Somewhere There Is An Argentinian Coach In A Very Deep Cave
This is Sergio Hernnadez. He coached the 2008 Argentinian National Basketball Team.
And right now, Gregg Popovich is on a plane to kick him in the nuts.
You see, Popovich, who is a light hearted man who seems to genuinely care about the people he works with and shows a remarkable amount of perspective for someone employed in professional sports, gave his blessing to Manu Ginobili to play for the Argentinian National Team in the Olympics. You may have seen them on your television or seen pictures on what the kids call the ‘World Wide Web’ or ‘Information Superhighway.’
And they wound up with the Bronze. Not nearly as good as the GOLD. But hey, not bad.
But in the process, Manu fell down went OHMYGODMYANKLEITHURTS. And not just like how he ACTS like he’s hurt whenever he drives. Actually for real hurt. It took Ginobili months to recover. But the Spurs did as the Spurs do, and weathered the storm. So even though Popovich maintained contact with the Argentinian coach and wasn’t too pleased when Manu came home with the defect, he’s a forgiving man. Bygones and all that. On to the playoffs.
WHOOPS.
Personally, I like to imagine in a yellow jumpsuit with a pad and a pen, a la Kill Bill, tracking him to the end of the earth. And when he finds that coach, he’s going to do what he does best.
Make fun of him.
Pop will make fun of the way he coaches. He’ll make fun of his players, especially that sweaty Scola kid. He’ll make fun of his tie, his coat, his shoes. The way he talks. His favorite wine. He’ll mock his favorite episode of House (OF COURSE IT’S NOT MALARIA!). He’ll mock his kids. He’ll mock his parents. He’ll mock everyone and everything he’s ever loved. And then he will say it’s been good to see him and go home. Because Pop’s just that kind of guy.
This doesn’t knock the Spurs out of the Western Conference Finals for sure. But it drops them down to the rest of the pack below the Lakers. They’re down there again. In the scrum. The pack. The alley. They still have enough to beat the Nugggets, the Blazers, the Jazz, the Rockets, the Mavs, and the Hornets. But the odds of an upset just went way, way up.
Before the injury, I started thinking about the Mavs and if they could put together an attack agianst the Spurs. The Mavs are the only other team besides the Lakers to take down the Spurs in a playoff series. Kidd’s finally playing well again. They have muscle off the bench with Bass, and long athletic defenders. Throw in Dirkalicious and their depth, and they could push them to six, maybe seven games.
But now Ginobili’s out. When Parker’s gassed and Timmy’s having a bad night (flip them if you rather), Ginobili is the saving grace. The left drift. High off the glass. Falling down as if shot. The complaints, constant in the ear of the official. I can complain as much as I like about Ginobili’s antics, but the guys’ a freaking warrior. And to not have him is a bummer.
Part of me wonders if Ginobili’s ankle broke not from a fracture caused by stress, but of a broken heart. Without the Suns to torture and humiliate on ABC, how can that ankle go on?
