Sasha Vujacic or Manu Ginobili: Who's the Man?

I came across this forum and most of the people there think it was Ginobili's injury that caused him to ill-perform in the games. I completely disagree with most of them—I think Sasha is a great defender and a three point threat. I think he really shut down Ginobili, and distracted him so much with his pesky moves combined with his flops that he completely took Ginobili out of the game and did his job efficiently.

This popped a couple of questions in my mind: Is Sasha better than Ginobili? Is Ginobili overrated?

My answer to the first question is that Sasha is better than Ginobili.

Unlike Ginobili, Sasha has been consistent the whole season. He has been knocking down three pointers with more efficiency than any other player, and has also showed no hesitance in the playoffs, unlike the so-called best three point shooter—Jason Kapono.

Ginobili, on the other hand, has been in and out of the Spurs' play. He certainly has a better ability in driving to the basket, but he is not capable of putting such energy on the defensive end, and then coming back on offense to knock down shots as Sasha can.

Take a look at the Stats:

Sasha Vujacic Los Angeles Lakers Position: G Height: 6-7 Weight: 205 From: Slovenia Player file | Team stats 2007-08 Statistics PPG 8.8 RPG 2.1 APG 1.0 SPG 0.5 BPG 0.1 FG% 0.454 FT% 0.835 3P% 0.437 MPG 17.8

Manu Ginobili San Antonio Spurs Position: G Height: 6-6 Weight: 205 From: Argentina Player file | Team stats 2007-08 Statistics PPG 19.5 RPG 4.8 APG 4.5 SPG 1.5 BPG 0.4 FG% 0.460 FT% 0.860 3P% 0.401 MPG 31.0

Although the stats clearly go against my opinions, keep in mind that I am talking about the consistency, the improvement, the stamina, and the liability each team puts in them.

To answer the second question, I do think Ginobili is overrated.

Everyone calls him the soul of San Antonio Spurs, but he is prone to injuries, unreliable on defense, and inconsistent on offense.

Now, I am not saying this guy doesn't give his all and gets the job done, because he does, but that doesn't mean we should give him as much attention as we do. He is just another role player, one of the very best ones, but I wouldn't call him a leader.