The Spurs seem to be good at winning games without a consistent lineup. Sure, it was the Timberwolves, but when Tony Parker left Wednesday’s game during the second quarter, one may have thought the Spurs were doomed against the sub-500 Wolves. With eight minutes left in the second quarter Tony Parker seemed to pull/strain/injure his hamstring and headed to the locker room with only two points and six assists.

The Spurs did not crumble however; instead Tim Duncan stepped up and scored 21 points and grabbed 15 rebounds to beat the ‘Wolves by 16. Kawhi Leonard, Stephen Jackson and Gary Neal all contributed 16 points as well (Jackson and Neal coming off the bench) and Tiago Splitter contributed 11. In all, six Spurs scored in double digits and look what happened. The Spurs’ first quarter was strong; they had 32 points compared to the ‘Wolves 16. With Duncan’s rebounding effort, the Spurs out-rebounded the ‘Wolves 56-41, including 17 offensive rebounds (five more rebounds than Kevin Love had total).

The victory was the fourth in a row for the Spurs and five out of their last six. Sure, the ‘Wolves were missing their starting center Nikola Pekovic who was having a sore ankle examined. Kevin Love lead Minnesota with 17 points and 12 rebounds while J.J. Barea had 18 points and 11 assists. Although the ‘Wolves had won the previous two match ups against San Antonio, they were unable to hold off the Spurs despite them being without their All-Star point guard.

The Spurs, playing at home and improving to 18-4 at home, retired Bruce Bowen’s jersey after the game. Bowen, who was an eight time All-Defensive player, was in the Spurs’ starting lineups during their 2003, 2005 and 2007 championship runs. The Spurs will face the Dallas Mavericks next (who are coming off a loss to the L.A. Lakers) and soon match up against Eastern conference surprise Philadelphia 76ers. There has not been any word on how Parker’s hamstring is feeling. While I believe Parker is better than Ginobili (who missed 22 games in a row earlier in the season) the Spurs have still been able to win despite lacking a consistent starting lineup. With all their injuries and inconsistency, the Spurs are still 30-14 and have pushed further away from the L.A. Clippers for second place in the Western conference. Hopefully, Parker can get healthy soon and help push the Spurs to earn home court advantage for the playoffs.

The Spurs have had a few headline stories in the past 24 hours; first they defeated the Orlando Magic last night, and today they traded Richard Jefferson to the Golden State Warriors for Stephen Jackson.

The Spurs matched up on their home court on Wednesday against the visiting Orlando Magic; a game that was not talked about because of the matchup but instead for the questioning of if it would be Dwight Howard’s last game in a Magic uniform. Throughout the first 24 minutes, the two teams were almost identical; after one quarter the Spurs led by one, and at halftime the lead was still one. The Spurs outscored the Magic by 10 in the second half, however, to pick up their 17th victory at home. Dwight led the Magic with 22 points and 12 rebounds but even his drama of being traded couldn’t outshine Tony Parker’s 31 points and 12 assists and Tim Duncan’s 21 points and 13 rebounds.

Both teams were shooting well from the floor; Orlando shot 52% and San Antonio 51%. The Spurs were also able to outrebound the Magic by seven and had 11 offensive rebounds total. The Spurs also shot 11 more free throw attempts than the Magic and were able to overcome a 10 point deficit to win by 11. The Spurs had another solid night from their bench players; Ginobili had 14 points coming off the bench and Splitter and Leonard had 12 apiece. The solid consistency from several players could improve dramatically with the addition of Stephen Jackson.

Stephen Jackson will be joining the Spurs in exchange for Richard Jefferson; an interesting trade since Jefferson had seemed to have finally gotten his groove as of late (and is actually one of two Spurs to start every game). The Spurs also gave up a conditional first round pick and the rights to T.J. Ford who retired earlier this week due to an injury (more on that in a minute). Jackson has been fairly consistent this season, with his averages being 10.2 PPG, 3 APG and 3 RPG. His shooting this season has been rather low (35%), but he has been out with a hamstring injury over the last several games. The fresh face of shooting guard Jackson could be a new boost coming off the bench when Ginobili is 100% healthy and ready to be back in the starting lineup. With this new addition the Spurs seem to be providing more depth and experience on their bench.

