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  1. #1
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    http://www.nytimes.com/2006/05/22/sp...nt&oref=slogin

    Ginóbili Could Decide the Outcome in Game 7
    By LIZ ROBBINS
    SAN ANTONIO, May 21 — Look for an advantage in Game 7 of the Texas tug of war between two teams that have split not only the Western Conference semifinals but also their regular-season series. It is like deciding whether to call a block or a charge in the waning seconds of a decisive game.

    Consider the factors:

    ¶Home-court advantage? San Antonio has it Monday because the Spurs won three more regular-season games than the Dallas Mavericks.

    ¶Rallying rhetoric? The Mavericks' owner, Mark Cuban, has no rival, thanks to his y "muddy-watered thing they call the River Walk" comment disparaging San Antonio's tourist attraction.

    ¶A 7-foot superstar? The two-time most valuable player Tim Duncan has averaged 30.8 points and 11.2 rebounds for San Antonio in the series. Dirk Nowitzki, named to the all-N.B.A. first team over Duncan this season, has averaged 25.5 points and 13 rebounds for Dallas.

    ¶Public Enemy No. 1? Nowitzki told Mavericks fans to boo his former teammate and friend Michael Finley, and they obliged, growing louder after Finley protested Jason Terry's sucker-punching him in the groin in Game 5. Terry was suspended. Now it is Terry's turn to be booed at the visiting arena.

    "At this point there's no advantage," Spurs Coach Gregg Popovich said Sunday. "We've played each other 10 times this year, and it's 5-5. Whoever loses would probably win the next game, it's that close."

    But there is no "next" this year. When the Mavericks try for the third straight time to overcome the obstacle of the defending champion Spurs — the burr in their boot these last five years — they have to contend with more than San Antonio's intimidating tradition.

    The Spurs have another intangible the Mavericks do not have: Manu Ginóbili.

    Ginóbili has played on Spurs teams that have won two N.B.A. les and on an Olympic gold-medal team for his native Argentina. He has a knack of throwing himself into the right place at the right time.

    "Every player competes at a certain level, but there are special players who really are able to intuitively understand situations that help win games, whether it's a steal, an offensive board at the appropriate time, having the for ude to shoot the 3 when maybe it's not exactly called for," Popovich said.

    "Those types of things, great basketball players understand. Manu's one of those guys who's been in a lot of situations. He knows what wins."

    Popovich also included Nowitzki in that group. But while Ginóbili can take advantage of the opportunities a heavily guarded Duncan provides, Nowitzki, a forward, does not have that consistent secondary threat to stretch the defense.

    Terry seemed to lose the mantle of second star, along with his head, in the heated scramble for the loose ball that led to his punching Finley in Game 5. The scramble was with Ginóbili.

    In Game 6, Ginóbili scored 8 of his 30 points in the fourth quarter. "You don't think about the fact you're with your back against the wall; you just compete and win," Ginóbili said. "Do whatever it takes to get that extra rebound, to draw that foul. It's very emotional, a lot of adrenaline."

    Playing as if every minute were his last, Ginóbili soon felt that style catch up to him in his fourth season. He missed the most games of his career (16) this season because of injuries: a bone bruise in his right ankle, a right midfoot sprain, a right ankle sprain and a calf/quad contusion in his right and left legs.

    The effects seemed to linger in the first round against Sacramento, when Ginóbili averaged 15 points. He is averaging 21 in this series.

    "I am feeling better, but it's the mental stuff, too," he said. "I'm playing better."

    Ginóbili pointed out that his mind-set had not always contributed to winning — as the middle three games of the series showed.

    Ahead by 3-1, the Mavericks were salivating at their chance to unseat the in bent champion.

    Now the Spurs own the bigger Game 7 experience. The Mavericks beat Houston in a seven-game first-round playoff series last year, but the Spurs beat Detroit to win the N.B.A. finals in Game 7 when Duncan was named the M.V.P. and Ginóbili scored 11 points in that fourth quarter.

    These two teams last met in the 2003 Western Conference finals, which the Spurs won in six games. In their first playoff meeting, the 2001 conference semifinals, the Spurs won in five. Is there a pattern here?

    "I don't think the past has a lot to do with the present," said Finley, who spent eight years with the Mavericks before Dallas released him last summer. "The only person on that team who has been beaten by the Spurs over the years has been Dirk."

    Recent history is enough for a rivalry (and enough for Cuban to stir the muddy waters), but Ginóbili does not care about his opponent. "Regardless of who we are playing against, I just want to win and make it to the finals," he said.

  2. #2
    Big like a pickle. Shank's Avatar
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    Manu's acting skills will be on a Sidney Poitier-like level Monday night.

  3. #3
    Damn You Commies T Park's Avatar
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    Dirk's flailing will make fishes cringe.

  4. #4
    More Power to Me Despot's Avatar
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    Honestly, judging from all the games in this series, the key to the Spurs winning might be not making boneheaded plays.

  5. #5
    All Praise Rick Neuheisel SA Gunslinger's Avatar
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    Manu's acting skills will be on a Sidney Poitier-like level Monday night.
    Werner Herzog should film a German version of Brokeback Mountain starring David Hasselhoff and Dirk Nowitzki.

