him more time with the ball. of course, to finish games its best to have the big 3 out there together.

[Cherry]

well, think about it, gino has 2 rings, gold medal blah blah blah.....some europian stuff also....he is 29 (the years when he can play 27-30 minutes) the years when he can be effective as a starter and then when he is 32-....then he can off the bench....of course it's going to hurt his confidence...he is a human being
(don't you think that tony's confidece will be hurt if he is benched or whoever)

Who told you that?
Manu´s professional too. He will be hurt if he can´t help his teamates.
anyway, Manu will be starter again but he can be effective off the bench.

[VaSpursFan]

i say leave manu on the bench. pop's rotations have been outstanding and very successful for the past 2 games. if it ain't broke don't fix it. plus this allows one of the big 3 to be scorers to be on the floor for the entire 48 minutes. and, dare i say it, manu is a better facilitator of the offense than either of tony's backup's.

by the way that crossover on hermann and layup over Omeka was just sick

[nkdlunch]

why waste the time on this? Manu will obviously be starting soon.

[AFBlue]

It's a good idea for many of the reasons already stated.

ESPN showed a stat line last night for Ben Gordon. He's averaging a couple more minutes a game coming off the bench, with more points and a higher FG %. Some players are just better in certain roles, and I think Manu is one of those 6th Man spark-type players.

Having said that, it won't happen, unless it's a temporary situation (i.e. Playoffs)

[2centsworth]

le of the thread should read when Manu plays spurs win. in the past i was never for him coming of the bench because the strategy only worked a few times and failed most others. However, this year playing him limited minutes seems reasonable, say 15-20 minutes night.

[MoSpur]

I think it has to do with "touches." Manu is more effective it seems like off the bench because he becomes the focal point on offense. When he is in the w/Tim and Tony, he doesn't get as many shots for him to be really effective. When he starts, the Spurs run 4 down and that ends up with Tim taking the shot or him passing out when opposing teams double team. This prevents Manu from taking to the basket because the paint area is clogged up.

Manu off the bench opens up that paint area because Tim's not in there and opposing teams aren't double teaming. I think a second unit w/Manu, Elson, Barry, Udrih, and Horry is great. You can even have Finley in there instead of Barry.