Tag: Minnesota Timberwolves

Ginobili practices five-on-five

By Mike Monroe

Before he would allow injured two-time All-Star guard Manu Ginobili to suit up for another game, Spurs coach Gregg Popovich decided he wanted to see him go through a full practice, including a five-on-five scrimmage.

Such a practice took place Saturday morning at the Spurs’ training facility, but Ginobili’s availability for tonight’s game against the Denver Nuggets at the ATT Center officially remains a game-time decision.

If you ask his teammates, however, Ginobili appears ready.

“He played great today in practice,” forward Matt Bonner said. “He went live and went hard, and he’s doing what Manu does — playing with a lot of energy and making hustle plays, scoring and passing.”

Bonner knew better than to guess Popovich’s decision about Ginobili’s availability.

“Oh, I don’t know about that,” he said, “but he looked good today is all I can say.”

Ginobili missed 22 games with a fractured fifth metacarpal in his left hand, an injury incurred Jan. 2 in a loss to the Timberwolves in Minneapolis. He returned for four games before suffering a strained left oblique in the Spurs’ overtime victory over the Clippers at Staples Center on Feb. 18.

The Spurs have won 18 of 27 games without their high-energy starting shooting guard.

Talking practice: Practice time has been a rare commodity during the compressed, 66-game season. But the seven-game post-All-Star break homestand that covers 18 days already has given the Spurs time for three practice sessions.

“With the schedule as it is, we have two weeks at home, so we’ll probably have practices every other day,” said guard Gary Neal. “It’s good. You come in here and get up a good sweat and go over some defensive concepts and get those fresh in your mind and get ready to play the next game.”

The practice time has been especially important for players coming off injuries. In addition to Ginobili, Tiago Splitter and Kawhi Leonard were able to regain some rhythm and continuity.

“It’s a little bit of normalcy these two weeks while we’re at home to take advantage of that time and work on some things in practice,” Bonner said. “It’s also good for guys coming off injuries. It gives them a chance to try and get their rhythm back.”

Statistical minutiae: The 102-72 victory over the Bobcats on Friday night was the Spurs’ largest margin of victory this season. The scoring in Friday’s game was split evenly between starters and bench players, 51 apiece. The Spurs had a season-high 55 rebounds against the Bobcats.

mikemonroe@express-news.net
Twitter.com: @Monroe_SA

Hill set for a memorable return home with the Pacers

Who said you can’t go home again.

New Indiana Pacers guard George  Hill might beg to differ — at least if you consider what his new team has in mind for him early next week.

The Indianapolis Star reports that in his first public appearance the team has planned for him Monday at Canseco Fieldhouse.

It’s undetermined if the return of  “Indiana George” will excite the masses in his hometown like the did for long-suffering fans of the Minnesota Timberwolves last week.

But Hill is happy about coming back home to Indianapolis, where he played collegiately at IUPUI and set state scoring records at Broad Ripple High School.  

“It will be really fun. I’m back in my hometown,” Hill said. “I’m with my family and my friends. I’m playing for an organization I wanted to play for for many years in my life. I’m  thrilled to be there.”

Report indicates Pacers contacted Lindsey about job

Despite already having a president and general manager in place, reports indicate that the Indiana  Pacers have contacted the Spurs about assistant general manager Dennis Lindsey joining the team in what Yahoo Sports described as “a prominent” front-office job.

Yahoo reported that Jim Morris, who runs the Pacers’ business operations, , sources said. The call was received with trepidation, the sources said, as Lindsey and the Spurs made clear there be no conversations as long as Pacers president Larry Bird and Pacers general manager David Morway still occupied their current jobs.

Bird will meet with Indiana owner Herb Simon in the next several days to discuss his future with the franchise. Bird’s contract expires in July, and league sources believe Simon wants Bird to take a pay cut to continue in his current job. 

Yahoo reports the most likely scenario is that the Pacers would like to replace Morway and Lindsey would be their top choice.  

Lindsey is a respected NBA executive who has been mentioned for other jobs in the past. Yahoo reported he turned down an offer of the Minnesota Timberwolves’ job in 2009 and pulled out of the Phoenix Suns’ job search last year. Before  joining the Spurs in 2007, he spent 11 years with the Houston Rockets.

The Pacers have a good nucleus of young talent that pushed Chicago before losing in five games in their first-round series. It will be interesting if Lindsey has any interest in this job compared with the others he has been involved in, or if he would prefer remaining with the Spurs.