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The latter excursion fits in with the book he’s currently reading: “Man’s Search for Meaning,” Viktor Frankl’s personal account as a concentration camp inmate. “Manu wants to know why we do this, why we do that,” Popovich said. “Everything in the world. Politics, history, economics. He’s special that way. There’s nobody else on the team that’s as interested in the world as he is.” San Antonio Express-News

San Antonio Spurs, Manu Ginobili, Gregg Popovich 

There was just one tiny little problem: Ginobili’s sly ball-handling was apparently so effective that it duped NBA official Leroy Richardson out of calling a pretty clear violation. With DeRozan standing a mere foot and a half from the sideline, Ginobili’s only path around him was to violate the court’s side boundary. That in itself isn’t a violation, but reclaiming one’s dribble after going out of bounds certainly is. The NBA’s 2011-12 Case Book actually outlines just such a scenario as a rule clarification: When dribbling, Player A1 steps out-of-bounds but is not in contact with the ball. He then returns inbounds and continues his dribble. Is this legal or illegal? Illegal. Player A1 cannot be the first player to touch the ball after going out-of-bounds, until it is touched by another player on the court. RULE 10 – SECTION II – b SI.com

San Antonio Spurs, Manu Ginobili, Referees 

Question: If you were not a basketball player, what would you be? Manu Ginobili: That’s a good question. I always thought about studying accounting or management, I like numbers. At 16, I was always pretty sure I was going to play basketball though. NBA.com

San Antonio Spurs, Manu Ginobili 

After 10 years of playing in San Antonio, Spurs guard Manu Ginobili’s mastery of English is flawless, but the ebullient Argentine has had to strike one of his favorite adjectives from his vocabulary. Thrilled with his injury-delayed season debut Saturday in a 110-100 victory over the Utah Jazz at the AT&T Center, the two-time All-Star had to catch himself while describing his feelings. “It felt very good,” he said, smiling broadly. “Of course, very happy to be — wait, ‘happy’ is not a word anymore — but I was very satisfied. I was able to play for a few minutes. I felt better than expected.” San Antonio Express-News

San Antonio Spurs, Manu Ginobili, Gregg Popovich 

Ginobili is awash in the world of social media — he has 1.4 million followers on Twitter — so he was acutely aware of the “war on happy” that erupted after Spurs coach Gregg Popovich rankled at the suggestion by TNT interviewer David Aldridge during Thursday’s televised game against the Thunder that he might be happy with the Spurs’ shot selection in that game. “Happy?” Popovich replied to Aldridge. “Happy? Happy is not a word we think about in a game.” San Antonio Express-News

San Antonio Spurs, Manu Ginobili, Gregg Popovich 

Veteran shooting guard Manu Ginobili said he expects to play limited minutes tonight against Utah after missing the first two games of the season with back spasms. “(I feel) much better, of course,” Ginobili said after Saturday’s shootaround at the team practice facility. “Mentally and physically, since I’m going to be able to play. I had a tough week last week with a lot of back pain. I just couldn’t practice with the team. I needed more time.” San Antonio Express-News

San Antonio Spurs, Manu Ginobili 

Mike Monroe: @manuginobili won't travel to New Orleans for opener; back to be reassessed Thursday Twitter @Monroe_SA

San Antonio Spurs, Manu Ginobili, Injuries 

Though he started the final two games of the Western Conference finals against the Thunder after Green missed 20 of 28 on 3-pointers in the first four games of the series, Ginobili is certain he will return to a bench role when the regular season begins. “I expect to come from the bench again, but who knows for how long?” he said. “Every year, it changes. But I don’t think we’re going to change much this time. We finished the last season great, 20 wins a row. Unfortunately, we lost the last four. It happens. “But I think we found a good bench combination with Jack (Stephen Jackson), Tiago (Splitter), Gary (Neal), Matt (Bonner) and me. We had a great second unit that was very successful last year, so I don’t think that much is going to change.” San Antonio Express-News

San Antonio Spurs, Manu Ginobili 

We'll also learn a lot about stamina and player health, though that's a long way away. But here's one example, via sources familiar with the data: After Manu Ginobili broke a bone in his left hand early last season, the Spurs' camera data indicated that the other four starters were suddenly expending more energy — spending more time running at peak speeds — with Danny Green in Ginobili's place. Think about the implications of something like that, for both on-court strategy and training schedules. The Spurs' general substitution patterns last season were a bit different than the typical NBA team's, with Gregg Popovich removing more of his starters earlier than most coaches do. Grantland

