Spurs Need Production From Ginobili, and He Knows It Better Than Anyone Else SAN ANTONIO - In a number of different ways and different languages, Manu Ginobili was asked Saturday why he had struggled in the N.B.A. finals. Was his body holding up? Was he putting too much pressure on himself? Had the Miami Heat done anything special to limit him? Was he forcing up shots? Ginobili, a San Antonio Spurs guard, responded to each question with details and perspective. But when asked what he needed to do better in his next game, Ginobili offered his shortest and most telling answer: "Everything." Ginobili understands what is expected of him, from Coach Gregg Popovich and from his teammates: he has to hit open jumpers, make precise passes to Tim Duncan and Tiago Splitter in the post and give the Spurs a kind of energy that only he can produce. In his 11 seasons in the league, Ginobili has been the Spurs" most unpredictable player - with an irrational 3-pointer here and an unconventional bounce pass there - and that has made him successful. Against the Heat, however, that advantage has vanished. In the first four games of this series, Ginobili averaged 7.5 points and 3 assists, down from 11.8 and 4.6 in the regular season. He also shot 34.5 percent from the field, including 18.8 percent on 3-pointers. Still, Ginobili said those were just a few of his many concerns. "It's not about scoring," he said. It's about making better decisions, being more aggressive, being more of a threat and being more active defensively, too. Heat guard Dwyane Wade has received plenty of attention for failing to meet expectations this postseason, but an ineffective Ginobili has at times had the same kind of negative impact on San Antonio. The Spurs will especially need Ginobili in Game 5 on Sunday because guard Tony Parker, who did not score in the second half of Thursday's Game 4, said his injured right hamstring was still an issue. Popovich, who for years has put his trust in an aging core of Duncan, Parker and Ginobili, said Ginobili was one of the most emotional players on the Spurs. He added that he could not do much at this point to help Ginobili except play him. "He's having a tough playoffs, and he hasn't really found a rhythm or found his game yet," Popovich said in a conference call. He added: "I think that he's obviously not as confident as usual, and he knows full well that he hasn't performed the way he would like and the way he's used to. But it's simplistic to say, "What are we going to do to get him going?" He's going to get himself going, or he won't. He knows that he's got to play better for us to be successful. Ginobili averaged 14.4 points last postseason, his lowest playoff mark since 2004. He is averaging 10.6 through 18 games in these playoffs. If his play continues to deteriorate, role players like Danny Green, Gary Neal and Kawhi Leonard will have to do more on both ends of the court. Parker remembers how Ginobili made a dramatic 3-pointer at the end of regulation in the first game of the Spurs" second-round series against the Golden State Warriors, a play that allowed the Spurs to win in double overtime. Parker said that the shot might have saved the Spurs" season and that he expected Ginobili to have at least one memorable moment in the finals. "He came through for us all those years, and I just have confidence in him," Parker said. You have to have faith he's going to have a big game. So me, I just trust him because I've been playing with him for so long. Sunday would be a perfect time for Ginobili to have a breakthrough. A loss would put the Spurs behind, 3-2, in the series and require them to win two games in Miami to win the championship. Reflecting on his season, Ginobili, who will be a free agent this summer, said he had considered the possibility that his retirement might come sooner than he once expected. But he knows his teammates need him right now. "It's impossible not to put pressure on yourself," he said. You've been here. You know you are not going to have many other opportunities. It's part of the job, and dealing with pressure is what we do. I trust the system; I trust my teammates. I will try to force a little less and find my teammates.