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Funny, never realizes I met the guy before, must have been some time ago!Detroit's Carlos Delfino was an Olympic teammate, and has seen Manu-mania firsthand
Manu Ginobili a handful of laughs, thrills
By HELENE ST. JAMES
Detroit Free Press
SAN ANTONIO - The Spurs never know what he's going to do when he walks by them in the locker room, much less when he has the ball. Being Manu Ginobili's teammate is exciting, exasperating and above all, exhilarating.
And this is just his local appeal. In his native Argentina, Ginobili is one step below soccer legend Diego Maradona, who has his own place of worship, the Church Maradoniana, in Buenos Aires. Construction hasn't begun on a Church Ginobiliana, or a Comedia Club Ginobiliana, but give it time, because Ginobili is only 27, and he's four victories from a second NBA championship.
Ginobili joined the Spurs in 2002-03, helping them to a le in his rookie year. And three seasons later, teammates still can't get a handle on him.
"He's very strange, honestly," Brent Barry said Wednesday. "I can't even begin to describe it. Manu is one of those guys who is always interesting to see on a daily basis."
Bruce Bowen described Ginobili as a comedian lost in translation, a guy who "tells jokes, but sometimes you can't understand them because they're in Spanish."
His defenders have trouble understanding him because Ginobili is so unpredictable when making plays, switching hands even as he's driving a lane. Ginobili even surprises himself sometimes.
"I don't know what is going to happen, either," Ginobili said. "I'm a slasher. I always try to go by the first defensive line. Once I am on the paint, we'll see, I don't know. Sometimes it's going to be an open teammate; sometimes I'm going to be trying to draw a foul or finish. You know, sometimes there's got to be something that people talk about, about the way I penetrate, but for me it's normal, the same way I've always done it, so for me it's nothing that funny about it."
There's nothing funny about it to opponents, either. Ginobili has averaged 21.8 points in 16 playoff games this spring , including eight stints coming off the bench, when coach Gregg Popovich mixed things up in the earlier rounds. Now Ginobili, 6-feet-6 and 205 pounds, is going to meet up with Tayshaun Prince, who is longer than him. But what makes Ginobili so dangerous is that he fears no one.
"He's an unbelievable, unbelievable player, just because you don't see many players in this league who just sacrifice their bodies night in and night out to attack the rim against whoever," Nazr Mohammed said. "He doesn't back down from anyone, and usually he gets either a foul or he makes the bucket."
Ginobili soared into the playoffs on the strength of a career year in which he averaged 16 points in 29.6 minutes, up from 12.8 points in the 29.4 minutes he averaged in 2003-04. His confidence exploded last summer after he was named MVP of the Argentinian team that won gold at the Athens Olympics and returned home to find Popovich ready to give him a bigger role.
"Once you feel like you are the Olympic champion and chosen MVP, you start believing even more in yourself, knowing that you've got to be doing something well," Ginobili said. "Then it really helped me that Pop told me since the beginning that he was going to try to use me more, give me the ball a little bit more."
Detroit's Carlos Delfino was an Olympic teammate, and has seen Manu-mania firsthand. What Ginobili did in Athens ed his popularity in Argentina to the level of former Formula One driver Juan Manuel Fangio and tennis great Guillermo Vilas, the realm just below Maradona.
"I think for these Finals, 99% of Argentina is with San Antonio," Delfino said. "I think only I am, and my family are, for Pistons. Manu has the whole country behind him."
Ginobili thrills with his moves and delights with his manner. Seldom does he walk by a teammate without doing something funny, like with Mohammed, who only has to hear his name mispronounced "Naz-ar" to know it's Ginobili calling.
"He just constantly comes up with little jokes, little pranks," Mohammed said. "He is just a ball of fun."
Funny, never realizes I met the guy before, must have been some time ago!Detroit's Carlos Delfino was an Olympic teammate, and has seen Manu-mania firsthand
Is this true?
What do you Argentinian fans in here think about this?
Since Delfino was left out of the playoff roster, I'm sure that this statement is right. Unless there's some die-hard Piston fan here (there are a few), the rest of the country is behind the Spurs, even the people that doesn't care that much for BBall.
Should the Spurs have faced the Bulls (Nocioni playing significant minutes, plus MJ's influence) it would be a different story. Manu still would be the one most supported, but not this overwhelming support.
Amen brotha!
And he's become a much better actor, too. No longer that awkward step down, then pose before announcing that he's a Time-Warner Cable kinda guy. In more recent exposures, he comes across as suave and self-assured.
"No, it's like stars in the night sky... Tony?"
I gotta give the acting edge to Parker over Duncan and Manu...I can tell Eva was giving him lessons.
I actually think Manu has been the most consistant when it comes to this.
I remember the old pizza hut commercial featuring Parker..
LOL, that was probably one of the worst acting I've ever spectated.
Never saw it...but Tony definitely comes off more natural in the Trophy Love commercials.
I think it's cool that, whichever team wins, someone from the national team will have gotten an olympic gold medal AND a championship ring in the same year.
Yes, but the Spurs must win! To prove Larry Brown wrong! The Argentinian church of basketball has been offended since Larry Brown comitted blasphemy against one of the members of the holy trinity:
The Father (Manu)
The Son (Delfino)
The Holy Spirit (Nocioni)
Manu Is The man
For those who say this will be boring ,just keep your eyes on 20 he's good for 5-6 plays a half, that amaze
GO SPURS GO
MANU MVP
I drink from the cup of Manu, and my cup overfloweth!
The Delfinos is a small family, I heard 15 members, and we are 38 millions, so if I am not wrong 99.999961% is a better estimation.
To be honest, mostly of us prefer SA ... Delfino is the future, good player he’s only 21 (or so), bla, bla ... but MANU is MANU.
Go Spurs Go
Awesome article on Manu.
especially since the F word isn't mentioned once.
and nice to see its from detroit.
You wish!I drink from the cup of Manu
*sigh* I love a man with a sense of humor."He just constantly comes up with little jokes, little pranks," Mohammed said. "He is just a ball of fun."
This is just another example of how great the team chemistry is on the Spurs.
Come on!! Even Delfino is rooting for SA. Larry Brown must go down.
Too bad Delfino can't play. I would love to see them both play tonight.
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