San Antonio Spurs, Manu Ginobili, Gregg Popovich, Danny Green 

Manu Ginobili is a superstar who doesn’t start and James Harden was instrumental as a sixth man in helping Oklahoma City reach the NBA Finals last season. That was part of the argument Mike Woodson made to J.R. Smith, who could easily start at shooting guard for the Knicks, except for the fact that the head coach sees Smith’s real value as a backup. New York Daily News

New York Knicks, San Antonio Spurs, Mike Woodson, Manu Ginobili, J.R. Smith 

In just 14 minutes and 36 seconds of his first preseason game with the Spurs, rookie guard Nando De Colo established himself as a fan favorite Saturday with some of the slickest passing seen at the AT&T Center since Manu Ginobili’s rookie season 10 years ago. He also impressed some teammates. According to Stephen Jackson, De Colo is reminiscent of another fan favorite. “Nando,” Jackson said, “is another Manu Ginobili.” San Antonio Express-News

San Antonio Spurs, Manu Ginobili, Stephen Jackson, Nando De Colo 

Julian Mozo: #NBA A little bird from San Antonio tells me the Spurs are seriously considering extending Manu Ginobili's contract this season. Twitter @JulianMozo

San Antonio Spurs, Manu Ginobili 

Don’t be surprised if in typical Spurs’ fashion this season they suddenly announce that they’ve come to an agreement on an extension with Ginobili. His play last year and in the Olympics this summer showed that he clearly has plenty left in the tank, and they have youth on the perimeter now in Kawhi Leonard and Danny Green that allows them to reduce his workload to a reasonable rate. The mutual interest from both sides should be enough to avoid pushing off the inevitable until the summer. HoopsWorld

San Antonio Spurs, Manu Ginobili 

Ginobili, oft-accused of practicing the tactic in the past, said he doesn’t think the new rules will do much to change the way the game is played. “It’s going to be very hard to determine when it’s a flop and when it’s not,” Ginobili said. “There’s a lot of contact, a lot of heavy players, and it can be tricky. I don’t think (fining players) is going to happen much.” San Antonio Express-News

San Antonio Spurs, Manu Ginobili, Referees 

It didn’t take Leonard long to prove his worth. He had a stellar rookie campaign and, as a result, his responsibilities will expand. “He’s going to be a Spur for life if the planets, agents and all those sort of things line up,” Popovich said. “We’d love for him to be a Spur for life. He’s a sponge as far as absorbing information, seeking out information and adding a work ethic to it. When he came in, he couldn’t shoot much. With the tutelage of Chip Engelland, he has really improved in that area and all a sudden he’s shooting threes, which none of us dreamed he’d be able to do last year. Defensively, he’s good. He’s going to handle the ball more this year, be in pick-and-rolls more this year. We expect a lot from him.” HoopsWorld

San Antonio Spurs, Manu Ginobili 

Saying that he plays for the love of the game, Ginobili asserted that being in the final season of a three-year, $38.8 million contract won’t change his approach this season. “I don’t even think like this,” he said. “I don’t care. If it’s for a lot of money, a huge amount of money, I don’t care. I’m fine with what I’ve earned in my career. That is not a point of emphasis this year. I just want to play well and help my team make it as far as last year.” San Antonio Express-News

San Antonio Spurs, Manu Ginobili 

Ginobili, 35, gave no hint if he will play beyond this season, but stressed his preference to stay with the Spurs if he does. “If I’m going to play next year, it’s highly likely it’s going to be here,” he said. “So I really don’t care (about this being a contract season).” San Antonio Express-News

San Antonio Spurs, Manu Ginobili 

Jeff McDonald: In last year of contact, Ginobili drops "if" bomb: "If I play another season, I'm pretty sure it will be here." Twitter @JMcDonald_SAEN

San Antonio Spurs, Manu Ginobili 

Manu Ginobili doesn't know if he'll play with the National Team the World Championship in Spain in 2014. "The only thing I know is that I'll be 37 years old and the situation is not the same with that age," Ginobili told LU2 radio show. El Periodiquito

San Antonio Spurs, Manu Ginobili, World Championship 

Manu Ginobili: I'm not playing the World Championship qualifying tournament next year. But after that, we'll see. La Nacion

San Antonio Spurs, Manu Ginobili, World Championship