Manu Ginobili - Actually, I can defend myself, I can take pictures of bats, let alone balls

Usually, when we mention Manu Ginobili's name, it is basically closely linked to labels such as "demon sword", "serpentine breakthrough" and "European step". His attack is like a spirit snake on the Pampas grassland, strange, agile and deadly, and can always tear the opponent's defense line at critical moments.

Watching Manu's offense is like enjoying a visual feast. He will not have a difficult pull or lean back like Kobe Maddie, but he has dazzling European steps and snake-shaped breakthroughs; his three-pointers are not outstanding, but his weird rhythm has always been a nightmare for his opponent.

However, when we relish his offensive art, we often ignore an important fact - Manu's defense is also of excellent level. It can be said that defense is a severely underestimated shining point in his career.

When it comes to Manu's defense, everyone's first impression should be "stealing". As the Spurs' steal king in history, his average number of steals per game has reached 1.3 times in his career (1,057 games in the regular season, and 287 times in 218 games in the playoffs). This data far exceeds most shooting guards in the same period and further reflects his keen sense of ball rights.

Manu's steal does not depend on exaggerated physical confrontation or lightning speed, but on precise prediction and ultimate sense of position. He is good at taking advantage of the opponent's dribbling rhythm loophole, and suddenly breaks out and completes the ball interception when the ball holder is about to change direction or pass the ball.

What is even more commendable is that Manu's steals are almost never blind. He won't risk losing his position in pursuit of data, but always puts team defense first. As Popovich said, "Manu's steals are not for showing off, but for giving the team a chance to counterattack." This "controlled aggressiveness" makes his steals both efficient and stable.

Let's talk about Manu's defensive style, which is as "unconventional" as his offense. As a shooting guard, he does not have the strong body like James or the explosive bounce like Kobe, but he can become a "nightmare" for opponents with his outstanding sense of position, prediction ability and basketball wisdom.

We know that people who really play well have a strong sense of position, that is, they will stand in the "right place" - Duncan is, and so is Manu.

hardly relies on "security" or "physical confrontation", but instead judges the opponent's offensive route in advance. This is Manu's way, standing in the "most uncomfortable position for the opponent", thereby changing the opponent's offense.

For example, when an opponent tries to break through, he will occupy the path to the basket ahead of time, forcing the opponent to either pass the ball or fall into the trap of "dribbling the ball to hit people". This "steady" defensive strategy allows him to always be calm when facing a strong forward or a fast defender.

Speaking of creating a ball hitting someone, there is a saying that describes Manu - the offensive 3 people can't hold it, but the defense can fall as soon as it touches - this is his cleverness: using the opponent's offensive inertia, suddenly stand still at the moment when the opponent takes off or breaks through, and let the opponent hit him on his own initiative.

This technique not only requires accurate prediction of the opponent's movements, but also requires strong psychological endurance - after all, if you are not careful, you will be judged as a "blocking foul." But Manu can turn this risk into an advantage. He has repeatedly resolved his opponent's offense by "dribbling the ball to hit people" in his career, becoming the "invisible shield" in the Spurs' defensive system.

However, when facing some balls that can be defended, Manu did not hesitate. Many people saw him as thin and thin, thinking that he was as physically in poor condition as other white people, but in fact, Manu's physical fitness is also an underestimated "defensive capital".

I believe everyone remembers a scene where the ancestor Rand made a fast attack and wanted to dunk with both hands. Manu jumped up and pressed the ball with one hand, and knocked Rand off the cap.

At that time, I was wondering what a young rand is? Manu jumped like this and actually made him lose face!

So we can't let Manu look fool. Although he doesn't often use dunks or blocks to show his physical fitness, his physical condition is actually far superior to most shooting guards. His wingspan (about 2.01 meters), flexibility and core strength allow him to easily deal with various confrontations while defending. So what about

rand? Garnett lets Manu caps fall to the ground.

In the Malaysia GDP combination, Manu's defensive role is crucial. Duncan is the "stabilizing force" of the inside line, Bowen and Green are the "defensive gate" of the back line, and Manu is the "bridge connecting the inside and outside lines."

The meaning is that he can not only guard the opponent's core defender from the outside, but also make up for the inside if necessary, reducing the pressure for Duncan.

Popovich once commented: "Manu is one of the players in our team who knows the best 'team defense'. He knows when to make up for defense, when to shrink, and when to leave room for his teammates. His defense is not for personal data, but for the whole team to become better."

This "team-centered" defensive concept makes Manu an indispensable part of the Spurs system.

Since the individual defense and team defense are not bad, why is Manu's defense underestimated? I think it's just that the offensive shines too much, the defensive style is too "low-key", and the identity of the sixth man.

Often, when we look at Manu playing, we focus on how he tear down his defense with his footsteps, plays with his opponent with passes, passes in various crotch, etc., and then subconsciously ignores his defensive contribution.

For example, when he steals the opponent and then kills one dragon to the frontcourt and uses a snake-shaped breakthrough to shake over three people and makes a layup, many people's focus is only on snake-shaped breakthroughs, not stealing the opponent.

Then, someone compared Manu and Clay. Most people thought that Clay had been keeping guard against the opponent's arrow characters, and his defense was definitely much better than Manu..

This idea is somewhat affected by an identity. Clay starts for a long time, while Manu has only 349 starts in his career (accounting for 33% of the total number of games), and most of the time he appears as the "sixth man".

He has not had a lot of playing time per game (25.4 minutes), and his defensive contribution has never been reduced by his appearances - he is the "balancer of offense and defense" in the Spurs system. But the label of "Sixth Man" made people mistakenly believe that his defensive contributions are not as good as those of the starter.

In fact, Manu's regular season defensive efficiency is 103.7 and the playoffs is 102.9; compared with many starters in the same position, they are no less than that, or even higher.

Moreover, compared with the visual impact brought by "violent" defense, Manu's "intelligent" defensive style is not that eye-catching. He uses prediction, position and team cooperation to complete the defense.

Although this style is efficient, it is not easy to be remembered by the audience - after all, the audience will cheer for those "dunks" or "blocks", but will not applaud the scene of "stealing" or "creating a ball to hit people".

Looking at Manu's career, it is a model of the perfect combination of "offensive and defense". His offense is like a "demon sword", sharp, weird and deadly; his defense is like a "shield", tough, wise and reliable.

When we look back on his career, we should not only see his offensive achievements, but also remember his defensive contributions. It is this comprehensiveness of "both offensive and defensive" that has made him the cornerstone of the Spurs dynasty and one of the greatest sixth men in NBA history.

As he himself said: "Basketball is a team sport. Offense is for scoring, and defense is for winning. I don't want to be a player who is 'attack but not defending'. I want to be a player who can bring victory to the team'."

Perhaps, this is the real charm of "Demon Sword" - he can not only create miracles on the offensive end, but also protect victory on the defensive end. This kind of "comprehensiveness" is the most precious asset in his career.