from http://insider.espn.go.com/nba/insid...ylines-080228a

i've always loved his style (and he's not really the flopper people think) but its great to see someone notices just how damn good he is other than kobe and lebron and wade, name a shooting guard or small forward you're rather have.

<h2>2. Manu as The Man in San Antonio</h2>
The defending champion Spurs are up to their usual tricks, lying in the weeds for half a season only to make a late run. Once again they're on top of the Southwest division, and nobody will be surprised to see them make another deep playoff run.

However, one thing has changed: the team's offensive focal point. For years, the Spurs' primary weapon has been Tim Duncan and, to a lesser extent, Tony Parker.
Not anymore. This season, it's the Manu Ginobili show. The sneaky southpaw leads the team in scoring at 20.6 points per game, but even that understates things. Ginobili's usage rate this season has climbed all the way to 28.0, the sixth-highest figure in the league.

This has escaped people's attention because Ginobili only plays 31.5 minutes per game. But to see how much he's getting the rock, and how productive he's been when he's had it, let's compare Ginobili's per-40-minute stats to those of another prominent player: Kobe Bryant.

You think he can't hang? Guess again. Kobe averages 29.3 points, 6.4 rebounds and 5.7 assists per 40 minutes; Manu gets 26.2, 6.4 and 5.9.

Wait, it gets better. Kobe plays on one of the league's faster-paced teams; Manu is on the second-slowest. Plug Bryant's numbers into the Spurs' sluggish pace and you get 26.9 points, 5.9 boards and 5.2 assists, making the comparison a dead heat.

Additionally, Ginobili has done it with a spectacular 61.7 true shooting mark that ranks fourth among all shooting guards, and trumps Kobe's 57.7.

All this helps explain why Ginobili ranks fourth in the league in PER. Not that it's anything new -- he was ninth in this category a season ago. It also explains why the Spurs can continue to win despite off years from most of their role players and declining numbers from Duncan and Parker. If every time Ginobili comes off the bench you think to yourself "Kobe Bryant is checking in for the Spurs," their success becomes a lot easier to understand.

Yet because of Ginobili's low minutes and his team's low Q rating, he's failed to get his due as one of the game's biggest stars. He's been amazingly slow to get a superstar's acclaim, with his puzzling All-Star snub being the latest example.

One common misconception is that he benefits from playing mostly against opponents' second-unit players because he comes off the bench. First off, this defies common sense -- nobody else is playing their subs 30 minutes; if Ginobili gets 30 and the opponents' sub at his spot plays 15, it's at most a 50-50 split (and that's only if the minutes align perfectly).

More importantly, the data doesn't support this hypothesis. Check out Ginobili 's splits, folks. Ginobili has been far better as a starter this season, shooting 49.5 percent against 44.5 percent while averaging six points and two assists more per game. This isn't unusual -- the vast majority of players perform better as starters, because apparently the disadvantage of coming into a game cold is greater than the advantage of getting a few extra minutes against the other teams' scrubs.

In short, Ginobili's ability to dominate isn't because he's coming off the bench; it's because he's a flat-out superstar and has been for two years now. The prospect of he and Kobe going shot-for-shot in the conference finals is one of many reasons to be excited about the upcoming playoffs.

If Manu was on a squad where he was the go to guy every night, he'd be contending for a scoring title.

F Ginobli
F The Spurs

manus really good, i still hate him though. i didnt know it was possible to flop so consistently on offense and defense

manu > tmac

you can go ahead and think that if you want. but the numbers don't back it up one bit. he's had great numbers in orlando, but with houston he hasn't had the drive to put together a great 82-game season. and he's blown a series with a 3-1 lead and lost a game 7 at home last season. he's got the great reputation but just isn't that great. i think he'll play great now to end the season with yao, but thats the fact that this has to happen to get a nice 20-game spurt says a lot.

He is pretty good but he trees everything.

another one of these fucking threads? Wow... ginobili sucks

Kajun $endz

lol his point was that threads sayin "you must realize ginobli is awesome" are becoming daily. o yea and hes not that good

lol @ your man crush.

this is a stupid debate because your argument is stupid

i will not stop until he's in the hall of fame (which will happen i promise you)

your argument is biased and equally as stupid

why don't you come up with the list of better players so i can tell you exactly how you are wrong

yes i'm a fan of ginobili, but i'm using stats to defend this and started this off linking to hollinger on espn

just cuz i shave a bald spot into the top of my head doesn't mean i'm wrong does it?

in other words, you put parentheses around every person you know shouldn't be on there, lol.

"stoudemire (nash helps him so much)"

I have never disagreed with a statement more than that (at least in this thread)

Stoudemire is very capable of creating his own shots, he's a monster on the boards, and at any moment he'll throw it down on 2.

Stoudemire definitely gets too little credit, I mean Nash helps but you're basically saying Stoudemire can't hold his own.

GUY CAME BACK FORM A WHOLE SEASON OFF AND PICKED UP RIGHT WHERE HE LEFT ALL. THIS GUY IS SO UNDER RATED!!!

Ginobli's a great player, but there is no way I'd pick him over Stoudemire.

BTW- Monta Ellis deserves a mention

y083