Ginobili's moves are right out of soccer
By SAM SMITH
Chicago Tribune
http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercu...s/11873166.htm
SAN ANTONIO - The Detroit Pistons were victims of a sniper in Game 1 of the NBA Finals.
Yes, one could say it was Manu Ginobili who ambushed the Pistons with 15 fourth-quarter points to lead the Spurs to their 84-69 victory in the opener Thursday. Game 2 is Sunday, also at SBC Center.
But "sniper" is a move, the soccer media guys here were explaining, that seemed to bother the Pistons most.
Yes, you could say the Finals opener was soccer-like with the Pistons leading 1-nil at halftime. Or so it seemed. The Pistons' 37-35 halftime lead was the NBA version of soccer, a lot of running around with nothing happening. The two-team final total was the fourth lowest in NBA history and eight from the all-time record low set in 1955.
"Sniper," as explained to me by a writer from France, is when a soccer player lurches back violently in hopes of drawing one of those pretty-colored cards. Flopping, they call it in the NBA. Flopping was what the Pistons were screaming Ginobili did on a momentum-changing foul call in the fourth quarter that led to a Ben Wallace technical foul and a subsequent Pistons meltdown.
After that, the Spurs went on an 18-4 run in the next five minutes to take a 17-point lead.
Goooooooaaaaaaaaaallllllll achieved, one might say.
"He took the ball anywhere he wanted to," moaned Pistons coach Larry Brown. "He made every hustle play. He got to the rim. His will was greater than ours."
There is an international language at work in this Finals like no other in American sports history, and the Pistons might need a quick translation to understand. The Spurs, who have the biggest collection of top international players on any NBA team, behave a little differently and use somewhat unusual tactics at times.
Perhaps the first hint is to the media.
As Ginobili walked out to meet reporters Friday, a press aide yelled, "Spanish reporters this way." Then with Tony Parker coming, another announced, "Tony Parker will be doing interviews in French in the hallway." Then in a light aside, the press aide added: "Robert Horry will be doing interviews for Alabama reporters on the other side of the locker room."
Anyone speak Alabaman?
But you get the point. It's different with this team, one that has a developing star in Ginobili to support Tim Duncan, a team that can adjust to the best offensive game in years to beat the Phoenix Suns and then play the best defense Brown said the Pistons have seen all year.
It's quite something to watch, and Linton Johnson has a good view.
You may remember him, the hustling kid from Providence-St. Mel and nephew of former Bull Mickey Johnson who got into 41 games with the Bulls in two stints during the 2003-04 season. The Spurs signed him last summer, but he suffered a stress fracture and missed nearly the entire season.
Johnson still practices with the team and is used to imitate the other team's top defensive player. This week he has been Tayshaun Prince, and he almost took out Ginobili in a walk-through the day before the Finals started.
"I'm not playing so I go hard like it's not a walk-through and it looks like Manu jerked something," Johnson says, "and Pop (coach Gregg Popovich) is yelling, `Not too fast, get out, you're too dangerous' and puts Big Dog (Glenn Robinson) in."
Johnson, though disappointed not to be playing, has been thrilled to be with the Spurs. "I call him Airnobili," Johnson says of Ginobili. "I don't want to put that Jordan thing on him, but he has the moves, the finger rolls, and doesn't stop, like Jordan. When MJ wasn't scoring, he'd get rebounds, dive. Manu does that. He's not the typical superstar who wants to shoot all the balls.
"Guys like (Houston's Tracy) McGrady, when he got to Orlando he used to attack, but I don't know if he's scared of contact now or what," Johnson says. "Manu comes at you even harder when he's hit. Kobe (Bryant), he's a great player but demands the ball a little too much. Ray Allen, you don't see him take the pounding.
