Manu Ginobili is a playoff warrior. Friday night he broke his nose on Dirk Nowitzki's elbow. He got a bandage on the outside and plugs on the inside to stop the bleeding. He returned to the action and finished with 15 points in 36 minutes in a big Spurs win over the Mavericks.
Adrenaline is a wonder drug and it appeared that Ginobili was running on high octane. Would he be able to bounce back 2 days later in game 4? Would he need a protective mask like Richard Jefferson? If tough guys like Bill Laimbeer needed a mask, surely Ginobili would wear one.
Nope. He opted for a giant band aid in Game 4 and play as hard as anyone else on the court. No fear of contact and no hesitation in the paint. He slashed through the lane on offense & even put his nose directly in the fray, fighting for a loose ball with Jason Kidd.
Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle went old school and sent Eduardo Najera in to intimidate Ginobili. In his only minute of play, Najera put a flagrant 2 clothesline hit on Ginobili that sent him to the floor hard. Ginobili stayed down for a few seconds before popping up and showing no signs of even having been touched. Najera was ejected, mission failed.
Rick Carlisle seemed pleased with Najera's play in his 47 seconds of action. "He was in there a short period of time but made an aggressive play at least," said Carlisle after the game when asked about Najera. If that's their strategy against the Spurs, the Mavs may not see Game 6.
When Ginobili was asked about Najera's play, he said "He just fouled me hard. No big deal."
You can't spell Manu without m-a-n.
No comments:
Post a Comment