Tag: Manu Ginobili

Spurs want Parker in drive

By Jeff McDonald
jmcdonald@express-news.net

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — When the smoke finally cleared after the Spurs beat Memphis in a must-win Game 2 on Wednesday, it was impossible to miss that Manu Ginobili had been there lighting fires.

In his first action of the first-round series after sitting out Game 1 with an elbow sprain, Ginobili wrestled with Marc Gasol, scrummed with Shane Battier and traded blows and words with Tony Allen before coaxing a key offensive foul out of him in the fourth quarter.

“It was like he was everywhere at once,” Spurs guard Gary Neal said.

Now that Ginobili has joined the series, delivering the Spurs to a 1-1 deadlock as the feistiness shifts to Memphis for Game 3 tonight, it is time for his All-Star backcourt mate to do the same.

It’s not as if Tony Parker has been terrible. But, by playing Memphis point guard Mike Conley to no better than a stalemate, Parker hasn’t given the Spurs the clear backcourt edge most thought they had.

“The first two games, I’ve been a little off,” said Parker, a former Finals MVP. “Usually in the playoffs, I’m very aggressive and make my shots. The first two games, it didn’t bounce my way.”

Parker averaged 16 points and six assists in Games 1 and 2, not far off his season numbers. Yet the three-time All-Star is shooting just 33 percent (10 for 30), after leading all NBA guards at 51.9 percent in the regular season.

Parker has struggled with his trademark teardrop, clanged open jumpers and, on the rare occasions he’s found the path to the rim unabated, has had trouble finishing.

Faced with these facts, Parker smiled, shrugged and did the math.

“I guess the percentages are with me now,” he said.

As the series moves from the River Walk to the banks of the Mississippi — for a Game 3 many are calling the biggest game in Grizzlies history — the Spurs could use a vintage Parker tonight.

Memphis certainly isn’t making life easy on him.

With a defense designed to deny Parker access to the paint, hacking him if necessary, the Grizzlies have sent a clear signal they have no intention of allowing the first round to devolve into a layup parade.

Despite his opponent’s best-laid plans, Parker’s teammates have faith the stone-cold finisher who dumped 37 points on Memphis in December will show up at some point.

“He’s quick enough and smart enough to find a way,” said Ginobili, whose bum elbow appears to have survived Game 2 without further harm.

Some credit for slowing Parker goes to Conley, a 23-year-old playoff neophyte most predicted would spend the series inhaling French jet fumes. Conley is averaging 14 points and seven assists in the series, making Parker lose sweat at both ends.

“If we’re going to win, we’ve got to try to contain Tony Parker,” said Conley, who at times seems to be performing a Parker impression himself. “My job is to make it as tough on him as I can.”

So far, Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said he’s been pleased with Parker’s approach, equal parts patient and forceful.

“He’s run the show well for us,” Popovich said.

Of course, Parker doesn’t have to score to affect the game. Back-to-back moments late in Game 2 underscored that.

With the Spurs desperate for baskets to fend off another fourth-quarter charge from the Grizzlies, Parker wiggled into the lane to find them.

As Memphis distracted itself with his drives, Parker hit Richard Jefferson for a corner three, then shipped a pass to Antonio McDyess for a layup.

“I try to pick my spots to be aggressive,” Parker said. “Overall, the second game, it worked out well.”

If Parker ever were to pick a spot for a playoff breakout, tonight would be the night. FedEx Forum will be howling. The Grizzlies will be electrified.

One game after introducing Ginobili to the 2011 playoffs, the Spurs would like nothing more than to finally welcome Parker, too.

Battier’s shot puts Spurs in early hole

By Jeff McDonald
jmcdonald@express-news.net

Spurs forward Matt Bonner never saw the decisive 3-pointer leave Shane Battier’s hand, much less it ripping through the net.

“I had Zach Randolph’s elbow in my mouth at the time,” Bonner said.

Bonner had a better view of 3-point tries from George Hill and Richard Jefferson that could have salvaged Sunday’s Game 1 against Memphis for the Spurs.

“Both looked good,” Bonner said.

Both bounced off.

The difference in the Spurs’ 101-98 playoff-opening loss to Memphis at the ATT Center was the difference in a lot of games and a lot of series.

Three players toed the 3-point stripe in the final 30 seconds. One of them made the shot. The others didn’t.

Battier’s 3-pointer with 23.9 seconds left provided the go-ahead points for eighth-seeded Memphis, which earned the first playoff win in club history.

In defeat, the Spurs became the first No. 1 seed to lose Game 1 of a first-round series since the 2007 Dallas Mavericks, who later in that opening matchup with Golden State became the only top seed in the best-of-7 era to be bounced in the first round.

“We didn’t do enough down the stretch,” said Spurs forward Tim Duncan, who had 16 points and 13 rebounds. “That was the game right there.”

Playing without guard Manu Ginobili, out with a sprained right elbow, the Spurs faced the rare task of needing to steal Game 1 on their home floor.

Had it not been for Battier, they might have.

Randolph had 25 points and 14 rebounds for Memphis, 0-12 in playoff games before Sunday, while Marc Gasol had 24 points and nine rebounds.

