The San Antonio Spurs will likely be eliminated by the Phoenix Suns, but it won’t be Manu Ginobili’s fault.

Manu Ginobili of the San Antonio Spurs may have been bothered by the bandages he's been wearing due to a broken nose, courtesy of Dirk Nowitzki of the Dallas Mavericks (katchop)

From 48 Minutes Of Hell

Ginobili scored 27 points against the Suns on Friday night, starting alongside Parker. Manu shot 10-17 from the field and 4-9 from the 3-point line. Entering Game 3, Ginobili was shooting to the tune of 27-77 from the field, a slump-worthy 35%, since breaking his nose in the Spurs’ first round series against the Dallas Mavericks.

Ginobili claimed that the bandages on his broken nose didn’t affect his shot, but the numbers begged to differ. However, with his shooting performance on Friday night, perhaps he was being truthful. Maybe it was simply a change of starting position that he needed.

When Ginobili started next to Hill in the backcourt, it was Manu who did more of the facilitating on the offensive end. Hill spent more time off the ball and spotting up on the perimeter, while Ginobili ran the pick-and-roll offense.

Original Photo Yahoo