A 40-year-old basketball player isn't supposed to lead his team to a playoff win over the defending world champions, even if it still leaves that team down 3-1 in the best-of-seven series. Actually, 40-year-old basketball players aren't even supposed to be in the NBA playoffs. They're supposed to be playing shirts and skins at their local Y during lunch and calling a foul on their opponents each time they miss a shot.
But quite luckily for everyone 40 and older who still swishes one from time to time on their driveway goals, no one told the San Antonio Spurs' Manu Ginobili he was too old to contribute prior to Sunday's elimination game against the Golden State Warriors.
San Antonio Spurs' Manu Ginobili, left, drives against Golden State Warriors' Draymond Green during the second half of Game 4 of a first-round NBA basketball playoff series in San Antonio, Sunday, April 22, 2018, in San Antonio. San Antonio won 103-90. (AP Photo/Darren Abate)So the Argentine lefty pumped in 10 of his 16 points in the game's final six minutes, nailing a 23-footer with 27 seconds to go to avoid a sweep and further add to a regal resume that should land him in the Hall of Fame soon after he retires.
Assuming he ever retires.
It was all such an amazing performance that the coach he beat - Steve Kerr, who once played alongside Ginobili in San Antonio - said of his old friend and teammate: "I think he should come back for two more years. I smiled when he made that corner 3 right in front of us at the end of the game. He's Manu. That's what he does."
The Spurs get a chance tonight to do something no one thought possible prior to Sunday: Make this best-of-seven series somewhat interesting. If they can find a way to win at Golden State (10:30 p.m., TNT), they could make the champs at least break a sweat, something that hasn't happened much with Kerr's team over the past three seasons against anyone but LeBron James' Cleveland Cavaliers.
That's probably not going to happen, of course. Even without Stephen Curry on the court for this Western Conference opening-round series, the Warriors have looked pretty darn impressive, especially on the defensive end. If they can keep playing that way without suffering any more injuries as Curry nears a return, they should win their third title in four years, which should seriously start the D-word, as in "dynasty," finding its way into any and all discussions about their place in pro basketball history.
But the Spurs, with five NBA titles since 1999, already have earned that word thanks in no small part to Ginobili, former Spurs great Tim Duncan, point guard Tony Parker and one of the four or five best coaches in the history of the pro game - Gregg Popovich, who's missed the last two games grieving the loss of his wife of 42 years, Erin, who died last Wednesday at the age of 67.
"It's awful, because nobody would like to be in this situation for obvious reasons," said Spurs interim head coach Ettore Messina, who will fill in for Popovich for a third straight game tonight.
But as sad as the passing of Erin Popovich is for all who knew her, the continued grand work of Ginobili - prior to this Warriors series, no player 40 or older ever had scored double figures off the bench in a postseason game, and now Ginobili has done it twice against Golden State - is worthy of serious praise. Especially when it also delivers a playoff victory.
"All heart and grit," Warriors guard Shaun Livingston said of his opponent. "He puts the Spurs on his back in big moments - fearless."
There have been a lot of fearless moments in these playoffs, from the one-man band that is Cleveland's James, to the heretofore unsung talent that is Indiana's Victor Oladipo, to Washington's John Wall, who is playing championship ball at the moment for a team that really has only one other championship-caliber player in Bradley Beal, to Anthony Davis of New Orleans, who looks like the league MVP after leading his team to a first-round sweep of Portland.
And it figures to remain this exciting for at least another round or two, what with the Pelicans now preparing for a possible second-round series against the Warriors, who swept New Orleans from the playoffs three years ago. And three of the first-round series were knotted at 2-all going into Monday night.
Still, if only for tonight, it might be worth tuning in at least one more NBA playoff game featuring Ginobili and Parker, who now own an NBA record for most playoff victories by teammates at 132.
Beyond that, Ginobili is one of just three players in league history to score 15 or more points and hand out five or more assists in a playoff game after turning 40. The other two are Hall of Famers John Stockton and Karl Malone.
"He's the ultimate competitor," teammate LaMarcus Aldridge said after Sunday's win. "He makes things happen. He has no quit in him."
For the good of the game, or at least to show the young folks how to play the game, let's hope Kerr can convince his old teammate not to quit the sport for at least two more years. Otherwise, we may well quit witnessing Ginobili's magic after tonight.
Contact Mark Wiedmer at mwiedmer@timesfreepress.com.