Tag: Grant Hill

Bad memory No. 3: Manu injures elbow in final game before the playoffs

The Spurs streaked to 61 victories in the first 81 games of the season. They appeared to have a chance to claim a shot at homecourt advantage during the entire NBA playoffs if they could beat Phoenix in the season-ending game April 13.

After resting key players the night before against the Los Angeles Lakers, Spurs coach Gregg Popovich elected to return all of his starters the following night against the Suns.

But disaster struck barely 2 minutes into the game when Manu Ginobili was caught in a grinding collision between Tim Duncan and Grant Hill.

His resulting injury and absence for Game 1 of the first round of the playoffs was something the Spurs couldn’t overcome.

No. 3: Manu’s ill-timed elbow injury spoils final regular-season game and dooms playoff run.

When: April 13, 2011

Where: US Airways Center, Phoenix

What happened: Only 134 seconds into the Spurs’ last game of the season, Ginobili was coming across a Duncan pick, with Hill trailing, when he appeared to get his arm pinned between them. It bent Ginobili’s elbow back at a grotesque angle before he tumbled to the court in obvious pain. The early diagnosis was a sprained right elbow, but Ginobili admitted after the playoffs that he actually sustained a small fracture of the right arm. Spurs team officials later said  the injury actually was located in his ulna, one of the two long bones running from his wrist to elbow. And even worse, the Spurs lost 106-103 to kill their hopes of tying Chicago for the best record in the league.  

What was said, Part I: ”Now, the fun starts,” Popovich, describing the challenge of overcoming Ginobili’s injury heading into the playoffs.

What was said, Part II: ”You can’t predict anything, and there’s no reason to second guess. I don’t think any one of us is going to do that,” Duncan, to the Express-News after the game about Ginobili’s injury.  

What was said, Part III: ”They needed to get a good run, and they did, so they can keep a rhythm,” Popovich, explaining to the Express-News why he chose to play his starters with the No. 1 seed locked up in the Western Conference.

What was said, Part IV: ”If Manu ain’t healthy, historically, we go nowhere.When he was hurt against Dallas (in 2009), they beat us. Last year, we beat them in the first round because Manu was healthy. Manu was half-assed one year against the Lakers (in 2008), or they don’t win three (Western Conference titles) in a row. His health is huge for us,” What Popovich told the Express-News about Ginobili’s injury several days after his team was eliminated from the playoffs.

GAME NOTES: Ginobili, Duncan and Tony Parker all sat out the previous game against the Lakers before playing against the Suns. Marcin Gortat muscled the Spurs for 21 points and 13 rebounds to enable Phoenix to keep from being swept in the regular season by the Spurs in the 106-103 victory. Phoenix eliminated the Spurs in a four-game sweep in the 2010 playoffs. The Spurs finished at 61-21 — a game behind Chicago for the best NBA record.  Duncan had 17 points and 12 rebounds in 31 minutes. Parker scored 12 points on 4-of-12 shooting in 25 minutes. Neither were on the court when the game ended. Phoenix erupted to a 17-point lead in the first quarter after shooting 65 percent from the field and the Spurs never could catch them. Trailing 85-74 heading into the fourth quarter, the Spurs nearly came back as Gary Neal threw up an air ball from the corner in a shot that could have tied the game at the buzzer. Ginobili would miss the first game of the first-round playoff series against Memphis. His team never really recovered after losing that game.

Previous bad memories:

No. 10: .

No. 9: Black Friday fourth-quarter collapse against Dallas helps snap Spurs’ .  

No. 8: : Spurs blown out by Orlando by 22.

No. 7: Lowly Clips to Spurs.

No. 6:  Heat’sfrom 30-point loss 10 days earlier.

No. 5: Blowout loss to Lakers .

No. 4: Duncan’s ankle injury.  

Previous good memories:

No. 10: .

No. 9: boosts comeback victory over Thunder.

No. 8: leads overtime victory over Memphis.

No. 7:boosts Spurs past Warriors.

No. 6: TD becomesin one game.

No. 5:with record 3-point binge.

No. 4: Pop passes Auerbach on.

Did Manu play in the playoffs with a broken arm?

Manu Ginobili’s elbow injury appears to be more extensive than might have first been reported.

Ginobili told the Argentine website Noticiasmdq.com that he sustained a, the long bone in the arm that runs from the shoulder to the elbow. The injury occurred in the final game of the regular season on April 13 when he was trapped in a collision between Tim Duncan and Phoenix’s Grant Hill.

