Manu may have had a broken arm

[Dex]

All for a meaningless regular season game. Way to go Pop!

And LOL at the Parker lovers. Manu played better against Memphis with a broken arm than pepe lesuck played against them.

And we knew Manu had his work cut out for him, going against one of the best perimeter defenders in the NBA.

Allen locked down Manu's good hand, Randolph and Gasol packed the paint against Parker, and all the Spurs had left was Tim trying to be Tim.

[024]

it's been a while since ginobili has been healthy in the playoffs... it's almost an accepted fact that he'll be injured down the stretch now.

[Sean Cagney]

Maybe we can speculate til the cows come home...

but maybe this brings to light one of the reasons that the spurs seemed less confident since the start of the grizzlies series...maybe they knew the real news about Manu's broken arm...

Again, it also shines the light on Pop and his decision to play Manu in a meaningless game-even though he kept Manu in street clothes in L.A.

I remember some reporter saying Manu's injury is bad and worse than they are saying, forget who but he said it was bad before he even played game two! I know some knew.

[SenorSpur]

And he still played better than any other Spur.

...and THAT is the saddest indictment of all. A testimony as to how small the contributions of others were and further evidence as to just how flawed this team was, as a whole.

[Proxy]

I agree that Manu is under appreciated by many Spur fans, then again so is Tony, but that statement in bold is moronic. Duncan still would have two championships to one for Garnett. Also, Duncan didn't need to leave S.A. and join up with two all-stars to win his les.

In the hypothetical situation, it wouldn't be as obvious. I still see people overrate KG above TD, even with the 4/3/2 resume. The asterisk for the 99 season, and the value of the Admiral being present for the two rings in 99 and 03 would be an bull arguing point for KG fanboys.... that being said, it would be moronic to rank Garnett above TD, even with 05 and 07 subtracted... bad choice of words on my part. Props for calling me out.

On another note, I don't think KG should be ridiculed for leaving a franchise that wasn't surrounding him with championship talent. By the time he went to Boston, every serious contender had multiple all-stars. He wasted his prime years in Minnesota and wanted to win.... I can't find it in myself to knock him for that. Boston doesn't win the 08 le, or contend for any others without him.

[siraulo23]

ing phoenix suns eliminating us two years in a row,

[smeagol]

Another year, another Manu playoff injury.

It's probably his fault that another player fell on his arm.

[ElNono]

He was only healthy for 81 games until he decided to play on a meaningless game and brake his own arm...

It's like last year, when he was healthy all season long until he decided to foul Dirk using his beak...

[ALVAREZ6]

olympic gold medalist

dude the players in the nba playoffs are better then the teams he faced in the olympics

Just like the team he plays for in the NBA is and was miles better than the team he played for in the Olympics.

[SenorSpur]

This will undoubtedly justify Pop's excuse for the Spurs playoff failings. He probably figures that had Manu not been seriously injured, the Spurs would be sitting home now awaiting the conclusion of the ECF.

[rascal]

If the spurs can go back to game 1 --spurs vs grizzlies....healthy manu and bonner kept on the bench....duncan,blair,parker,manu,and even rj....spurs win game one and the series.....imagine manu with a healthy arm?manu would be beyond unstoppable....spurs can win the championship next yr with the same roster just put the right line up to fix the pieces .....if there is a nba season next yr....duncan,blair,parker,manu,hill.....than bench you have players like splitter,dice,gary neal,james anderson,de sean butler, rj,and etc etc...spurs are still contenders to me....to me parker doesn't want to be in SA another more for him to say that....it looked like he didn't have any emotion in that series

The spurs will not win a championship with the same roster.
The spurs were the 5th best team in the west. They would have lost to the Lakers, Dallas, and OKC and did lose to Memphis.

[rascal]

ing phoenix suns eliminating us two years in a row,

Keep believing that and use the Manu injury excuse for the team's failure.
The season was lost when the spurs decided not to upgrade the frontline.

[lefty]

Why? Parker actually stays healthy.

That's because he plays like a got

[temujin]

December-January Spurs would have destroyed OKC and Mavs.
Actually, they did destroy them.

[beirmeistr]

manu and tp both did not drive enough

manu was out there so you can not blame the injury
if he was so hurt he should have been glued to the bench

no one hit outside shots so it hurt the driving game of both manu and tp


so you should get rid of those players

No need to get rid of both. One is a warrior. Get rid of the other one.

[MmP]

it's fun to see how some bash manu instead of actually thank him for virtually being the only guy trying and making it possible (game 5).

[spurtech09]

doubt manu would have been much better

yes he would of played better

[spurtech09]

The spurs will not win a championship with the same roster.
The spurs were the 5th best team in the west. They would have lost to the Lakers, Dallas, and OKC and did lose to Memphis.

no I think they can beat those teams with the same roster...just put the right line up

[gilmor]

sand

You guys are ing clueless.. SA is not about Tony, Manu or Duncan any more.. that era was long gone..

This team desperately need new blood..

So stop dissing on those 3 who were history..

[PublicOption]

[Slippy]

Manu would have to be one of the most under-appreciated stars of the NBA. Then again his own fanbase appreciate him even less so it's no surprise. To discount him not playing game one or factor in the injury is further proof that some spurs fans still don't realise who they have in Manu. It requires a special talent and compe iveness to lay it all on the line like he did. To see him playing with no fear, not missing a beat was just amazing.

Despite the injury Manu was the Spur's best player. Watching the rest of the play-offs re-affirmed my view that he's in a select company of special players that raise their games to another level when they have to. Im talking about Nowitzki, Randolph, Wade, James, Rose and Kobe.

Losing to memphis was a missed opportunity that had me wondering what if? Mavs beating the thunder four to one just hammers it home. The conferance finals should of been spurs v mavs.