Lastly, it’s sad to say that T.J. Ford announced his retirement earlier this week after injuring his back/neck after getting elbowed by New York Knicks’ Baron Davis (who has already called and apologized throughly to Ford). Ford previously had his spine surgically repaired and was out an entire season due to that specific injury. Ford lay motionless on the ground for several moments in the game on March 7th. Ford had been limited this season due to other injuries and averaged only 3.6 PPG, 3 APG and 1.3 RPG in his time with the Spurs (since December). While the numbers are not significant this season with the Spurs, it might become difficult to replace him on the bench and find a new backup to Tony Parker.

The Spurs were able to beat the New York Knicks on Wednesday. Thank goodness, right? San Antonio previously lost to the Denver Nuggets, a team that they had dominated in past match ups. Instead, a sloppy game on Sunday gave them their third loss at home for the season. Despite being outscored by the Knicks in the fourth quarter last night the Spurs were able to fend them off and send New York to their sixth loss in nine games and a 2-5 record since Carmelo Anthony returned and joined Jeremy Lin back in the lineup.

San Antonio owned the Knicks in the first half of the game; they outscored them by five points in the first and 12 in the second quarter. Their lowest quarter total in the game was 25 (and that was in the fourth quarter). Tony Parker posted his second strong performance in a row. On Sunday he scored 25 points and dished out seven assists. Last night, he scored 32 points and six assists and was able to shut down Jeremy Lin and the Knicks team as a whole.

The Spurs should feel confident after this win; not only was Ginobili back for his second game and playing well but Parker was on fire from the field and Ginobili and Tim Duncan both scored 17 points. Gary Neal also contributed 12 points in the starting lineup (Ginobili is working his way back in after coming back from another injury). The Spurs also had a solid offensive effort from Tiago Splitter, DeJuan Blair and Kawhi Leonard, all of whom had 10 points. The Spurs were able to hold off the Knicks in the fourth quarter despite Gregg Popovich not being in the game; he was ejected at the end of the third quarter for arguing with the officials.

What did this game show us? This game showed us that when the Spurs have seven players who are aggressive and score in double figures, they win. Also, according to the Elias Sports Bureau, the Spurs are 5-0 this season when Tony Parker scores 30+ points (that record is actually 14-15 dating back to March 2009 as well). When Tony Parker is able to take over a game (and give out assists to get his teammates involved), the Spurs are hard to defend. Not many other point guards are going to be able to guard Tony Parker. If you double-team him, he can kick the ball out to any other guy on the floor that is capable of scoring double figures.

It seems the Spurs got payback on the “Linsanity” bandwagon; a news story that seemed to overshadow the Spurs during their eleven game winning streak. Amare Stoudemire also said that the Spurs don’t have “the talent” that the Knicks do. To me, I think that is laughable. As soon as the Knicks put their all-star player (Anthony) back in, they start losing. Their point guard that seemed to rise to fame quickly has fizzled out; yeah he had 20 points and four assists against the Spurs but those numbers aren’t going to compete with elite, veteran point guards such as Parker and Derrick Rose.  But the Spurs should rest easy that they were able to fend off a strong Eastern conference team do so easily. They limited the Knicks to 42% from the floor while they shot 54%. The Spurs also have one of the strongest benches in the league as well; the fact that their bench players are able to score double figures against a decent team shows their depth.

The Spurs will face the L.A. Clippers on Friday for the third time this season and attempt to remain perfect against their strong Western conference competitor; the first time the two teams met, in the Spurs’ second game of the season, the Spurs beat the Clippers by 25 points. Before the All-Star break, the Spurs were also able to hold off the Clippers in overtime (and Tony Parker had 30 points, ironically). If San Antonio is able to sweep the regular season series with the Clippers, they should feel very confident if they face them in the playoffs. With the way Parker has played in the past couple of games, I expect the Spurs to do very well tomorrow against the Clippers, especially since the game is on their home court where they are 14-3 this season.

When the Spurs lost to the Chicago Bulls on Wednesday after the All Star game, I’m sure some people thought that the rest and time off was too much for the old legs in San Antonio. But the loss is almost unimportant. It was only the second loss at home for the Spurs. It was the first game back from the break. The Spurs did not play bad; the Bulls just played a little better.

The Spurs led after the first quarter. In the second quarter, however, the Bulls seem to have taken over on the floor. Chicago outscored San Antonio by 10 in the second quarter and by eight in the fourth quarter. But the third quarter the Spurs dominated Chicago offensively and defensively; they limited the Bulls to just 15 points while they scored 24 of their own. Gary Neal was the shining star for the Spurs in that game, scoring 21 points off the bench including 15 points in the fourth quarter (and you may say the Spurs have no depth). Tim Duncan was also productive with 18 points and 10 rebounds with 12 of his points coming in the third. The problem for the Spurs was Tony Parker; he had only 11 points on 5-of-16 shooting and nine assists. Sure, the assists are nice, but look at Derrick Rose. Rose had 29 points for the Bulls even after colliding into Parker in the opening minutes of the game.

