Spurs notebook: Ginobili still troubled by back

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Spurs notebook: Ginobili still troubled by back

Web Posted: 11/30/2006 12:24 AM CST

Johnny Ludden
Express-News Staff Writer

SALT LAKE CITY — Manu Ginobili said he continues to feel better but will have his back re-examined by the Spurs' doctors today in San Antonio.
Ginobili hasn't played since bruising his lower back late in the third quarter of Friday's loss to Dallas.

"I'm still not able to run properly," said Ginobili, who did some shooting after the Spurs' shootaround Wednesday morning. "When I put my body weight on my right leg, it pinches here in the back.

"The other day, I tried to work out and unintentionally jumped and it pinched. So I'm not ready."

Ginobili's back was tender immediately after he suffered the injury, and the Spurs flew to Seattle the following day, so today will be the first opportunity for him to have a more thorough exam.

Ginobili has received ultrasound and massage treatment, but he's still experiencing some tightness.

"I'm day to day," Ginobili said. "When I did it, I really thought I was going to play (Wednesday). But I tried and I'm not ready."

Oh, the memories: It doesn't matter what uniform Derek Fisher is wearing. If the current Jazz guard is playing the Spurs, someone is sure to remind him about the 0.4 shot he hit in Game 5 of the 2004 Western Conference semifinals with the Lakers.

Not that he needs reminding.

"It's a moment I'll never forget and one I'm sure a lot of fans — in particular in San Antonio — will never forget," Fisher said. "But I think the Spurs have moved on and done well."

So has Fisher.

He left the Los Angeles Lakers the same summer he helped beat the Spurs for the security of a long-term contract with Golden State. The Warriors traded him to Utah in July.

Headband-gate: Fisher has had to make one change since joining the Jazz.

He's no longer wearing the headband he sported during his days with the Lakers. Utah coach Jerry Sloan, like Chicago general manager John Paxson, doesn't allow his players to wear one.

Bulls center Ben Wallace was benched in a game last week for wearing his headband even though he knew it was against the rules. Fisher has no plans to test Sloan.

"If you work for a company and they have rules and a code of conduct, you're pretty much at the bottom," Fisher said. "As long as you're an employee, you have to follow the rules.

"There's not much debate about it until you're an employer. Then you can have a little more say-so about it."

Wallace has been criticized for not adhering to the rule after the Bulls gave him a $60 million contract. But the team also has come under fire for having a rule that many consider petty.

The NBA allows players to wear headbands. The Spurs, like most teams, don't forbid them.

"Either way our league loses," said Fisher, who is president of the NBA Players Association. "Ben Wallace became what fans felt good about. He represented the hard work and the class and he doesn't talk much. He just goes out and does his job.

"For Ben to be in something like this, I think ... for a lot of our fans, it's disappointing. No matter how you spin the story, Ben's going to come out looking bad to a certain percentage of people and the team and the league are going to look bad, too."

He's no longer wearing the headband he sported during his days with the Lakers. Utah coach Jerry Sloan, like Chicago general manager John Paxson, doesn't allow his players to wear one.