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Ouch . . . I guess we'll see some foul trouble tonight. Best wishes to Oberto.
Jeff McDonald: Oberto out with heart ailment
Spurs center Fabricio Oberto will not be available for tonight's game against the Suns after a recurrence of the same heart irregularity that sidelined him in 2007.
The condition, in which the heart beats out of rhythm, is called atrial fibrillation. Oberto was out a total of four days during his previous bout with the ailment, which required an electric shock to correct.
It is not immediately clear how long the 33-year-old Oberto will be out this time. What is clear is that he won't play tonight.
It leaves the Spurs' already thin front line even thinner heading into a battle with Shaquille O'Neal, Amare Stoudamire and the Suns. With Ian Mahinmi out with a sprained ankle and Anthony Tolliver still on leave following the death of his mother, the Spurs will face Phoenix with a rotation of three big men -- Tim Duncan, Kurt Thomas and Matt Bonner.
Ouch . . . I guess we'll see some foul trouble tonight. Best wishes to Oberto.
That sucksHet healthy soon Fab!!.....I gues Timmy will play 45 minutes....
Glad I blew my vBookie money already.
Like it or not, get ready for Bonner time tonight.
At least Fab is half useless without Ginobili in the game anyway.
You think Oberto is the deciding factor against the Suns?Glad I blew my vBookie money already.
Wow. I hope Oberto is okay. If this is only a few games, it's no big deal. Pop will just play Udoka at the 4 in small ball sets and coach the way he always does.
If it is extend beyond a few games, this could also provide Mahinmi a chance to get some playing time. Although you wish it were under different cir stances.
With a 3 point spread and this rotation of bigs? Absolutely. Oberto gets cheap buckets and offensive boards, and there's already two guys out from the front line. The only thing missing from tonight's Spurs line up is the yellow brick road.
Small Ball City here we come.
Can't wait to see Finley and Udoka mix it up with Amare.
He's going to be in foul trouble no matter who he guards. I fully expect to see small ball, with Udoka guarding Amare for stretches... I think we're gonna get obliterated... but you never know, that's why they play the games.
Oberto hurt
Ian hurt
Thomas hurt
what a way to start the season
At least we have Duncan, Bonner, and Tolliver healthy.
I think that Oberto should consider retirement, cause this is the second season he has had this issue, but I am sure he has had it even before that. I think he should just quit and worry about enjoying the rest of his life and his family. I am talking like this, because I do not know how serious this condition is. I do know that I do not want to see another Hank Gathers or Reggie Lewis incident.
LOL!! Stop reading my mind!
Oh, and cue in the 'Why we didn't keep Hairston!!!' crybabies now...
This is an article from last year when he had this same incident:
Web Posted: 05/24/2007 2:00 CDT
Oberto overcomes heart ailment to become a postseason contributor for Spurs
Reboot. That was the word that made Fabricio Oberto pause.
Oberto hadn't been too concerned about the soreness in his chest. What NBA center doesn't get whacked in the sternum a couple of times a game?
Nor was Oberto fretting the next day when he told Spurs trainer Will Sevening he felt jittery. After Sevening took his pulse and said they were going to visit a cardiologist for more tests, he still didn't see reason to be worried.
The doctor told Oberto his heart rate was out of rhythm. Even then Oberto had only one question: How do we get it back in rhythm?
Reboot it, said the doctor. Oberto understood enough English to know what that meant.
"With a computer, you have to reboot," Oberto said. "They have to shut it off."
Oberto laughs now when he tells the story. The procedure was routine, or as routine as any heart procedure can be.
Oberto was back on the court for the start of the playoffs within four days. Five weeks later, he's helped push the Spurs within two victories of the NBA Finals.
With Oberto scoring 14 points and taking seven rebounds in each of the first two games of the Western Conference finals, the Spurs' Big Three has expanded to the Fab Four.
"For somebody who can't jump over a line, Fab is phenomenal," Robert Horry said. "He plays so hard for us. He never gets enough credit for the little things he does out there."
Oberto now has the attention of the Utah Jazz, assuming they've located him. He's made 12 of 15 shots, only one of which wasn't a layup or dunk, by repeatedly slipping behind Utah's defense.
"He's always in the right position at the right time," Tony Parker said, "and we're finding him."
