[情報] Renewed Manu: Ginobili leads Spurs into playoffs

[Kshatri (No sé)]

Renewed Manu: Ginobili leads Spurs into playoffs
http://0rz.tw/pwlb2
By PAUL J. WEBER, Associated Press Writer
Apr 15, 7:01 pm EDT

SAN ANTONIO (AP)—Forget that the San Antonio Spurs are coming off their
worst regular season in 13 years, or that Tim Duncan was a rookie when
they last began the playoffs on the road.

Coach Gregg Popovich, in his typically dry we’ll-win-or-we-won’t way,
flatly summed up why that doesn’t matter.

“I always feel better going into the playoffs when Manu is healthy,” he
said.

He hasn’t been able to say that in two years.

 For the first time since San Antonio won their last championship in 2007,
Ginobili will begin the playoffs fully healthy Sunday in Game 1 against
Dallas, in a rematch of last year’s first-round series that the Argentine
missed entirely.

No more sore left ankle. No fractured right ankle. No strains or aches.

What the Spurs have instead is Ginobili playing through one the most dazzling
stretches of his eight-year career. The 32-year-old is averaging 21.4 points
since the All-Star break, eight points better than the first half of the
season.

“That’s the kind of play we expect from him,” Duncan said. “I know he’s
been working hard to get back to that level. To see him there, I’m happy for
him.”

Ginobili’s play since February forced the Spurs to sign him to a 3-year, $39
million extension last week, after it long appeared they would let him become
a free agent this summer for the first time in his career.

The Spurs had been skittish about Ginobili’s health and durability. Now they
’re counting on him to get them through the playoffs as a No. 7 seed, the
lowest in the Duncan era.

“What happened in the last couple months made them think I had to stay,”
 Ginobili said.

So important is Ginobili, whose brilliant second half of the season has
carried San Antonio to a 17-8 record since March, that Popovich sat his
second-leading scorer in Wednesday’s regular season finale against the
Mavericks.

The Spurs still had a chance at moving up to No. 6 in the West. Duncan also
sat out, though over the last two years, San Antonio has seized every chance
to rest his creaky 33-year-old legs whenever possible.

Ginobili was fine, but Popovich took no chances.

Not after Ginobili hobbled on a sore ankle through the 2008 playoffs that
ended in the West semifinals. Or last year, when Ginobili sat out with a
fracture in his other ankle while the Mavs ripped through the Spurs in five
games.

“We’ve had playoffs where Timmy hasn’t played, where Manu hasn’t played,
where Timmy’s been half-speed, where Manu’s been half-speed for a variety
of reasons,” Popovich said. “We’re entering this playoff pretty healthy
except for George (Hill) and I didn’t want to screw that up.”

After all, it took the Spurs this long to get things right.

The last time the Spurs didn’t start the postseason with home-court
advantage was 1998, when 56 wins was only good enough for the fifth seed.

But settling for seventh this year was more disappointing.

With Ginobili’s health in doubt after last season, the Spurs aggressively
spent on Richard Jefferson to bring in another scorer. But Jefferson,
averaging just 12.8 points, didn’t provide the offensive punch like San
Antonio hoped, and the Spurs stumbled with a revamped roster.

But as Ginobili improved as the season wore on, so did the Spurs. Ginobili
has also saved his best for the best: in wins over division leaders
Cleveland, Boston, Orlando, Denver and the Los Angeles Lakers, Ginobili
averaged 29.6 points.

The Spurs have played 88 playoff games since winning their second
championship in 2003. Only once in that span has a player other than Duncan,
Ginobili or Tony Parker led the Spurs in scoring in a playoff game.

Far as the Spurs are concerned, it’s Ginobili’s turn again.

“Coaches think all kinds of crazy things,” Popovich said. “But I never
thought he was going to be a different player or a worse player. He just
needed time to get his rhythm back.”

