Manu Ginobili T’s up ref whose pass hit him in face, later sprains ankle
You know, you’d think referees would show a little more respect to a 13-year veteran who’s inarguably one of the greatest and most decorated international basketball players ever, but apparently not. During the San Antonio Spurs’ 123-97 blowout of the cellar-dwelling Minnesota Timberwolves on Sunday, Manu Ginobili fell victim to an unwelcome false start as he was preparing to shoot a free throw:
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Cue the Dangerfield.
Boy, do I love Manu’s deadpan reaction to the boink and quick thinking to assess the referee a technical foul on the play. Frankly, I think a flagrant-2 might’ve been in order; sure seemed like unnecessary and excessive contact to me.
Unfortunately, Ginobili’s pain would go from slapstick to serious in the third quarter:
With San Antonio holding a 30-point lead over a shorthanded Timberwolves club that had only eight players available on Sunday, the Argentine leapt for a rebound and landed on Minnesota big man Gorgui Dieng’s foot, rolling his right ankle awkwardly. Ginobili instantly hit the ground, holding onto his ankle, and had to be helped to the locker room by teammate Tim Duncan and Spurs athletic trainer Will Sevening.
Ginobili was ruled out for the remainder of the game and later diagnosed with a sprained right ankle that Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said would keep the versatile guard sidelined for “a good week to 10 days. He’s already officially been ruled out of the Spurs’ Tuesday meeting with the New York Knicks.
It was a bummer of an ending to what had been a strong outing for Ginobili, who’d scored 11 points on 4-for-5 shooting to go with three rebounds, two assists and a monster at-the-rim block to erase a Kevin Martin layup in just 19 minutes of work before succumbing to the ankle injury. But considering how grim things looked as Ginobili laid on the hardwood and hopped to the back, it wasn’t nearly as bad a diagnosis as his teammates feared.
“Fortunately, it’s not as bad as they thought,” said Duncan, who had 10 points, six rebounds, six assists, three blocks and a steal in the rout, according to The Associated Press. “Hopefully he can be back pretty quickly. We need what he brings to our game.”
“We were just hoping it wasn’t major, making sure it wasn’t an Achilles [tendon injury],” said shooting guard Danny Green, who added 13 points, two assists, a steal and a 3-for-5 mark from 3-point land, according to Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News. “You look at the replay and see it’s his ankle. Still not great, but it’s a lot better than it could have been.”
San Antonio has regained its footing since a post-All-Star-break losing streak, winning seven of its last eight games — with the lone loss owed in large part to Kyrie Irving becoming engulfed in flames last Thursday night — to slide into the No. 5 spot in the Western Conference playoff standings, percentage points ahead of the Los Angeles Clippers and Dallas Mavericks. But just as quickly as the Spurs rose up the rankings, they could slide; San Antonio will face the defensively stout Milwaukee Bucks, resurgent Boston Celtics, East-leading Atlanta Hawks and rival Mavericks over the next week, all likely without Ginobili’s services.
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It’s just as possible, of course, that the Spurs continue to soar, led by a healthy Kawhi Leonard and Tony Parker, who have looked pretty great over the past few weeks. Even if they do, though, this late-season bump in the road could only make it harder for Ginobili to find steady footing during what’s been a somewhat disappointing season. The 37-year-old has seemed to alternate strong outings with ineffective ones of late, and has seen his per-minute scoring, True Shooting Percentage and Player Efficiency Rating dip to their lowest marks since his second season, all while turning the ball over at a career-high rate.
Ginobili’s creativity, daring and experience will all be critical as the Spurs look to make their third straight trip to the NBA Finals and repeat as champions for the first time in the illustrious Duncan-Popovich era. It’ll be even harder for him to get back to top form if he’s carrying a balky wheel into the postseason, which is why it wouldn’t be too big a surprise to his siesta skew toward the far end of Pop’s prognosis … and if that gives him a bit more time to heal his ref-wounded beak, too, then so much the better.
Hat-tip to Caleb Saenz.
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Dan Devine is an editor for Ball Don’t Lie on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter!
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