If Parker had had contributed his 19 normal points, the outcome of the game would be very different. On Wednesday, the Bulls had the better point guard. During the Spurs road trip in February, however, Parker was playing like the best point guard in the league. The Spurs should not worry about losing to the Bulls. First off, they won’t face them again this season (playoffs aside). Second, Manu Ginobili was not playing for the Spurs. Ginobili is still recovering from his second injury this season. Lastly, the offensive effort from the rest of the Spurs starters was lackluster; Richard Jefferson had six measly points and DeJuan Blair only had nine. Combine that with Parker’s abysmal shooting night and the Spurs really did not stand a chance. The loss didn’t prove that the break was too long for some of the older guys; it just showed what players sat around during their five days off and did not do anything while others (perhaps Gary Neal) spent time resting their legs while still staying active and not getting rusty.

What should cause worry for the Spurs is if they are unable to knock off the Denver Nuggets tonight. In their last eight games against the Nuggets the Spurs have averaged 112 points per game. They have also won seven out of the last eight meetings. San Antonio has allowed 86.8 points per game in its last nine at home and has only surrendered 100 once at the AT&T Center this season (statistic courtesy of ESPN.com). The fact that San Antonio has only lost two games at home (one being just days ago) shows how comfortable and GOOD they are playing on their home court. The Spurs need to focus on a more consistent output by all players and not rely on just Duncan and Parker; that has proved to NOT be successful at all this season.

The Spurs have a good stretch of games coming up. They easily defeated the Charlotte Bobcats on Friday (fun fact courtesy of the Elias Sports Bureau: The Spurs 30 point victory against Charlotte is the Bobcats’ eighth time this season losing by 30+ points. In the 1,216 games Gregg Popovich has coached the Spurs they have only lost seven games by 30+ points) and they face the hot-and-cold Knicks on Wednesday. Then, in a span of eight days San Antonio will face the Clippers, Magic and Oklahoma City Thunder; all teams that are headed for the playoffs and are consistently good on the floor. Should the Spurs lose all three of those games….then we can start to worry.

All good things must come to an end, right? But do they have to come as a blowout loss to the Portland Trailblazers? The Spurs had not lost in over a month before heading into Portland Tuesday night on their eighth road game in a row and with an 11 game win streak. The game was nothing short of a disaster. Yes, Duncan and Parker sat out, but the fact that the Spurs lost by FORTY points against the lower-ranked Blazers (who once led by 48 points) should cause some worry for the Spurs. The Spurs led once; with a one point lead, and were unable to overcome a strong team effort by the Blazers who were led by Gerald Wallace’s 16 points and 10 rebounds and five other players who scored 16+ points. With Duncan and Parker sitting on the bench and “resting”, and Manu Ginobili sitting on the bench injured, the Spurs needed someone to step up to keep them in the game. Kawhi Leonard had 24 points and 10 rebounds to led the Spurs who were clearly suffering from their starters absence on the offensive end.

Parker and Duncan together are averaging just under 40 points, ironically the same amount of points the Spurs lost by. The problem, however, seems to lie in a psychological problem with the guys that were playing on the floor. Without the leadership of their two starters, no one else on the team was unable to be productive (minus Leonard). Instead of taking the opportunity to step up and become the leader, it appears the that the players asked to fill in the void of Parker/Duncan were unable to do so. So here is the question. Should the Spurs be worried? I think they should. What the loss to Portland showed us was the bench players/other starters cannot play without the leadership and experience of Duncan and Parker and can’t hang with the stars of another team. Duncan and Parker are going to be playing tonight, but they have showed their true significance to the team without playing. If the Spurs are unable to win with them on the court, however, perhaps there are bigger problems to worry about.

So how important is this All-Star break for the aging Spurs? Very. If the Spurs had won against Portland and win tonight, I would say it is coming at a bad time. However, after having an 11 game win streak end, the rest and refocus that come with the break is much needed. The Spurs’ groove seems to be off now, and they need to focus on incorporating Duncan and Parker back into an effective starting rotation; and hope that Manu Ginboili gets healthy fast. Entering the break being (at the most) 12 games over .500, the Spurs find themselves in a good position as the playoff hunt gets tougher. They sit comfortably  2.5 games ahead of Dallas in their division and are in the top five among all the teams in the league.

