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I love Buck's tempo.
Manu comes back to find new blessings
Buck Harvey
One blessing in disguise is actually not in disguise. Corey Maggette simply wears a Golden State uniform.
Just last summer, Maggette was the Spurs' free-agent dream. He could score, and he was athletic, and the Spurs offered him a lot of money. Maggette found more, a $50 million package, with the Warriors.
He can still score, and he's still athletic. But Maggette has never been much of a teammate, and he doesn't pass, and he has as many 3-pointers this season (5) as Roger Mason Jr. had Monday night.
Had the Spurs gotten their dream last summer, they wouldn't have Mason.
There's another blessing in disguise, and Manu Ginobili likes to talk about this one. He argues his chronically sore ankle could have broken down in December, or even March. So Ginobili wonders if he wasn't lucky to collapse in Beijing and force the operation.
That's only half the story. The Spurs would have preferred Ginobili not play for Argentina, because they could have monitored the ankle and perhaps made a medical decision earlier in the summer. If the ankle wasn't responding and it wasn't surgery could have been in July. Ginobili would have been back at least a month earlier.
But that brings up the final blessing in disguise, the one that was on display in Memphis. After all, if Ginobili had returned a month ago, would Mason be making people forget about Maggette? Would a rookie, George Hill, already be playing as if he belonged?
Would Gregg Popovich be looking at the best backcourt, in terms of both talent and depth, that he's ever had?
Popovich won't go there yet, and he didn't last week. Then, when asked if the injuries to Ginobili and Tony Parker had helped create depth, Popovich said: It's imminently logical, but in reality it doesn't always work that way. It will work for some guys, for some guys it won't. ... All in all, it's overrated.
That's Popovich, ever the contrarian. Sometimes a question bothers him, and he won't admit to anything. After Monday night, however, he has no choice.
Then Ginobili returned by scoring a point for every game he missed. With an assortment of ball-fakes and 3-pointers and drives, he looked as if he hadn't changed.
But his teammates had. They were younger and more accurate, and they acted as if they had been with the Spurs as long as Ginobili had.
Back to the blessing would either Mason or Hill have been this far along with Ginobili and Parker on the floor?
Ginobili would have been running the point for these two, and he would have been taking their shots at the end of games. Instead, Mason and Hill were asked to do more, and they helped the Spurs to a 6-6 record, and they began to believe in themselves.
Maybe even too much. There was one moment in the first half Monday, when Mason dribbled without an open lane as the shot clock ticked down. Ginobili stood at the 3-point line, arms outstretched.
Mason didn't pass. And afterward, when asked in a television interview about Ginobili, Mason said nice things but used this phrase to describe him: He's just another guy who can make plays for everybody.
No, Ginobili is not just another guy, and Mason will see this as the season goes along. If Mason thought he's been getting open looks thus far, for example, he should wait until Ginobili drives baseline and whips a pass to him.
There's time for them to learn each other, and Popovich has more to learn about them, too. Against a small lineup, he might put Mason, Hill, Parker and Ginobili on the floor together with Tim Duncan.
But the biggest step has already been taken, and this is about the blessing in disguise. Because Ginobili hasn't been around, Mason and Hill are ready to play next to Ginobili. They've been making plays in his place, and they did at the end of the third quarter in Memphis.
Then Mason threw in a 3-pointer in a two-for-one situation. And Hill ended the quarter with another.
Fittingly, Ginobili watched from the bench.
I love Buck's tempo.
I can't wait to watch a nationally televised Spurs game.
Blessings in disguise for us:
Pargo signing in Russia - led to us keeping Hill.
Maggette picking the Warriors - led to us getting Mason.
Ginobili playing the Olympics - Ginobili getting the surgery.
Parker being hurt - giving Hill time to play.
Resigning Finley - playing alot better than last year despite his 3 game slump.
keeping Bonner - he's finally playing alot better than before.
Did anyone notice said non-pass that Masn committed? Was Manu wide open? or did he want the ball so he could create?
Manu was open for a shot.
Thanks. That was just boneheaded then.
Uh-oh.
Don't tell me Mason will now be the 'heretic' the CoM rallies against.
CoM will always welcome another savior, they just need to know when, and when not to, pass to the Great Manu.
what's the deal with Mason?
noticed , Manu wide open. mason don't wanna pass
And the screams of 'Burn the witch!' start...
If only Manu took all the shots all the time
I think what Mace was trying to say is that Manu is one more guy (on this deep Spurs team) who can make plays for everybody. It was a comment on the Spurs depth, not Mace saying Manu is "average".
aren't they historically "bad' on national TV?I can't wait to watch a nationally televised Spurs game.
Hey, I watched the interview of Mason when he said that, and he was misquoted. Mason actually said “He's another guy who can make plays for everybody.” For some reason Buck Harvey added the word "just" in there, which gives the quote a whole different connotation. Side by side, Buck Harvey's version makes Mason seem a lot more indifferent to the greatness that is Manu...
Welcome back, MG!
Haha! Porscha, That's one of the most badassed sigs ever! The two characters to his right are obviously in awe of the size Manu's cajones....what's the deal with Mason?
Manu wasnt open for the record.
I saw the interview with Bill Land and Sean and that quote is taken way out of context. They asked Mason about adjusting to Manu coming back and he said they would be so much better, it might take some time, but with him out there that's just another guy who can create shots for others. Stupid to put it that way in this interview.what's the deal with Mason?
Buck Harvey is still one of my favorite writers.
This article>>>>>>>>>>> McDonalds past 20 combined
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