"You can't coach what Manu does. Start right hand, go left. That stuff comes from soccer. You see him in practice and he's at halfcourt hitting balls off his head, amazingly creative stuff. He's standing right here (55 feet away) and he'll kick the ball and make it. One time this season we were coming off a big loss and instead of shootaround, Pop takes us to a soccer field and we play soccer. Guys like Beno (Udrih), Rasho (Nesterovic). There's not a lot of controversy here that people want to see, but this team responds to everything."
Snipers in the NBA woods. Watch out for those Spurs.
Huh? I don't think anyone was accusing Manu of flopping on that play.Flopping was what the Pistons were screaming Ginobili did on a momentum-changing foul call in the fourth quarter that led to a Ben Wallace technical foul and a subsequent Pistons meltdown.
Yea, uh wasn't it the other way around and Wallace taking a flying leap backwards? Sam Smith needs to be more accurate with his facts. Or at least get a better editor.
Then in a light aside, the press aide added: "Robert Horry will be doing interviews for Alabama reporters on the other side of the locker room."
Anyone speak Alabaman?
Nice props by the Linton kid.
lost in translation!
That's a lot of trash to be coming out of Linton Johnson's mouth. Hopefully he can start backing up some of that on the court next year."Guys like (Houston's Tracy) McGrady, when he got to Orlando he used to attack, but I don't know if he's scared of contact now or what," Johnson says. "Manu comes at you even harder when he's hit. Kobe (Bryant), he's a great player but demands the ball a little too much. Ray Allen, you don't see him take the pounding.
In all my years playing and watching futbol (soccer) I've never heard of a "sniper".
Maybe we have a different term for it?
Me neither, I have no idea wtf he's talking about, anyway looks like sth taht manu does, in that case Rasho, Beno, Tony, even Bruce knows what soccer is, so they will know how to do it.
And it was all 100% accurate, and propping his teamate...what's the rule? The Spurs can handle 1 anti-spur?
LJ is going to be a stud...a sane version of Dennis Rodman.
That video was available in one of this forum members website. In supergino.com, I believe the user goes by the same name. Anyway, nice download for all the people that didn't know Manu before he came into the NBA.
Ooops, wrong thread. Time for me to get some sleep.
Sounds like LJ is trying to get a job as an analyst more than he is worrying about PT.
Maybe some soccer media guys just sent Sam Smith on a sniper hunt.
I've never heard that termonology..."Sniper"
But that pretty much explains a soccer "flop". When a player defending you is chasing you, and you're running full speed with the ball, you just pretend like you have just been picked off by a sniper, and you fall forwards in a dramatic way... It's hard to explain unless you've watched a good amount of soccer games.
I like that term for it though, sniper...It explains what it looks like so perfectly.
haha, hey whottt is that even possible? Thats like saying Jumbo Shrimp.
I just wanted to add that soccer sucks.
That is all. Thank you.
More than 1,000 million people disagree.
Thank you.
That means that flops are originally from soccer? C'mon! Lots of sports has their own false-faults. That's nonsense.
Soccer sucks? It' understandable. I think baseball is just REALLY stupid. We are both wrong, surely.
Ginobili's style only reminds me of one thing: argentinean basketball.
That's the whole secret.
I've played for six years as a kid, not profesionally, of course. Manu really reminds me of a lot of my teammates, only a millon times better. But the moves, the style, lot of things, just looks familiar.
There was a argentinean basketball player in the 80's that was supposed to be at NBA level, his name was Miguel Cortijo. He never made it, of course. Otherwise you'd heard of him. Manu really reminds me of him, thow he has a different style.
Detroit fans, if you are lucky, Delfino will stay in your team. Just wait for the next season. We'll see what happens. I'll stay with the Spurs no matter what, but I'm sure Dlefino is gonna improve way too much.
Enjoy
Don't forget Manu trained with Yoda on his back on Dagobah too.
Yeah but it wasnt like he has to back it up. He wasnt comparing them to himself. He was comparing them to Manu. So Manu has to back up LJIII's talk.
haha
I didn't know Linton was Mickey Johnson's nephew.
Mickey was a pretty good, if forgotten, C-PF.
i like the sound of Airnobili
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