Ginobili to miss Spurs' next game

Dec 24, 2007 - 6:58 PM SAN ANTONIO (Ticker) -- San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich apparently will not rush Manu Ginobili back into action.

Ginobili likely will miss Wednesday's game against the Chicago Bulls in order to nurse his sprained left index finger, according to a report Monday on the San Antonio News-Express' web site.

Popovich told the newspaper that the Argentine could possibly be sidelined for an extended period beyond Wednesday.

"He's probably going to miss a little bit of time," Popovich told the Express-News. "It's just a matter of how much."

The Spurs' top reserve, Ginobili suffered the injury in Saturday's game against the Los Angeles Clippers. X-rays were negative, but Popovich admitted that Ginobili's finger is "in bad shape."

"They X-rayed it and there is nothing new, but he's got a bad hand," Popovich said. "The ligaments are quite sore, and whatever happens to the ligaments has happened without tearing."

Ginobili aggravated an injury that he initially suffered December 2 against the Portland Trail Blazers. Although he did not miss any games, the 6-6 swingman had been hampered by the sprain over recent weeks.

Ginobili left Saturday's 99-90 victory after swiping at Clippers guard Brevin Knight with 4:27 left in the first quarter.

"Manu is a tough one," Popovich said. "He's such a competitor, he wants to play. I'm just going to wait about two days and see how his hand reacts to the treatment they are giving him. We'll wait and see."

Ginobili, 30, has averaged 19.2 points, 4.6 rebounds and 4.3 assists - all career highs - in 26 games this season for the reigning NBA champion Spurs.

Ime Udoka and Brent Barry figure to see increased playing time during Ginobili's absence.

Udoka, who scored a season-high 17 points Saturday, is averaging 3.4 points and 1.8 rebounds this season. The sharpshooting Barry is averaging 8.0 points.