The Ice Manu

[Kori Ellis]

The Ice Manu
By Chris Broussard, ESPN The Magazine

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/playoffs2005/dailydime

The San Antonio Spurs used to witness moves like this all the time. A lanky swingman would penetrate the lane, leave his feet, cup the ball in one hand as if it were a grapefruit, and finish with a stylish shot that left opponents aghast and fans amazed.

They called him The Iceman. George Gervin.

Manu Ginobili is not as smooth as Ice, but he is at times just as effective. Tuesday, in a must-have Game 5 against the Seattle SuperSonics, was one of those times. With Tim Duncan struggling to find his range and Tony Parker just plain struggling, Ginobili scored a playoff-career-high 39 points to lead the Spurs to a 103-90 victory at the SBC Center. San Antonio leads the series 3 games to 2.

"My biggest concern was just to attack, draw fouls and kick the ball to the open man," said Ginobili, who returned to the starting lineup for the first time since the Spurs' first-round opener against Denver. "I wanted to bring a lot of juice and energy."

As his he-man line suggests, Ginobili brought that and more. Remarkably efficient in his 36 minutes, he shot 10-of-15 from the floor and 15-of-17 from the stripe, all while dishing out a team-high six assists.

In a performance that included several give-that-man-a-hand moments, Ginobili outdid himself midway through the third quarter. Driving by Ray Allen from the right wing and leaping around Danny Fortson in the paint, Ginobili, holding the ball widely in his left hand, pumped once and then sank a soft five-footer while being fouled.

The move came near the end of a sensational run in which Ginobili almost single-handedly dismantled the Sonics. Having scored 19 points by halftime, he had a hand in 20 of the Spurs' first 24 points of the third. Sinking two 3-pointers and going to the hole with abandon, Ginobili scored 14. He also threw three bullet passes that found Nazr Mohammed beneath the basket for easy put-ins. Accomplishing all that in just 6½ minutes, Ginobili turned a 50-50 halftime tie into a commanding 16-point advantage for the Spurs.

"He's a fearless guy going into the paint," Sonics coach Nate McMillan said.

Kind of like The Iceman.

[thispego]

wish i was around to see the Iceman in all his glory
glad i'm around to see Ginobili in all his

[cherylsteele]

Ice was a uva player......he brought it every night on offense....his "D" left something to be desired though.....we could use a player like that at times.....especially off the bench when we have those killer scoring droughts.

I saw him play at HemisFair several times in the 80's along with Mitch. A-Train, Moore, Banks, etc.....those were some great offensive teams.....their offense was as good as the Spurs "D" of today.

[Horry For 3!]

I've never seen Gervin live but i've seen replay of games and such with him in it. Great player. I've also met The Iceman before .

[wildbill2u]

"Kind of like The Iceman"

Yeah, if you mean kinda like a white iceman--awkward, unorthodox on offense but plays gritty defense.

There'll never be another Iceman, but then I doubt there'll ever be another Manu either.

Does it seem to you that the Spurs get more than their share of great entertaining players compared to teams that just get some great players. Or am I being a 'homer'

[MadDog73]

"Kind of like The Iceman"

Yeah, if you mean kinda like a white iceman--awkward, unorthodox on offense but plays gritty defense.

There'll never be another Iceman, but then I doubt there'll ever be another Manu either.

Does it seem to you that the Spurs get more than their share of great entertaining players compared to teams that just get some great players. Or am I being a 'homer'

Have to say "Homer" Sorry.

Lakers own "entertaining players" from Wilt to Kobe.

Then there was MJ in Chicago and LeBron in Cleveland.

That said, I think Spurs "entertainers" like Manu are more interesting, because they weren't expected to be so great!