Monday, November 24th, 2008 at 2:46 pm  |  37 responses

Manu Ginobili Will Play Tonight

by Ryne Nelson

Yes, it’s true–the Spurs are getting their Manu back. The fact that the Spurs were able go 6-6 with only Tim Duncan, George Hill and a twirl of cotton candy speaks volumes about their potential to rebound as the team gets healthy.

Manu had long targeted tonight’s game against the Grizzlies to return from his offseason ankle surgery. He’s been in full-contact scrimmages for the past week. From Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News:

Even Spurs coach Gregg Popovich agrees: Manu Ginobili is ready to play.

The Spurs guard, who missed the team’s first 12 games while recovering from September ankle surgery, will make his season debut tonight at Memphis, Popovich confirmed after this morning’s shootaround.

The southpaw Argentinean must have shown dramatic improvement over the past week. As McDonald writes, Popovich all but denied Ginobili’s request to play as recent as last week.

Manu’s not going to play significant minutes, but if Popovich signs off on letting his star play, all must be safe. And with Tony Parker returning in the first week of December, the Spurs are back in the conversation.

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  • Sdfigits Posted: Nov.24 at 2:52 pm
    I’m overjoyed, O-verjoyed, I knew the NBA was missing some bullsh@t I almost forgot Manu was out

  • Ryne Nelson Posted: Nov.24 at 2:56 pm
    Manu’s the man. The League isn’t the same without his antics and heroics.

  • Static Posted: Nov.24 at 2:58 pm
    Meh…da floppers back

  • Sir Charles Posted: Nov.24 at 3:02 pm
    GINOBILI!!!

  • Roy Posted: Nov.24 at 3:06 pm
    Co-sign Ryne. Good to see Manu back for the Spurs. :D

  • Gerard Himself Posted: Nov.24 at 3:10 pm
    I have one guard spot open on my fantasy team. Who should I bring off the bench? Delonte West or George Hill? If Manu’s going to play this week, Hill’s minutes will go down…. I’m going with Delonte…. I think….
    Anyway, good for the Spurs, the climb back to the top starts tonight.

  • Celts17 Posted: Nov.24 at 3:15 pm
    I’m an East Coast guy, Celtics fan, but Manu has always been very entertaining/fun to watch. He is the kind of guy who you just want to strangle if he’s not on your team, but would love to have on your squad.

  • Fredd Posted: Nov.24 at 3:22 pm
    Good news for the nba ( since it’s an international business haha ) … and good news for the spurs … the best is to come for them now !

  • B. Long Posted: Nov.24 at 3:24 pm
    Celts17 is right. Welcome back, Manu.

  • ciolkstar Posted: Nov.24 at 3:27 pm
    Wow, did I just hear B. Long correctly? No hate?I’m thrilled he’s back though. He’s really been the “soul” of the Spurs championship years, TD was the (robotic) body but Manu was the soul.

  • ciolkstar Posted: Nov.24 at 3:29 pm
    I love that Ryne has kept Mutoni from making every “news” post about Odom, Vujacic, and Starbury. The Spurs deserve (a little) more love on the internets!

  • Ryne Nelson Posted: Nov.24 at 3:35 pm
    Gerard, I think you can expect a Mr. Fantasy column about this coming up soon (although it may not be soon enough for fantasy purposes). Delonte’s my pick…by the way, how deep is that league you’re playing in?

  • Celts17 Posted: Nov.24 at 3:35 pm
    Yeah, people sleep on S.A. because they are not
    too flashy and they start off slow. With Timmy healthy, their defense, Mr. Lonogria and Finley still gettin’ it done..ok-let me stop-I’m making myself sick.

  • witness Posted: Nov.24 at 3:36 pm
    i hate the spurs. but hate to see them like this. lets go manu.

  • arodz Posted: Nov.24 at 3:48 pm
    The rest of the league is now on notice. “We’re Back”

  • what Posted: Nov.24 at 4:06 pm
    Yes! Finally I can make use of my 7th round pick in fantasy.

