Those 36-year-old legs of Manu Ginobilis have been feeling pretty spry this season. Barcelona Andres Iniesta Youth Jersey . That spring in his step that had been missing for so much of last season was back, helping the Argentine magician become a game-changer again for the San Antonio Spurs. So when the lane opened up in the third quarter Tuesday night against the Houston Rockets, Ginobili decided to go for it. He rose up, cradled the ball in his left hand and threw down a solid, one-handed dunk. And with that, Ginobili joined the growing list of injured Spurs. The team said Wednesday that Ginobili strained his left hamstring on the dunk and will miss the next three to four weeks. Ginobili joins Danny Green (broken finger), Kawhi Leonard (broken left hand) and Tiago Splitter (sprained right shoulder) on the teams injured list, a run of bad luck that has torn apart the teams depth, particularly on the wing. "You play the guys on the bench," San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich said. "We cant play the guys on the other team. I know that." The team is hopeful Splitter, who hasnt played since Jan. 4, will return in time for the teams annual rodeo road trip, a 10-game stint that begins Monday in New Orleans. That would help out Tim Duncan and the big men up front, but the problems on the perimeter remain. After struggling for much of last season, Ginobili signed a two-year contract to remain in San Antonio. He has rebounded this season to resume his role as the Spurs playmaker off the bench, averaging 12.1 points, 4.5 assists and shooting 52 per cent on his 2-point shots. During a monthlong stretch from the middle of December to the middle of January, Ginobili scored at least 20 points five times in a 16-game span to help the Spurs once again establish themselves among the NBAs elite teams. Hes been pretty healthy as well, missing two games earlier in January because of a sore left hamstring before injuring it more severely on Tuesday night. Ginobili, who has long been the emotional centre of this close-knit team, was dejected as he limped off the court. His injury puts even more responsibility on the shoulders of veteran Marco Belinelli, who has been a reliable shooter in a supporting role after coming over in free agency from the Chicago Bulls. Belinelli is averaging 10.9 points and shooting 46.7 per cent from 3-point range for the Spurs. With the injuries to Leonard and Green, Belinelli had become a starter on the wing and seen his playing time steadily increase. Belinelli played 38 minutes in the loss to Houston, and the Spurs recently signed NBDL standout Othyus Jeffers to a 10-day contract to give them another warm body on the perimeter. Thanks in large part to Ginobilis return to form, the Spurs entered Wednesdays game against the Bulls at 33-12, good for second place in the hyper-competitive Western Conference. But theyve lost three of their last four games, are 1-11 against the top seven teams in the league and now face the daunting challenge of that long road trip without Ginobili, and with Portland (33-13) and the Clippers (32-15) right on their heels. Chicago is facing its own injuries woes. All-Star point guard Derrick Rose was lost for the season with a knee injury for the second consecutive year and starting centre Joakim Noah (illness) and guard Kirk Hinrich (right hamstring) are game-time decisions for tonights game against San Antonio. So, Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau said he has little empathy for the Spurs, not because Chicago is also battling injuries, but because of how deep San Antonio is. "Its the nature of the league. Its the grind of an 82-game season. Youre going to take injuries on. Its how you respond and the Spurs have always done a good job with that. Its the way the Spurs are built." Barcelona Luis Suarez Authentic Jersey . A wide-eyed 18-year-old rookie, fresh out of high school, Connolly was just thrilled to be in the league.Barcelona Messi Replica Jersey . Ibrahimovic calmly slotted the ball into the left side of the net in the 52nd minute of a game that Sweden largely controlled but failed to dominate. Ola Toivonen gave Sweden the lead in the 23rd minute after a blunder by goalkeeper Branimir Aleksic, but Neven Subotic equalized just four minutes later with a header from a corner.What kind of situation were you in when the trade happened?I knew I wanted to be a Number 1 somewhere, and at the end of that season, I was going to become a UFA. So once that season was played out, I knew I was going to be on the open market. How did you hear the news? We got to Toronto and we were having a morning skate the day of the deadline, since we were playing that night. Lindy Ruff called me into his office before I got on the ice, and we started talking about what I wanted to do. Did I want to go be a Number one somewhere?I told him it was out of my control. I knew I was going to try to move on in the summer, but I wasnt going to demand a trade: I loved the group of guys and the fans. So we talked for a little bit, and then he said, “Youve been traded.”And I said, “Oh! Well, okay. Where?”He said: “Dont know yet. Still working out the details.”I dont know if there were a couple options out there, but he said, “Get your stuff at the hotel and take a car service backk to Buffalo, head home and well figure it out from there. Barcelona Messi Soccer Jersey. ” About a half an hour later I got a call from [GM] Darcy [Regier] saying, “Youre going to Philadelphia, youll get a call from Paul Holmgren pretty soon.” He said, “Why dont you meet the team in Boston, theyre playing there in a couple days.” So I flew to Boston and met everybody there.Is it awkward joining a new team for the first time?It was very interesting. I was in an unfamiliar place, with new teammates and coaches and trainers. But I knew Robert Esche and Simon Gagne, so I went and talked to them. You find the guys youre comfortable with and you latch onto them! Did it feel like your whole life had been upended?My wife and I had two young kids, but we were prepared for it. I went to Philly and found an apartment we could stay in for the rest of the year. I got it all set up, and my wife drove down with the kids about 10 days later. I was waiting on the corner for her, showing her where to park. ' ' '
