Round 5, Pick 10: Manu Ginobili, SG, San Antonio Spurs

Fantasy offseasons are all about pegging breakout players from year-to-year.  After a stellar campaign two seasons ago, Manu Ginobili was seen going in the second and early third rounds last season.  This level of draft position left many owners disappointed after there was an unexpected drop in Ginobili’s minutes, to less than 30 a game (27.9).  This decrease in minutes attributed to a decrease across the board in nearly all fantasy categories… for the regular season.

Now, as we look at how Ginobili was used in the postseason, we saw an increase to 35 minutes a game against the Mavericks, including a foul-plagued 27 minute contest.  And how did he respond when given the floor time?

Yes, I’ll order the 32-ounce playing time?  Well, done…

I’ve been repeatedly harping on “opportunity” as the catalyst for fantasy production.  If any player can be the poster boy for this, it’s Ginobili who gave his best efforts in lobbying for more PT. 

Ginobili’s regular season per-game stats:

27.9 min, 15.1 pts, 3.5 reb, 3.6 ast, 1.5 stl, 46% FG, 78% FT

In the series against the Dallas Mavericks, Ginobili posted the following per-game stats:

34.7 min, 21.3 pts, 4.3 reb, 1.9 ast, 2.3 stl, 49% FG, 87% FT

Hellllloooooo playing time!

It couldn’t be more evident that Ginobili not only relies on minutes to increase his production, but that he deserves to be on the floor at least 33 minutes a game.  After the postseason, it will be very difficult for the Spurs to keep Manu off the floor. 

Well, Scott, what if they keep him to his 30 minute ceiling?  What can we expect?  If that’s the case, you have yourself a solid across the board contributor, with a ton (repeat, TON) of upside, that you just landed in the late fifth round.  Snag Manu, pat yourself on the back, and realize that you may just have yourself a solid fantasy contributor that you just bought for $.50 on the dollar.

Quite the team member, as well…

Ginobili won’t ‘wow’ you with any flashiness or windmill jams.  But he will ruin the weeks of any fantasy opponents when paired with this squad of dime-droppers and rock-rippers.  Heat this team to boiling, mix in some Manu, and voila… a healthy dish of solid percentages, with huge steal totals – hold the turnovers.  Dig in, folks…

Other Team Members:

1.10. Chris Paul, PG, New Orleans Hornets
2.3. Steve Nash, PG, Phoenix Suns
3.10. Brad Miller, C, Sacramento Kings
4.3. Mehmet Okur, PF/C, Utah Jazz