The realization that Manu Ginobili would be gone for the rest of the season, including the playoffs, hit the Spurs hard.

“It was devastating,” Roger Mason Jr. admitted before Tuesday night’s 99-89 victory over the thorn-in their-side Thunder.

The Spurs began life without Manu by reshuffling the deck … again. Just when they were getting used to playing with Ginobili again, he’s gone. The void is sizable on and off the hardwood.

“We need to be more aggressive to make up for his offense, but with Manu it’s more the intangibles — the energy, the big plays, passion, effort,” center Matt Bonner said. “That’s where we’re going to miss him the most.”

Ginobili has a stress fracture in his lower right leg after recently missing 19 games rehabbing a stress reaction in the same spot. Pronounced completely healthy and ready to go just two weeks ago, the latest injury was completely unexpected for the team’s most dynamic talent and emotional leader.

“We proceeded under the impression that it was healed,” San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich said. “…On top of that he’s taken extra time from when they said he was ready, we held him out even longer and then he’s played five games. He felt great after every game and the next day, and all of the sudden he felt what he felt, so in that sense, yeah, it was a surprise.”

Ginobili’s 44-game season has been one of fits and starts. It began in street clothes after offseason ankle surgery stemming from an injury at the Beijing Olympics. The Argentine was sidelined through late November, and after a solid two-and-a-half-month stretch, the stress reaction cropped up around the All-Star break.

“You can’t sit around and mope about it,” Tim Duncan said. “If there’s a positive of it, we played without him for 19 games and we’re used to it a little bit. Having him there gives us one heck of a boost, but he’s not there.”

Ginobili won’t need surgery, but there’s also no chance of the reigning Sixth Man of the Year making another comeback. “Obviously, I wouldn’t want to bring him back again,” Popovich said.

Ginobili’s aborted return sparked hope that San Antonio would head into the playoffs relatively healthy. Even with Duncan hobbled by sore knees over the last month or so, the sight of the Duncan, Ginobili and Tony Parker inspired confidence in the Spurs locker room that a fourth title together was possible. Now they’re down a man again.

“I look at it as a challenge right now for our team,” Popovich said. “It’s about attitude. We can do the best possible job we can of continuing to believe in each other and put out the effort that’s required to win basketball games or we can feel sorry for ourselves and say, ‘Oh gosh, without Manu it’s going to be really difficult to reach our goals.’

“That’s not how the team is built.”

Ginobili is an irreplaceable part of the foundation, especially when considering the Spurs’ postseason chances. Popovich is the first to tell anyone that a team needs all its horses in the playoffs to stand a shot at winning a title.

“We’re used to rolling,” Popovich said of this time of year. “We’re used to having the first- or second-best record after the All-Star break.”

Those left have no choice but to step up if the Southwest Division leaders, who are just 6-6 in their last 12 games, are going to contend. Included in that stretch was two losses to the lottery-bound Thunder. Getting the best of OKC was more important than one might think.

“With all the stuff happening right now, with Manu being out and all the tough losses and the way we’ve been playing the last 10 games, it’s a big win for us,” Parker said.

Mason returns to the starting lineup three games after being replaced by Ginobili. Parker is in the midst of a career year, having carried the team during Ginobili’s absence and with Duncan not 100 percent. Role players such as Finley, Bonner, Drew Gooden and Bruce Bowen need to take on bigger roles.

“We’ve been making adjustments all year from injuries,” Bonner said. “This is just another chapter.”

Finely added: “We played already without him, and had some success. So we know what it takes. Everybody has to play a little bit better.”

The backup point guard spot is also in flux, with rookie George Hill and veteran Jacque Vaughn the options behind Parker. Popovich acknowledged that starting Ginobili again was an adjustment after using Parker and Mason as the first-team backcourt for much of the season.

“We changed the team around significantly to accommodate that, as far as rotations and people playing,” Popovich said. “We’ll have to redefine it again and retool it again, but they’ll give it their best effort without any doubt.”

If the Spurs get Finley and Bonner hot again from outside, continue to work the athletic Gooden into the mix down low, and have Parker and Duncan do what they do, they are still dangerous. Parker and Duncan both had double-doubles against OKC.

Whether they can be dangerous enough without Ginobili to challenge the Lakers and the rest of the West’s contenders is something else.

“It won’t shake our confidence, but you’d like to go into battle with a full team,” Finley said. “Unfortunately, that’s what the NBA is all about. When one guy goes down, it’s an opportunity for other guys to step up.”

(nba.com)

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