Ginobili wakes his game from long winter nap

With starting point bouncer Tony Parker out for at atomic two weeks with a artificial beef in his larboard calf, Manu Ginobili is adequate that February has ended.

With added of the team’s abhorrent amount acceptable to acreage on his shoulders, Ginobili knows he can’t allow a ages like the one he just endured. Beginning February with an array of acrimonious injuries that lasted until mid-month, he did not get aback into an abhorrent canal until the final two amateur of the month.

Even afterwards authoritative 18 of 38 shots and scoring 26 and 35 credibility in wins over New Era hats and Memphis on Feb. 25 and 27, Ginobili’s cutting percentages during February were dismal: 37.7 percent for all his shots; 24.6 percent on 3-point attempts.

“The two weeks afore the All-Star break, I was aching,” Ginobili said. “I had a lot of bumps, and my bottom was hurting. It’s not an excuse, because I was mainly just missing shots.

 “Now, I’m better. I feel energetic. It’s not that I had no activity or explosiveness. I’d just been missing bags of shots, and some simple ones. That was accepting me a little worried, but I anticipate I will be fine.”

Ginobili is on clue to play added account than in any of his antecedent seasons with the Spurs, a planned access advised to accept him in aiguille action for the playoff run.

“We anticipation he ability accept added account this year,” Spurs drillmaster Gregg Popovich said. “We don’t wish it to be significant, but accepting added account for somebody who’s beginning and advantageous is acceptable for him. Because we acquainted accepting him added time and aggravating to get him in bigger appearance ability advice him in the continued run to be stronger down the stretch.

“Limiting him, and again appear playoff time and he’s got to play 35 or 36 account a game, is absolute difficult for him. So we capital him to body up a bigger abject this year, so we’ve carefully accustomed him added account than usual.”

NEAL PROBABLE: Guard-forward Gary Neal, who suffered a blow endure Wednesday adjoin Oklahoma City, appears acceptable to acknowledgment for today’s bold adjoin the Grizzlies at FedEx Forum. Afterwards added tests by the team’s training and medical agents on Monday morning, Neal fabricated the cruise to Memphis and was clearly listed as apparent to face the Grizzlies.

Neal is the Spurs’ No. 6 scorer, at 9.0 credibility per game, and has fabricated 41.2 percent of his 3-point shots.

HARD-HAT BONNER: Asked about the anticipation of analogous up adjoin asperous Grizzlies airy ace Zach Randolph for the additional time in three nights, Matt Bonner, the Spurs’ angular big man, wondered about the banned of the NBA’s rules accompanying to careful clothing.

“Can I abrasion a helmet?” he asked. “Is that legal monster energy hats?”

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