Gut Check

[Odin-Loon]

I was reading the article about Manu's injury and it appears to me that not just in Spurs land but across the media everyone has said that Manu is the beat that makes the Spurs go. He is the edge we need. With him and Robert Horry out is this not the pportunity that the bench(Bones, Nick, Finley, Oberto and Nazr) have been looking for.

I know that they had this chance before Manu got hurt the first time, but now that they were pretty much called out along with the rest of the Spurs after the beating's we took from Detroit is this a gut check time for them?

I think so and I predict success, how about you?

[ATHENEA]

If last nite is any indication of thigs to come I can say guts are FIIIIINE
Our 2006 team was delivered/born yesterday at MIA. Go figure...

[samstheman]

i believe that this will be a great opportunity for brent barry to really get his game going. hopefully it works and he takes full advantage.

[MarineForLife]

I saw a different fire in Timmy's eyes last night, both before and after Manu went down. He had his PO game face on. Tony, of course, was in another world. I would much prefer to have Manu, as he adds another dimension to our entire play that is completely unstoppable . . . but we can manage without him as he heals. We'll be OK.

[ObeOne Ginobili]

No gut checks needed. We are the Champs for a reason. I agree with Marineforlife,,Timmy had his PO face on and TP was scorching. Its now time for BB and MF to play their hearts out.. Manu's injury is like a flat tire.. You fix it and move on. That why we got NVE and MF....DEPTH.. We are fine, but we still need Manu for the Run of the Rings.. Please get better soon Manu....

[pjjrfan]

Originally Posted by ATHENEA

If last nite is any indication of thigs to come I can say guts are FIIIIINE
Our 2006 team was delivered/born yesterday at MIA. Go figure...

I agree with this, it's more delivered the core of this team are the defending champs, but something was missing. Last night, they came like usual playing down to the level of their opponents, I still see the Spurs as the much better team, but something happened when Posey put a hurt on Tony, from that point on, the Spurs were dominating, when Manu got hurt they kinda fell back but they came back with a vengeance, last night was a typical Spurs win, grind it out, sock em , drag em out fight. We all forget that before the Pistons, the Spurs defense was and still is one of the toughest in the league. They were swarming all over these guys. If Manu doesn't go down this is a blowout.

The team chose not to succumb to pity and self doubt, they gathered themselves behind Timmy, Tony and Rasho and gave it back to the Heat in spades.

[miguelito]

Huge win. Tony's coming-out party. Spurs nut up and play playoff basketball in the face of adversity.

Also an important game for Barry, who we desperately need to play well.

We'll be fine - let's just keep playing hard and get everyone healthy for the playoffs.

Also, the injury bug will eventually bite Detroit. All five of those guys can't stay healthy all season - it just doesn't happen that way.

Despite all of our injuries, we still only have 9 losses. That's pretty amazing, actually. And we've won a ton of close games, too. This year's team is taking a while to gel, but we're getting there.

[MarineForLife]

Originally Posted by miguelito

. . . the injury bug will eventually bite Detroit. All five of those guys can't stay healthy all season - it just doesn't happen that way.

Wouldn't it be interesting if one of the Wallaces went down with an injury late in the season or just before the PO's or even during the PO's???? As bad as it is for us, it could always be worse . . . and I wouldn't mind if it got worse on someone else!

Originally Posted by miguelito

Despite all of our injuries, we still only have 9 losses. That's pretty amazing, actually. And we've won a ton of close games, too. This year's team is taking a while to gel, but we're getting there.

This is one of the best starts we've ever had (30-9), and not many expected us to start this well having taken on the vets we did (MF, NVE, Oberto). We stay and get healthy, we'll be fine come PO time.

[curiousspirit]

From what I understand, our current standing is a franchise record (or tie) with last year at this time. Considering the injuries, lack of energy, etc. we are in great shape. Is the Rodeo road trip with or without family members???

[carina_gino20]

The Miami game clearly showed how deadly we are as a team if the bench really comes to play. When you look at the boxscore, you may only notice TP's 38-pt performance or Timmy's 14 and 11 night. But every single play our bench made, and Bruce and Rasho, enabled us to pull through with the win.