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There weren't all that many bright spots in last night's game against the New York Knicks, apart from Marco Belinelli's career night. But Manu Ginobili had a number of great drives to go with his 12 assists, and this one takes the cake.
Like most of Manu's plays near center court, this one begins with a pick set on Ginobili's man by one of the bigs, this time Tim Duncan. Then Manu goes to work. A jab-step right, followed by a quick dart to his left, two dribbles, a behind the back move back to his right, and those two long strides that we have come to know so well.
But last night, as he jumps off his right leg, he's still quite a ways from the basket. But he's moving pretty quickly by this point so he takes a big leap and ... well, he hangs in the air is what he does. Then he finishes with a right-handed layup and falls to the court to save the his left ankle from having to bear the full impact of his landing.
Just a few months ago, there was no shortage of NBA analysts who were criticizing the Spurs for re-signing Manu to his two year $14M contract. With plays like this happening regularly, how long will it take for the mea culpas to start rolling in?
Maybe it's best if we don't hold our breath.
