The Manu Conundrum

¹²³ · Jan 29, 2009

All season long Spurs fans have been dealing with the anxiety-inducing idea that Manu Ginobili may no longer be, well, Manu Ginobili. That some nefarious combination of injury and age has left him in a place where we will never see the same intense and productive play night-in-night-out. These concerns have continually floated to the surface in comment threads here at 48 Minutes of Hell but we have yet to directly address the issue.

So first and foremost, has Manu lost a step? Well, yes and no. In some ways he may never be as recklessly physical as he once was. His deceptive explosiveness will never be at 2005 levels. Even last year, his craftiness increasingly supplanted what his underappreciated athleticism had previously provided.

But, I don’t believe Manu is yet at 100%. My primary reason for this is the limited minutes he is still seeing, even at this stage in the season. While Duncan, Mason, Bonner, and Parker are consistently seeing 30+ minute nights, Manu remains squarely in the 20-25 minute range (upper 20s when the game is really tight). His being a sixth man has never stopped him from having starter minutes; we all know he isn’t just any old bench player. So if someone looks at how Manu has played so far this season and earnestly says “he’s lost a step,” in some sense they are wrong. Manu will be playing at a higher level come April and May.

Still, if Manu is truly past his prime, is it time to consider involving him a blockbuster trade (although not an illegitimate question, the mere mention of the idea seems almost heretical)? He is the most moveable member of the big three and could be the key to adding a currently unidentified building block for a new generation of title-contending teams.
Click to expand...

Link

¹²³ · Feb 3, 2009

Manu Becoming Whole

Graydon holds down the preview and recap forts with his Match Up of the Night and Notebook posts. The Notebooks are always terrific, and last night’s edition was no different. Still, I’m going to post a bright red cherry atop his delectable little sundae. Graydon writes:

"I am officially abolishing the practice of declaring that any given game is the game in which “Ginobili has arrived.” He got back a few games ago and hasn’t left since. Any difficulties he faces over the rest of the season are post-arrival slumps, not manifestations of his post-injury struggles. At this point he seems to have regained his confidence and explosiveness."

In these words, Graydon saw my temptation and headed it off at the pass. Or, so he tried. After each of the last four games I’ve wanted to announce to the world that Ginobili was back. Even in last night’s circus freak show–Duncan blew up in the 1st quarter for 17 and 7 on 7-9 shooting, Pop and Nellie played 5 on 5 guards for a few minutes in the 2nd quarter, Captain Jack and Manu went straight gunslingers in the 3rd, the right 3 Spurs chipped in with 20 or more apiece but also had 15 turnovers between them, and the team caricatured themselves by under performing through out the contest before calmly, adroitly securing the victory—there emerged one salient storyline: Manu Ginobili is back.

Sorry, Graydon, I couldn’t resist.
Click to expand...

Log in or Sign up

The Manu Conundrum

¹²³ ¼½¾

¹²³ ¼½¾

Share This Page

Log in or Sign up

The Manu Conundrum

¹²³ ¼½¾

¹²³ ¼½¾

Share This Page

Useful Searches