    That would set box office records in deutchland.

  6. #6
    Veteran ManuTim_best of Fwiendz's Avatar
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    Ginobili knows his role, and has the drive and the will, I'm not too worried about his delivery....I don't care which player dominates tomorrow to put us over the top. I just hope that The Spurs as a unit come pull through with a commanding lead over the Mavs and decide the outcome with a win, early enough--where it's just pure Spurs' control for the whole 48 minutes...

  7. #7
    Big like a pickle. Shank's Avatar
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    Dirk's flailing will make fishes cringe.
    Something like Chris Farley being attacked by bees in "Tommy Boy"?

  8. #8
    Believe. Vingianx's Avatar
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    Werner Herzog should film a German version of Brokeback Mountain starring David Hasselhoff and Dirk Nowitzki.

    That would set box office records in deutchland.

  9. #9
    Believe. Vingianx's Avatar
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    Ginobiliiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii iiii!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! that's what we'll be taunting tomorrow, if not it will be. . ... TimmmmaaaaaaaaaaaaaY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  10. #10
    Believe.
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    Nice to see Ginobili get some attention from the national press. And, correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe Liz Robbins is the reporter who Avery Johnson went off on with his "getting cut on Christmas day" rant in his press conference after Game 6. He probably didn't make her a friend for life with those comments.

  11. #11
    keep asking questions George Gervin's Afro's Avatar
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    Manu's acting skills will be on a Sidney Poitier-like level Monday night.

    How many Dirk flails will we see? his falling to the ground when no one touches him?

  12. #12
    BLACK LIVES MATTER Play Boban's Avatar
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    http://www.nytimes.com/2006/05/22/sp...nt&oref=slogin

    Ginóbili Could Decide the Outcome in Game 7
    By LIZ ROBBINS
    SAN ANTONIO, May 21 — Look for an advantage in Game 7 of the Texas tug of war between two teams that have split not only the Western Conference semifinals but also their regular-season series. It is like deciding whether to call a block or a charge in the waning seconds of a decisive game.

    Consider the factors:

    ¶Home-court advantage? San Antonio has it Monday because the Spurs won three more regular-season games than the Dallas Mavericks.

    ¶Rallying rhetoric? The Mavericks' owner, Mark Cuban, has no rival, thanks to his y "muddy-watered thing they call the River Walk" comment disparaging San Antonio's tourist attraction.

    ¶A 7-foot superstar? The two-time most valuable player Tim Duncan has averaged 30.8 points and 11.2 rebounds for San Antonio in the series. Dirk Nowitzki, named to the all-N.B.A. first team over Duncan this season, has averaged 25.5 points and 13 rebounds for Dallas.

    ¶Public Enemy No. 1? Nowitzki told Mavericks fans to boo his former teammate and friend Michael Finley, and they obliged, growing louder after Finley protested Jason Terry's sucker-punching him in the groin in Game 5. Terry was suspended. Now it is Terry's turn to be booed at the visiting arena.

    "At this point there's no advantage," Spurs Coach Gregg Popovich said Sunday. "We've played each other 10 times this year, and it's 5-5. Whoever loses would probably win the next game, it's that close."

    But there is no "next" this year. When the Mavericks try for the third straight time to overcome the obstacle of the defending champion Spurs — the burr in their boot these last five years — they have to contend with more than San Antonio's intimidating tradition.

    The Spurs have another intangible the Mavericks do not have: Manu Ginóbili.

    Ginóbili has played on Spurs teams that have won two N.B.A. les and on an Olympic gold-medal team for his native Argentina. He has a knack of throwing himself into the right place at the right time.

    "Every player competes at a certain level, but there are special players who really are able to intuitively understand situations that help win games, whether it's a steal, an offensive board at the appropriate time, having the for ude to shoot the 3 when maybe it's not exactly called for," Popovich said.

    "Those types of things, great basketball players understand. Manu's one of those guys who's been in a lot of situations. He knows what wins."

    Popovich also included Nowitzki in that group. But while Ginóbili can take advantage of the opportunities a heavily guarded Duncan provides, Nowitzki, a forward, does not have that consistent secondary threat to stretch the defense.

    Terry seemed to lose the mantle of second star, along with his head, in the heated scramble for the loose ball that led to his punching Finley in Game 5. The scramble was with Ginóbili.

    In Game 6, Ginóbili scored 8 of his 30 points in the fourth quarter. "You don't think about the fact you're with your back against the wall; you just compete and win," Ginóbili said. "Do whatever it takes to get that extra rebound, to draw that foul. It's very emotional, a lot of adrenaline."

    Playing as if every minute were his last, Ginóbili soon felt that style catch up to him in his fourth season. He missed the most games of his career (16) this season because of injuries: a bone bruise in his right ankle, a right midfoot sprain, a right ankle sprain and a calf/quad contusion in his right and left legs.

    The effects seemed to linger in the first round against Sacramento, when Ginóbili averaged 15 points. He is averaging 21 in this series.

    "I am feeling better, but it's the mental stuff, too," he said. "I'm playing better."

