Manu Ginobili heats up in game one (GIF)
By Hayden Kane
When the San Antonio Spurs play against the Miami Heat, as they are in the NBA Finals once again in 2014, the whole “big three” discussion gets bandied about quite a bit.
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Perhaps rightfully so. Both of these franchises have enjoyed prosperous stretches thanks in large part to the fact that they had a “big three.” For the San Antonio Spurs, that would be Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, and 6th man wizard Manu Ginobili.
In the case of Ginobili, you could observe that his hold on that status in the last couple years or so has been called into question. Kawhi Leonard has been arguably the third most important member of the Spurs ahead of Ginobili. And while it is not necessary, or useful frankly, to say that Leonard has “replaced” Ginobili in the big three, it is still debatable how much the veteran lefty is able to offer in crunch time.
That was a problem for the Spurs in the Finals last year, but if game one is any indication this year will be different. Manu heated things up in the first half, nailing a trio of three-pointers and scoring 11 points.
As the Spurs try to hold off the Heat on their home court, contributions like these from their veteran guard are hugely important. Also, isn’t it great to see that step back? Vintage Manu right there.