San Antonio Spurs guard Manu Ginobili ready for a comeback - NBA Update
San Antonio Spurs shooting guard Manu Ginobili, who missed an entire month of action this shortened season due to a fractured left hand, will be making a comeback soon.
Manu broke his hand on January 2nd in the Spurs scrimmage against Minnesota Timberwolves after he fouled Anthony Tolliver. Initially, he was expected to miss at least two months, but he has healed rather quickly and
therefore is set to return to the court in a few days.
He practiced with the team on Friday, but did not look fully fit. Therefore his inclusion in the Spurs outing against the New Jersey Nets next week is still not confirmed. The 34 year old veteran will however be adorning the NBA
court sooner rather than later.
Manu admitted he is not in perfect shape and that in his first few comeback games, his playing time will be lot lesser.
"I don't have great expectations for the first few games. I just want to contribute, help a little bit, don't change anything of what the team's doing, just try to fit in again," Ginobili said. I think at the beginning I'm not
going to play 30 minutes (but) come back slowly. I mean I wasn't in great shape even before the surgery, so not going to be now."
Spurs have managed well without Manu so far; however his return will be a massive boost for the whole team. Spurs coach Gregg Popovich was overjoyed with the fact that Manu will be the part of the line-up soon.
"When Manu's ready, you bring him back, so that made it easy," Popovich said. "He's Manu and when he's ready to go, you don't care if you're winning, losing, it doesn't matter. He's coming back."
Manu is an integral component of Spurs offense and in his 10 years career, has led the team to many memorable wins. He was selected by Spurs in the 1999 NBA draft but had to wait for three years to make his debut. In his first
season in 2002, Manu failed to make an impression but in the next few seasons, with his breathtaking plays, he established himself as one of the best players on San Antonio’s roster.
He started the 2011-12 season impressively, pounding 24 points in the Spurs opener against the Memphis Grizzlies and pushed the momentum further in the next games. Before he broke his hand, he was averaging almost 20 points per
game.
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