Oberto was even easier to spot a year ago: He was usually sitting near the end of the bench. He appeared in only seven of the Spurs' 13 playoff games for an average of 4.9 minutes.
With Horry, Nazr Mohammed and Rasho Nesterovic ahead of him, Oberto used last season to learn the Spurs' system, adjust to his new teammates and work on his shot. His transition was eased by Manu Ginobili, his friend and Argentine teammate.
"He was unbelievable, being so patient after all he accomplished overseas," Ginobili said. "He never got upset at anybody. He kept working hard and people in Argentina were kind of pressuring him, saying, 'Why aren't you playing? Do you want to go back to Europe? You're a star and you're not playing?'
"He's been amazing. I'm kind of surprised. I think I was even more impatient than him."
Oberto began this season as the Spurs' starting center before coach Gregg Popovich gave Francisco Elson the job for the second half of the schedule.
But with Elson showing his playoff inexperience and Oberto accustomed to playing in pressure-packed games for Argentina, Popovich went back to starting Oberto midway through the Spurs' second-round series against Phoenix.
"This year he feels very comfortable about what he's doing, and he's a real fundamentally sound player," Popovich said. "We just think he understands everything that's going on now."
That has shown the past two games. With the Jazz focused on keeping Parker out of the lane and also worried about Duncan, Oberto has found enough creases in Utah's defense to cut to the rim.
"He's waiting for people to turn their heads," Duncan said. "He's making the right plays."
Oberto has played alongside Ginobili since the two were teenagers. Their familiarity with each other was evident the other night when Ginobili saw Oberto had a lane to the basket then led him there with a crosscourt pass.
"We can look in the eye and read each other like what we're going to do," Oberto said.
While Oberto isn't a scorer — his range doesn't extend too far out of the lane — his passing, screen setting and cutting have been a welcome addition to the Spurs' offense. And though he lacks the size or athleticism to match up with some opposing big men, he's done a credible job of making Jazz forward Carlos Boozer work.
"He plays hard, he plays physical," Parker said. "He's playing like he's not scared."
Few would have blamed Oberto for being frightened last month. After being hit in the neck in a game against Dallas the last week of the regular season, he awoke the next day with a sore chest.
Oberto played against Memphis that night, but when the Spurs met two days later he told Sevening his heart felt accelerated. The trip to the cardiologist revealed the blow to Oberto's neck had somehow triggered an atrial fibrillation.
"The doctor gave me confidence that I would be fine," Oberto said.
While his teammates were closing out the regular season against Denver, Oberto underwent a cardioversion to reset his heart rhythm. He was given anesthesia during the brief procedure, which involved sending an electrical shock to his heart. By the time the Spurs had finished their game he was resting at home.
Three days later, Oberto was practicing. When a team official asked if he would be available the next day for the Spurs' playoff opener, Oberto nodded.
"As long as I have six fouls," he said, "I can play."
well nix Tolliver.......he is with his family for the first two games, i just read that post....so now we are down to two healthy players...and a gimpy Thomas and Ian...
LOVELY
Watkins sure would be nice right now, at least for the first 3-5 games of the season, until we get all of our horses back.
Heart troubles are really scary. I hope it's nothing serious like the last time.
In any case, he and Spurs must take the safe route even if it means ending his basketball career.
Sours will be really thin in the paint for the first couple of games. Tolliver will be back for the third and maybe Oberto if it is like last time.
Throw Mahinmi into the fire!
Well, just to get the full run of jinx material out there, Pop has won every season-opening game he's ever coached -- all 11 of them.
Glad I blew my vBookie money already.I was thinking the same thing. Luckily, I will only had $25 to bet.
Fair enough. If we had even one more big to play, I'd say it's not a big deal. But considering we're already thinner than McCain's comb over, it's gonna make things tough on our frontline tonight.
Don't forget, we could still be shorthanded on Friday night versus Portland.
Fair enough. If we had even one more big to play, I'd say it's not a big deal. But considering we're already thinner than McCain's comb over, it's gonna make things tough on our frontline tonight.
I say deactivate Oberto and sign Watkins to a 10-day contract.
What a coincidence. So has Duncan.
Wow...guess we will be starting the season on the wrong foot. It's hard to imagine the Spurs being able to compete with no Ginoboli and a front line this depleted...
wtf? what else to begin the season now?
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