If the Spurs are able to rest up, get healthy and relax their legs over break (which should be easy for Tim Duncan since he is not playing for the first time in a VERY long time), the Spurs should come out of the weekend ready to attack. Like I’ve mentioned in earlier posts, their schedule does not get easier. The Spurs need all the wins they can get heading into the playoffs so they earn home court advantage which would help them significantly. I honestly believe the Spurs have a shot, people. Especially in the west. I don’t think there is anyone in the west playing as well as the Spurs or Oklahoma City, and the east is run by two (maybe three if the Magic/Celtics get themselves together). The point is, the momentum the Spurs are taking into the break, despite their loss should translate into the second half of the season. I expect them to come out and match up against Chicago and (shortly after) New York with ease (especially the Knicks). There are approximately nine weeks left in the regular season; the Spurs must take this rest seriously and get ready to attack coming out of the weekend.

I know I said I was going to talk about how serious the Spurs are for contending for the NBA title, but that is my area of focus next time (especially after the break). Thanks for reading!

I’d hate to start another article similar to the one before it…but I can’t help it. Here we are, again, with the Spurs winning another game (and in a dominating fashion against a very good team) and the only thing that is featured on ESPN and SportsCenter is either Jeremy Lin pulling the Knicks back and winning again or how good the Miami Heat have been playing during their win streak. Hello? Where is the love for this San Antonio Spurs team that has now won TEN games in a row and has gone fairly unnoticed while doing so?

On Saturday the Spurs continued their road trip by traveling to Los Angeles to take on a good LA team; and I’m not talking about the Lakers this time. They were facing the Clippers who had only lost three games all season on their home court. The Spurs looked ugly in the first quarter; they trailed by 11 and couldn’t even break 20 points. In the second quarter, however, they turned their game around, outscoring the Clippers by 13 going into the break. The game ended up going into overtime, thanks in large part to Chris Paul’s turnover and Gary Neal converting it into a three pointer that tied the game (only after he had turned the ball over himself) and the Spurs emerged with the ‘W’ to put their win streak into double digits. The important statistic from the game was not that they won; yes a 10 game win streak is very impressive, especially in this short of a season. The stat that stood out the most to me was the fact that six Spurs players were in double figures; so not just the starters broke into double digits (not included are Manu Ginobili and Tiago Splitter who both left the game due to injuries).

The following Spurs players scored in double figures on Saturday against the Clippers: Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, DeJuan Blair, Daniel Green, Matt Bonner and Gary Neal. Two players coming off the bench were able to score double digits against a very defensive-oriented team. This is not a one-time deal, though. Manu Ginobili (who is going to be coming off the bench when he gets healthy) is averaging 12.1 points per game. Tiago Splitter is contributing 9.4, Gary Neal adds 9.3 (when he is not starting), Daniel Green puts up 7.5 a game, Matt Bonner 7.3 and Kawhi Leonard 6.7. Those are all pretty strong PPG, not to mention Leonard leads the team in steals per game with 1.2. Compared to other teams in the league (i.e. the Magic/Lakers/Mavs/and the new-look Knicks), the Spurs have a consistent solid contribution from all of their bench players and in my opinion rank in the top five. The bench has showed their true depth several times this season, most importantly when Ginobili went out for 20+ games with a broken hand and having to fill the voids that Tim Duncan’s inconsistent play has not covered this season. In three out of the past four games Daniel Green has especially been playing better; he has scored double digits in three of those four (and all victories) and in February Splitter has averaged over 10 points per game while playing in every game so far this season.

I know that the biggest factor and roadblock for the Spurs right now is their age. Older guys like Duncan, Parker, Ginobili and Richard Jefferson are only going to struggle the rest of the season on tired legs and short days off between games. The good news, however, is the bench for the Spurs is actually fairly young (and the All-Star break is right around the corner!). DeJuan Blair (who starts), Gary Neal, Tiago Splitter and Kawhi Leonard all have less than five years of experience in the NBA.  While these kids are still learning the NBA ropes, the spark that they are able to provide to the Spurs during this win streak while coming off the bench is extremely beneficial. Let’s not forget Gary Neal’s steal off of Chris Paul’s clumsy inbound catch in Saturday’s victory. The guys on the bench have already been tested so far this season. Sure, they don’t have the championship experience that the starting guys have. However, they do have the privilege to play behind those guys to watch and imitate them. After all, the best way to become a champion is to imitate one.