    Ginóbili pointed out that his mind-set had not always contributed to winning — as the middle three games of the series showed.

    Ahead by 3-1, the Mavericks were salivating at their chance to unseat the in bent champion.

    Now the Spurs own the bigger Game 7 experience. The Mavericks beat Houston in a seven-game first-round playoff series last year, but the Spurs beat Detroit to win the N.B.A. finals in Game 7 when Duncan was named the M.V.P. and Ginóbili scored 11 points in that fourth quarter.

    These two teams last met in the 2003 Western Conference finals, which the Spurs won in six games. In their first playoff meeting, the 2001 conference semifinals, the Spurs won in five. Is there a pattern here?

    "I don't think the past has a lot to do with the present," said Finley, who spent eight years with the Mavericks before Dallas released him last summer. "The only person on that team who has been beaten by the Spurs over the years has been Dirk."

    Recent history is enough for a rivalry (and enough for Cuban to stir the muddy waters), but Ginóbili does not care about his opponent. "Regardless of who we are playing against, I just want to win and make it to the finals," he said.
    Good call tbh. Hacked Dirk to send the Heat to the Finals.

  13. #13
    Veteran Arcadian's Avatar
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    Honestly, judging from all the games in this series, the key to the Spurs winning might be not making boneheaded plays.
    He was right...

  14. #14
    Don't stop believin' Dex's Avatar
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    Man, that is some prophetic right there...

  15. #15
    BLACK LIVES MATTER Play Boban's Avatar
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  16. #16
    Veteran spurs1990's Avatar
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    Did you guys see the clip of Robert Horry blaming Manu for costing him 3 more championships? It was at the end of his 'Hakeem is 20 times better than Duncan' segment last year - 1:58 mark
    Between Horry and Stephen Jackson there's a lot of ill-will towards our guy.


  17. #17
    BLACK LIVES MATTER Play Boban's Avatar
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    Did you guys see the clip of Robert Horry blaming Manu for costing him 3 more championships? It was at the end of his 'Hakeem is 20 times better than Duncan' segment last year - 1:58 mark
    Between Horry and Stephen Jackson there's a lot of ill-will towards our guy.

    Eff this clown!

  18. #18
    Kori's nightmare SpurOutofTownFan's Avatar
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    BB is a team sport - not one guy can decide championships either way. There will be some good and bad games and a player can make a huge contribution either way, but long term BB is simply a team sport

    Manu could say the same thing about Horry or Jackson or any other guy but he knows better

  19. #19
    Veteran spurs10's Avatar
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    We aren't in that game without Manu first of all. What I remember most is wondering why a karate chop to Tim's arms wasn't a foul and Manu's 'touch foul' was called. Yes he should have just let him make the basket, but Manu was in a compe ive zone. It would be years before I saw a picture where it looked like Manu might have touched him.

  20. #20
    Veteran gambit1990's Avatar
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    that foul / ending hurt more than .4... .4 was a lot of shock.

    spurs were on the cusp of beating a really scary mavs team. all season long i worried about them. i think in my heart of hearts i felt like mavs would beat the spurs. they just played really comfortably.

    anyways, like the post above says... spurs wouldn't even be there if not for manu.

  21. #21
    HTTR Ditty's Avatar
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    Spurs probably at least go back to back if they win game 7. They probably beat Phoenix again and matched up well again Miami.

  22. #22
    6X ST MVP
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    They probably beat Phoenix again and matched up well again Miami.
    06 Spurs matched up ridiculously well against Miami. Duncan and Bowen defensively would've neutralized Shaq and Wade. Offensively, Tim and Manu would've taken over a series like that. And we might've seen an 06 Parker approaching something we saw in 07.

  23. #23
    Groundhog Day TDfan2007's Avatar
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    2006 hurt more than anything I've ever experienced in sports...for some reason, it hurt even more than 2013, even though we were technically closer to the le then. There are several reasons:

    1. 2006 was our best shot at a repeat le. In the WCF, we would've faced a Suns team without Stoudamire, and in the Finals we would've had a great shot against Miami. Our 2004 team would've likely been steamrolled by the Pistons, and in 2008 and 2015 we were too old/injured.

    2. It felt like we should have won. Best record in the league, home court advantage, reigning champs, and our big 3 in their primes all at once. It was all there, and it didn't happen.

    3. Some cruel, cruel bounces. from Manu dribbling the ball off of his leg at the end of game 3 to Timmy missing a very makeable game-winner in game 4, all culminating in Manu's foul and missed layup at the end of game 7. The Spurs showed so much heart and perseverance in that series, but just didn't get enough bounces. It was very frustrating to watch play out over the whole series.

  24. #24
    Chopper Ed Helicopter Jones's Avatar
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    '05 to '07 was definitely the Spurs best shot at a 3-peat. Those were the prime years for the core group. I couldn't believe when we lost to the f'in Mavericks only to see them choke it away against the Heat.

  25. #25
    ಥ﹏ಥ DAF86's Avatar
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    Honestly, judging from all the games in this series, the key to the Spurs winning might be not making boneheaded plays.

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