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Because Marc Stein certainly knows more about the situation than Pop or the Spurs?
"We're almost certainly going to see Ginobili in Game 2... This elbow injury isn't his shooting hand, but it's a serious one. [The Spurs organization] isn't going to declare it, but that's definitely the expectation."
So don't believe anything that Pop or the Spurs say. Manu's playing.
Because Marc Stein certainly knows more about the situation than Pop or the Spurs?
I think most people expect him to play, but the real issue is how effective he will be with the brace...
If you leave game 1 and think the biggest problem is that the Spurs didn't get enough offensive production from the guards, then it's desperation time; you HAVE to play Manu in game 2.
Hornets (7) - 109
Lakers (2) - 100
Thunder (4) - 107
Nuggets (5) - 103
Mavericks (3) - 89
Trailblazers(6) - 81
my point is that the Grizzlies aren't your typical #8, and that the West is packed with talent.
people freaking out and saying "if we can't beat #8 without Manu, we suck..." don't really have a leg to stand on, when it's such a strong Western Conference.
It's desperation time. We're down 1-0. Anything to improve for the sake of winning RIGHT NOW is the most logical thing to do. Play Manu.
Manu's playing, and so is Splitter.
if Pop doesn't play Manu in Game 2........man oh man
if Pop doesn't play Manu in Game 2........... i would imagine it's because Manu isn't 100%, and he's just saying he feels better because he doesn't want to seem like a pansy.if Pop doesn't play Manu in Game 2........man oh man
Spurs can win the next one without Manu. Give him the full 9 1/2 days of recovery time.
It certainly would be a gamble, but I'm not sure I'm opposed to it at all. I also believe they can come back and win the next without Manu, but if they don't, playing down 2-0 would put a lot of pressure on them and the series would likely go 7 games. I think they could win the series even if they go down 2-0, but then they would have little rest for the next grueling and physical series against what will inevitably be a young and athletic team playing good basketball, which is not optimal for the Spurs as an opponent for a 7 game series, obviously.
At the same time, another part of me says the whole rest planning, look what it seems to do to our players. It sometimes leads to exactly what the team is trying to prevent in injuries, and the Spurs also can play crappy after a nice rest. So I'm pretty torn on how I feel, but for this Spurs squad to win a championship, they're probably going to need a lot of luck and I don't think taking a gamble like this would be too inappropriate for their long term championship goal. If they were to gamble and still win game 2, it would be almost heroic, inspiring, and a momentum changer, and if so this would be wrapped up in 6.
how many players are 100%? The Spurs don't have the time to mess around. These guys are not the Thunder, they don't have the luxury of saying well lets not give it a go now we have next season to try this again. It's now or never.
Per Manu's brother (twitter): "#20 will be back on wednesday"
I wouldn't play Manu for game2. We played good enough to win the first one. Its not like Tony, Timmy and whoever played the A$$E$S off and we still lost.
While on the surface, I might agree with you...the Grizzlies couldn't miss, and the Spurs couldn't get a roll or bounce to save their lives, and yet they were in a position to win right up to the end...the Spurs CANNOT go down 0-2 with the next two games in Memphis. A win in Game 2, especially a convincing one, will flip the momentum to the Spurs and they will likely backdoor sweep the Grizz.
They need to play Manu, period. If Pop does not, he's playing to lose.
There is a damn good chance Manu doesn't play. For one, Pop is a stubborn son of a . He's not going to give in or panic. (Note this is another reason you're not going to see Splitter either but thats a whole (20) different thread(s)) If the injury is indeed more serious than anyone is letting on this could very well be 2000 all over again regarding how the Spurs handle it in the media.
The truth is that the Spurs winning without Manu would probably do more for their chances at a le than winning with a hobbled Manu.
But the Spurs have to win. I for one think they can win without Manu, but it was much closer than I gave credit for.
If the Spurs don't play Manu in Game 2, they WILL lose. Book it.
I don't know how much of the Grizzlies shooting in that game was due to their hot shooting or the Spurs bad defense. Obviously a combo of both, but if its more of the latter than we're in a much worse situation than I thought.
I think its 50/50 he plays. I do think that if they win without him, its better for the team in the long run. I also know that if it was up to me I wouldn't take that chance and I play him.
pop and bonner sux dix
Watching yesterdays game for the first time right now and I could see that the spurs gave the game away starting in the first quarter.
I expect Manu to play, but don't expect him to play more than 15-20 minutes MAX. Pop will have him out there as a compromise to please everyone who wants to see Manu on the floor but hopefully not long enough to reinjure the elbow.
Pretty much sums up how I feel. Of course it would be better to let him rest the injured elbow, but if he CAN play, I don't think the Spurs can afford to take that risk. I'd be more for it if I was confident the Spurs would win without him, but frankly, I was pretty confident they could win Game 1 without him, and we saw how that worked out.
What I would not be confident about would be the Spurs heading to Memphis in a 0-2 hole, and still wondering about the status of Ginobili.
If Manu is so hurt, how can he be practicing and shooting around and defending like he was in the background of RJ's video? I don't buy he's still so hurt that he cannot play this Wednesday. I think he will play Wednesday or we can kiss this series goodbye.
Grizz have confidence now and belief. A team that believes is very dangerous.
Agreed. Additionally, the Spurs have a better chance to win with a Manu that definitely won't play than with a Manu that may or may not play and is a last second game time decision.
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