A lot of the San Antonio Spurs players are trying to figure out what went wrong in the NBA Finals. The team took the Miami Heat to a Game 7, but lost out in the end. Some blame age while others are blaming the coaching staff. Veteran Manu Ginobili simply believes that injuries got in the way of the team winning the championship in 2012.
Ginobili is no longer the young star that he was. Approaching 36, the guard is on the wrong end of the age spectrum for the NBA. Handling the grind of a full season plus playoffs took a toll on him last season. Last year, by the time Game 7 rolled around, the Spurs has played 103 games. Ginobili had played just 81 and admits he was just tired by the end of it.
"The physical part. Having to keep rehabilitating and getting in shape after injuries. Having to play with the parking break on because I'm coming back from a muscle strain. That wore me out and it was hard. I have a great time when I'm healthy and playing, I feel lucky playing with the team and coaching staff I play for. But the physical problems drained me," Ginobili said in an interview with an Argentinean publication.
The guard admits that retirement was really the only option for him at that time. He was tired of the injuries and fed up with the rehab. He discussed his options with his wife, but by the end of the season, while he was upset with the loss, he knew he retirement was not the answer.
"But when I recovered physically I started to feel better about it all," Ginobili said. "When the season ended I grieved for 48, 72 hours and I didn't feel retired. I knew something was missing, that I still wanted to play...."
Ginobili reached a two-year extension with the Spurs worth $14 million. He will be 37 when that contract ends. It is assumed both Ginobili and Tim Duncan will be out by then.
While Ginobili blames injuries on lack of production down the stretch, former Spur DeJuan Blair blamed the coaching staff. The forward claimed Gregg Popovich did not play him enough in the playoffs, resulting in the team losing that final game. Blair told the Dallas Morning News that Popovich did not like him and his fall out of the rotation hurt the team.
Whatever the reason for the loss, the Spurs are never a team to count out. With stars like Tony Parker, Ginobili and Duncan on the court, it is likely they will see the playoffs again. Now Ginobili just has to hope he is healthy for them.
