Open Thread: It’s pronounced “Mamukelashvili”

I missed Friday’s game, so my daughter and I decided to make a daddy-daughter date of it last night. We threw down her sleeping bag, loaded up on snacks, and watched.

Very rarely does she watch an entire game with me. Even if she sits with me, something else is grabbing at her attention.

She’s a very chatty kid — acorn doesn’t fall far from the tree — and so I don’t get to watch the game in my normal fashion, absorbing everything the telecast has to offer. There are often moments of rewind and “what just happened?” throughout the game, but we have our own way about us.

The fight between Zach Collins and Michael Porter, Jr. left a hole at the helm of the Spurs defense affording an opportunity for Sandro Mamukelashvili.

Mamukelashvili hadn’t seen any action and barring any injury or a double technical causing the ejection of the player at the starting center position, would not break a sweat. But fate had it otherwise.

Sandro ended up playing the entire fourth quarter and scored 11 points on 4/5 shooting nailing two from beyond the arc, 4 rebounds and 2 assists. My daughter kept asking who he was and I broke down the pronunciation a few times. Then when he went on a tear, the repetition really cemented his name on our tongues.

“Mamu,” as is he’s aptly nicknamed, made an impact on the game and left an imprint on the Spurs court.

Welcome to San Antonio, Manu.

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