But the game’s biggest shot came from the guy they call “Granddaddy Shane.” Battier, a 32-year-old original Memphis Grizzlie who returned in a February trade from Houston, knows what the win meant to fans back home.

“I know Beale Street will be a fun place tonight,” Battier said.

Meanwhile, back in San Antonio, they might has well shut down the Riverwalk until Game 2 on Wednesday.

The Spurs, at least, have been here before. They have now lost six straight Game 1s, rallying to win two of the previous five series.

Last season, the Spurs recovered from a Game 1 loss at Dallas to win that first-round series in six games.

“We understand the challenges that are in front of us,” said Jefferson, who had 13 points and six rebounds. “To get where we want to get, it’s not going to be easy.”

Much went right for the Spurs in Game 1, which — depending on perspective — made the loss more or less palatable to them.

They outrebounded the Grizzlies 40-38, including an 11-5 edge on the offensive glass, won the second-chance battle 15-5 and attempted 47 foul shots (though, in another story, they missed 11).

Given all that, Spurs coach Gregg Popovich doesn’t see a crying need for sweeping changes heading into Game 2.

“It wasn’t like we got beat by 25,” Popovich said.

Tony Parker finished with 20 points to lead the Spurs but was 4 of 16 from the field. It was his defensive error that freed Battier long enough to swish the deciding 3-pointer.

Before Battier could break the Spurs’ hearts, he watched Bonner nearly do the same to the Grizzlies.

Channeling his inner Robert Horry, Bonner nailed back-to-back 3-pointers to give the Spurs a 96-94 lead with 1:28 to go.

“You were like going, ‘Uh-oh, here we go again,’ ” Battier said. “How many times have the Spurs done that in big games in this facility?”

Hill made a pair of free throws to push the Spurs ahead by four with 1:06 to play and suddenly, the Spurs seemed poised to do to the Grizzlies what the East’s top seed, Chicago, did to eighth-seeded Indiana the day before.

Down the stretch, however, it was the team without a playoff victory to its name — and not the team that had hung four banners in the rafters — that locked down the game.

After Battier’s 3-pointer put Memphis ahead 99-98, Hill missed an open look in the right corner. After a pair of Tony Allen foul shots pushed the Grizzlies’ edge to three points, Jefferson back-rimmed a shot from the top of the key as time expired.

“I had a great look,” Jefferson said. “Just didn’t knock it down.”

Hill framed his own misfire, part of a 2-for-7 outing, in similar terms.

“It felt good,” he said, “but it didn’t go my way.”

Three players lined up 3-pointers late Sunday afternoon. Only one of them went down. And the Grizzlies have a 1-0 series lead because of it.

Popovich: Hill to start if Manu can’t

By Mike Monroe
mikemonroe@express-news.net

Manu Ginobili continues to be listed as doubtful for Sunday’s game with a sprained right elbow, but he was hard at work at the team’s practice facility on Friday.

While his teammates prepared for Game 1 of the Spurs-Grizzlies first-round playoff series, injured guard Ginobili worked on cardiovascular conditioning and strength training.

Some of his strength training included lifts with his injured right arm.

While reiterating that there is no change in Ginobili’s status for Sunday’s game, Spurs coach Gregg Popovich expressed confidence he would return to action during the series.

“He will be back at some point for sure,” he said.

If Ginobili does not return on Sunday, George Hill will start in his shooting guard spot.

“George Hill will probably take his place as a starter, if, in fact, Manu doesn’t play, and right now, it looks that way,” Popovich said. “We’ve got a day and a half to see if (Ginobili) heals any more, see what’s going on, but at this point George Hill would be the guy who starts.”

It will be important, Popovich said, for Hill to play the aggressive, purposeful game that makes him, in Popovich’s words, “Indiana George.”

“Pop means Indiana George from back in Indianapolis, from college and high school,” Hill said, “being a freak of nature on offense with defense coming first or second. But just having fun out there. Being aggressive at all times.”

Popovich said Hill will be important even if Ginobili suits up.

“With or without Manu, George Hill is important to us,” he said. “He’s a fine, young player and does a good job at both ends of the court. Manu’s injury has nothing to do with George, in that sense. Even with Manu, he’s got to play well for us.”

BRING IT: Convinced the Grizzlies rested key players in their final two games to ensure they would land in the No. 8 seed and face the Spurs, rather than the No. 2 seed Lakers, the Spurs have mustered up a sense of mild outrage.

“Let’s play basketball,” Hill said. “I can see them going through those steps. Who cares what they did, if they sat, or if the coach coached or didn’t coach. The playoffs are different though. I don’t know why they want us so bad. We’re 2-2 against them. Fifty percent. But if that’s what they want, to take their chances against us, then bring it, I guess.”

ZZ TIM: Spurs captain Tim Duncan hasn’t shaved in a while, a scraggly beard getting a tad shaggy in recent days.

Is it a traditional playoff beard, the sort favored by some pro athletes who vow not to shave as long as the playoffs continue?

“It’s more of a laziness beard,” he said, “but we’ll call it a playoff beard. I’ll take that. It won’t last for long, though. My wife’s already disowned me.”