  • Spaceship Jay Posted: Nov.24 at 4:11 pm
    Yess. Get ready for that flopping, traveling 2 stepping, dunk on you when you though it was a layuping, random three shooting, awkward as all hell Manu

  • NBK Posted: Nov.24 at 4:15 pm
    or look for manu to play limited minutes and just take pressure off of duncan, all the other stuff wont happen for a week or three

  • Spaceship Jay Posted: Nov.24 at 4:19 pm
    Yeah your right. How over zealous of me.

  • Bryan Posted: Nov.24 at 4:20 pm
    F*ck Manu. But at least his return to form should end all the ‘spurs are dead’ talk.

  • Ryne Nelson Posted: Nov.24 at 4:24 pm
    Witness: You can’t hate the Spurs. They’re like a high-functioning autistic entering in the early stages of Alzheimer’s.

  • Celts17 Posted: Nov.24 at 4:32 pm
    They’ve come a long way since the days of Cadillac Anderson.

  • B. Long Posted: Nov.24 at 4:34 pm
    Ryne San Antonio Rainmen?(Dustin Hoffman not Shawn Kemp)

  • Moose Posted: Nov.24 at 4:36 pm
    Should I drop Tayshaun Prince or TJ Ford or Zydrunas Ilgauskus to pick him up in fantasy?

  • Double R Posted: Nov.24 at 4:43 pm
    Argentina, that’s in Europe right? (Looks at an atlas). Never mind.

  • Both Teams Played Hard » Blog Archive » GINOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOBLI: The Fix? Posted: Nov.24 at 5:23 pm
    [...] Guess who’s bizzack? Still smell the crack in his clothes. (via Slam) The Spurs guard, who missed the team’s first 12 games while recovering from September ankle surgery, will make his season debut tonight at Memphis, Popovich confirmed after this morning’s shootaround. [...]

  • Darksaber Posted: Nov.24 at 8:21 pm
    Uh oh, a guy who lives on extreme cutting and the “eurostep” (blame Nike commercials for that BS-name), coming back too early from ankle injuries might not be the right decision. Ah well.

  • Sarah Posted: Nov.24 at 9:01 pm
    Moose, I know nothing about fantasy sports, but I would drop TJ for him. Manu has a nice 3 in Rudy Gay’s face and a backdoor dunk from Fab. Good to have ya back!

  • Amanda Posted: Nov.24 at 9:20 pm
    I literally fell off the couch when Manu came out, no lie.
    I think I brokw a toe in the process but all worth it.
    Notice to West: Buckle up
    because
    MANU “M@#$%%5 F%&^*^#” GINOBILI IS BACK
    eat that haters

  • Anton Posted: Nov.24 at 10:37 pm
    hope he dies

  • Tommy Vercetti Posted: Nov.24 at 11:48 pm
    All is well now. The Spurs are back!!!!!

  • whooo! Posted: Nov.25 at 1:32 am
    it seems the injuries to manu and tony may have helped san antonio’s reserves get their rythym. with 4 guards who have shown they can drop 20 on a given night, how does that backcourt now rank in the league? paker and ginobili are all-star level players, and mason and hill as backups have shown they can ball.

  • Dimitris Diamantidis Posted: Nov.25 at 12:30 pm
    MANU!!!

  • franko Posted: Nov.25 at 12:39 pm
    Life is Goood!! haters here we come again!
    he scores 12 in 11 mins…
    welcome back OBI WAN GINOBILI

  • JoeMaMa Posted: Nov.25 at 12:48 pm
    The league should be scared. Roger Mason stepped up. Now the Spurs will have everyone back PLUS a new player to push them to greater heights. Verrrr nice.

  • Dimitris Diamantidis Posted: Nov.25 at 3:08 pm
    @franco: enjoy the last 2-3 good years of one of the top-30 players of all time and let the kids talk about cartoon heroes…(A.I, Starbury,etc.)

  • SLAM ONLINE | » Fantasy Basketball, Week 4 Posted: Nov.26 at 1:13 pm
    [...] Manu Ginobili made his season debut with the Spurs much earlier than anticipated, scoring 11 points in 12 minutes Monday night. The original prognosis on his ankle had him out much longer, and that’s great news for anyone who drafted Manu in the mid-rounds. There’s no reason to go into what he brings to the court, because the man is a stud, but guys like George Mason and Michael Finley could see a drop in production but maintain their value at least until Tony Parker returns to the lineup. [...]

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