As a shooting guard whose season goal is help his team win their 4th of 6th title as opposed to some individual scoring title, should Manu GNob now be resting? With a broken left hand, is it neccessary for him to continue while Tony P and Duncan get worked back in? Absolutely not.
While GNob did have a game tying dunk vs Memphis with 2 seconds left to send the game into would-be OT, nonetheless Manu does not look the same at all the past 4 games.
http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/basketball/nba/spurs/stories/MYSA121907.01D.BKN_Ginobili_Slide.en.28ce03b.htmlOther Spurs stars' injuries wear out Ginobili
Jeff McDonald
San Antonio Express-News
MEMPHIS, Tenn. ? Manu Ginobili's brain tells him he has only played seven games since the start of December, same as any other healthy Spurs player. The calendar concurs.
Ginobili's aching body tells him he's played many more than that.
With an ankle sprain epidemic separately striking down his two most prominent Spurs teammates ? first Tim Duncan, then Tony Parker ? the pressure has been on Ginobili to be the Band-Aid for the Spurs' offense.
It has made for a wearisome 21/2 weeks for Ginobili, in which seven games have felt like 14.
"I am having to play more minutes and to try to do more," Ginobili said. "Everything requires double the effort."
The Spurs, still shorthanded in Memphis tonight, are hoping Ginobili can shake off the funk that seems to have engulfed him since the team's last road trip.
It will be Duncan's third game back from an ankle injury that cost him four. It will be Parker's fourth game missed while nursing his own sore ankle.
The Spurs have not played a full game with both of their 2007 All-Stars this month. Instead, they have had to lean on a 2005 All-Star ? Ginobili ? to try and pick up the slack.
In a strange twist, injuries to Duncan and Parker have taken a toll on the one Spurs star who remains relatively healthy.
Ginobili was transcendent in the first two games with Duncan out, producing consecutive 37-point nights to ignite victories over Dallas and Utah.
In the four games since, Ginobili has struggled to recreate that magic. He is averaging a respectable 14 points but is shooting a woeful 26 percent from the field.
The Spurs were 1-3 in that span.
If you ask Ginobili, there is a good reason he isn't playing as well now as he was two weeks ago.
"I don't feel as good as I did two weeks ago," Ginobili said. "I feel tired."Trying to carry a team for six games will do that, especially to a player not accustomed to the workload that has him playing 33.2 minutes per game in that stretch.
Throughout his career, Ginobili has never averaged more than 29.6 minutes a game.
Against Dallas and Utah, he demonstrated the kind of gaudy numbers he can put up if given a full night's work. Since then, he has showed what can happen when the minutes ? and bruises ? pile up.
There was the 4-of-14 night marred by five turnovers in a loss at Golden State. A 5-of-17 clankfest in another loss to the Lakers that included seven turnovers. A 4-of-11 effort in a victory over Denver.
In Monday's 100-95 loss to Phoenix, Ginobili finished with 18 points but only made 6 of 19 shots and had a costly turnover on the final possession.
In addition to simple fatigue, Ginobili says the left hand contusion he suffered in a Dec. 2 collision with Portland's James Jones still bothers him.For now, however, coach Gregg Popovich doesn't see any need to keep Ginobili off the floor."He hasn't expressed anything like that," Pop-A-Cement said. "He's healthy. That's the most important thing."Pop is still retarded, that's the important thing.
What Ginobili could use, even more than a night off, is a team at full strength.
Ever since his twin 37-point outbursts, defenses have been more cognizant of his whereabouts, vying to keep him from his favorite scoring spots.
"Before, they were worried about Tony and Tim," Robert Horry said. "Now it's Manu, more than Tony and Tim. Everybody is playing us like that."
Duncan, back and returning to form, should help.
And with Parker tentatively due to rejoin Duncan in the lineup before the end of the week, the Spurs are set to suit up a full complement of All-Stars for the first time since November.
Ginobili's aching body can hardly wait.