Popovich：Manu健康，季後賽就沒有問題

  儘管馬刺今年的常規賽表現是他們13年來最差的，馬刺教頭波波(Gregg Popovich)仍然
認為不會有什麼問題。

  「當Manu在進入季後賽時保持身體健康，我一般都會感覺比較好」波波說。

  自2007年奪冠之後，今年是Manu首次完全健康地進入季後賽。全明星賽結束後，32歲的
Ginobili場均得分21.4分，比上半賽季的場均得分高出了8分。

  「我們希望從他身上看到這種表現」鄧肯說。「我知道他為了回到原來的水準一直非常
努力。看到他做到了，我為他感到高興。」

  由於從2月份開始的強勢表現，馬刺與Ginobili在上周簽訂了一份3年39M的合約。

  在有了健康和合約的保證後，馬刺現在期待的就是Ginobili能幫助他們Duncan時代最低
排名——第7名，從季後賽中殺出重圍。

  2008年季後賽，Ginobili左腳踝受傷，馬刺止步西部決賽。2009年，Ginobili右腳踝受
傷，小牛5場解決了馬刺。

  「以前的季後賽，我們有過Timmy不能上場的時候，也有過Manu無法上場的時候，或是
他們只能發揮出一半威力的時候」波波說。「今年的季後賽，我們除了George Hill，所
有人都非常健康。我不希望錯過這次機會」

  「教練們總是會考慮各式各樣的瘋狂東西。但是我從來沒有想過他會變得不一樣，或是
成為一個平庸的球員。他只是需要一些時間讓他重新找回比賽節奏」波波說。

--
<Spurs Team Report> ( http://0rz.tw/DElV8 )
 “The regular season is over and now it's more fun for everybody—fans,
coaches, players, cats and dogs, everybody. So, it's great stuff.”
                       - Spurs coach Gregg Popovich, on starting the playoffs.

--
※ 發信站: 批踢踢實業坊(ptt.cc) 
◆ From: 61.229.227.50
→ PVD:推馬刺牌翻譯機
→ Kshatri:我沒翻這篇唷  轉貼罷了XD
推 infantboy:所以HILL沒得打了?
→ jiuan1027:這篇沒說Hill沒得打 只是他傷還沒 好
推 dogville:我認為Hill第一場就會上了 只是能多裝死幾天當然就繼續裝
→ dogville:當然不是說Hill已經好了 不過應該會帶傷上陣
推 Dawn721:Mason也健康? 還是已經被
推 GAPB:08年manu剛開始也應該ok吧 是對太陽第一站最後一擊後傷到的？
推 ehi1981:若能殺進Final,不但復前兩年仇,二輪敵手要是是一直有遺憾
→ ehi1981:那隊,也可以某種程度證明一些事情...Anyway先擺平眼前這隊
推 susy88kent:08的時候對黃蜂就已經扭了 只是帶傷打
→ jiuan1027:Hill有參加週五的部分練習 而且這傷並沒前一次嚴重 應該
→ jiuan1027:不會缺席了 另外馬刺抽到20順位籤 低於Celtics 高於
→ jiuan1027:Thunder.Blazers 這是自1997年以來的最高順位籤...
推 koflll:非常感謝樓上即時資訊提供
推 mark30204:只要manu保持健康 馬刺就有無限的可能
推 Dawn721:TO GAPB:我之前聽到的都是說VS太陽第一場最後一擊傷到的,
→ Dawn721:但是板主九7955那篇提到說:季賽結束前注意到自己有些不舒
→ Dawn721:服,...這說法倒是第一次聽到
→ Dawn721:20順位(灑花),運氣算還不錯勒~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
推 accu0989:是11年的選秀簽嗎? 第一輪20順位?
推 alex40214:是的  才發現原來Celtics戰績跟我們一樣...
推 ehi1981:這是所謂百年來的頭次首輪籤嗎? ~~( '   ' )))y~~
推 ando:Hill就是首輪選到的阿
推 parkerwind:這對我們來說是難得的高順位籤XDDD
→ parkerwind:不曉得會選哪個位置的球員~  我猜是2/3號搖擺人~
推 ehi1981:Sorry,對吼Hill是No.26,IUPUI壓根沒人這麼高順位過.....
→ greatodin:大家加油!
推 dogville:不僅沒這麼高 Hill是IUPUI史上第一位選秀球員 ^^"
→ Kshatri:當年我們還拿太陽那隻Dragic換來Hairston呢
→ Kshatri:現在回頭看當年Chad Ford的選秀評價還蠻有趣的
→ sneak: Mason也健康? 還 https://noxiv.com