The Spurs originally announced that Ginobili sustained a sprained elbow. He missed the first game of the playoffs and then played the remaining five games with the injury in the six-game series loss to Memphis. He averaged a team-leading 20.6 points per game against the Grizzlies despite playing with a balky brace. 

Here’s ().

“Last Wednesday, the medical staff of San Antonio I had the last MRI,” Ginobili said. “The liquid has been absorbed and small fracture in the humerus is welded at 85 percent. I have to be doing nothing for 3 weeks and then begin slowly.”

If Ginobili in fact played with a broken arm, there’s no wonder that Gregg Popovich was so adamant in compared to Rajon Rondo’s comeback from a hyperextended elbow for Boston against Miami.

What about it Spurs Nation?

Is Popovich’s blast at Rondo a little more understandable now if in fact Ginobili did play against the Grizzlies with a broken arm?

Manu doubtful for playoff opener

Their first-round playoff opponent finally decided, Spurs coaches went to work Thursday piecing together the beginnings of a game plan for the Memphis Grizzlies.

The team’s most pressing concern, however, was not something that could be solved by any combination Xs and Os, only ice and rest.

An MRI exam revealed guard Manu Ginobili has a sprained right elbow, and the Spurs are preparing to open the playoffs without him.

Ginobili is officially listed as doubtful for Game 1 on Sunday at the ATT Center, leaving his teammates to seize onto the semantics that “doubtful” does not mean “out.”

“Hopefully he can be ready to go once the playoffs start,” Tim Duncan said. “You cross your fingers and hope for that.”

Ginobili was injured in the first quarter of the Spurs’ 106-103 season-ending loss at Phoenix on Wednesday, when he collided awkwardly with Suns forward Grant Hill while cutting off a Duncan screen.

His injury throws a wild card into the matchup between the top-seeded Spurs (61-21) and eighth-seeded Grizzlies (46-36).

Throughout NBA postseason history, No. 1 seed has advanced in 51 of 54 first-round series. Since 2003, when the first-round format switched to a best-of-seven series, the No. 8 seed has moved on to the second round just once — in 2007, when Golden State upset Dallas.

With Ginobili and his 17.4 points per game possibly out for at least Game 1, and with Memphis a more rugged draw than the garden-variety eight seed, the Spurs are still favorites, but vulnerable.

“It’s going to be a tough, physical series,” Spurs guard Tony Parker said. “We’ll be ready.”

Even before a bum elbow threatened to rob the Spurs of their second-leading scorer, there were signs Memphis wanted this matchup. Eschewing a chance to elevate to the No. 7 seed, Grizzlies coach Lionel Hollins rested starters — including bruising star forward Zach Randolph — in each of the final two games of the regular season.

At least one prominent Spurs player noticed.

“Obviously, they’ve chosen their matchup,” Duncan said.

There are reasons for Memphis to bullseye the Spurs. The Grizzlies split four games against them during the regular season, losing one in overtime. In addition, Randolph has been a load for the Spurs to handle, averaging 23 points and 14.8 rebounds against them this season.

In hindsight, perhaps Hollins made the right call simply in keeping his most important players out of harm’s way.

Ginobili’s injury might have opened the door for the Grizzlies to make franchise history. Memphis is 0-12 all-time in playoffs, having been swept in all three of its previous appearances — including in 2004 by the Spurs.

After Wednesday’s game in Phoenix, Spurs coach Gregg Popovich defended his use of Ginobili and other regulars in a fairly meaningless finale, saying he wanted to keep his starters in fighting shape heading toward the playoffs.

“They needed to get a good run, and they did, so they can keep a rhythm,” Popovich said.

Duncan, too, refused to play Monday morning quarterback.

“You can’t predict anything, and there’s no reason to second guess,” he said. “I don’t think any one of us is going to do that.”

All the Spurs can do now is look to the future, which in the short term means the prospect of opening the playoffs without Ginobili.

The spacious nature of the playoff schedule could aid his recovery. With Game 2 not until Wednesday, Ginobili could ice his elbow for a full week and miss just one game.

For now, the Spurs just need Ginobili to get well. The Xs and Os, much like their chances for advancement, look better with him than without him.

“If he isn’t able to play in the playoffs, it’s going to be devastating for us,” Antonio McDyess said. “We definitely don’t want to see that happen.”