Yes, the old guys are the ones with experience and the younger guys are very inexperienced, especially when facing teams like the Clippers and players like Blake Griffin and Chris Paul. But the Spurs bench players have shown that they too can contribute to the success the team has had.  The team has not been at its full capability yet, either. After Ginobili’s injury, the team learned to play without him. Now, they must mold together to incorporate all aspects of their team; whether it be their back up center or starting power forward, the Spurs have yet to reach 100%…and the fact that they are on a 10 game win streak at less than 100% should be scary for everyone else in the league.

What’s up next time? Just how capable are the Spurs in winning a championship? I’ll focus on their age vs the age of younger teams in the league, how their paychecks are affecting the team and seriously consider how close the Spurs can get this year (realistically!) to Linning winning it all.

Okay. I know Linsanity is going on in New York and everyone is watching how the Philadelphia 76ers have turned around this season. But a number we can’t ignore is the Spurs’ nine game win streak. Yes, that’s right, NINE wins in a row. With this shortened NBA season, ANY sort of win streak is incredible (i.e. New York winning seven in a row), especially one that has been occurring on the road. That’s right. The Spurs are FINALLY winning on the road; six of their last nine wins have been victories away from their home court. The same Spurs team that had won only one road game and looked like they were headed in a downward spiral when they left the state of Texas.

But wait. Here we are now, approaching the All-Star break. Yes, it is still a little early to be figuring out where teams will be sitting in the playoffs, but we can see who is shaping up to be a strong contender in each conference. In the East, we know we will have Miami, Chicago, Orlando, Boston etc all heading to the playoffs. On the West, however, it appears more interesting. If the playoffs started tonight, the Spurs would have the number 2 seed (Oklahoma City leads them by a couple of games). The Spurs recently passed the LA Clippers for the second spot in the conference.  We can look at the Spurs’ schedule and see just how difficult their season has been.

So far on this road trip they have knocked off Memphis, Philadelphia and Oklahoma City. None of those teams are pushovers, either. The Grizzles are tied for eighth in the west, the Thunder sit at number one and the 76ers, who have been rising slowly this season, are third in the east (yes, those 76ers). Sure they have also faced New Jersey and New Orleans, but the strength of the Spurs’ schedule shows why/how they will go far in the playoffs this year. Looking at all the games they have played this season, the Spurs have also defeated the Clippers, Mavericks, Nuggets, Blazers, Magic and Hawks. None of those teams have lost more than 15 games this season, and several of them have lost fewer than 11. Knocking off those teams alone shows the consistency that the Spurs have exhibited so far this season.

The Spurs’ schedule does not get any easier, either. Before the All-Star break they will face the Chicago Bulls and Blazers again. After the break, they are going to see the Knicks, Clippers (again), Magic, Thunder, Mavs and 76ers  all within a month of each other. Luckily, the majority of those games will be at home (with the exception of the Thunder and Mavericks), though as of late one might think the Spurs would prefer to play on the road. With Manu Ginobili back, the Spurs proved they could still win with him on the court and not on the bench. While his numbers are down (in his past three games he has scored only 20 points), the fact that they are winning with his subpar performances show that they can only get better.

The Spurs have not had an easy season. Starting abysmal on the road must have been a wake up call for the team because their play as of late has been phenomenal. Tony Parker is averaging 17.8 points per game and Tim Duncan has finally found his groove, despite being snubbed of the All-Star game. Duncan is averaging a double double in his eight February games, ironically which have all been wins for the team. In the 8 loses, Duncan has averaged only 11 points and six rebounds, versus his 15 points and nine rebounds in victories.

Look at their schedule, people. The Spurs have been faced with a difficult schedule and a nine game win streak does not lie. The consistency the team has exhibited in their victories (they have won the nine games during the win streak by an average of nine points) despite the strength of their schedule shows why they will go far in the playoffs (unlike their early exit last year). They are also playing as a more unified team; more than one player is contributing to the win streak. Tony Parker took over the go-to-guy role when Ginobili went out and the Spurs have not looked back since. The fact that they have turned their season around by learning how to win on the road shows the experience and maturity of the team and their coach. The Spurs are not going to be out after the first round this year. Instead, they will go far in the post season because of their unity as a team and consistency they have exhibited during this win streak.

Next time I’ll be focusing on the Spurs bench; are they the deepest and best in the league? Or are they slowly running out of steam and the clock for them to make another championship run is running out?

Finally. It seems that the San Antonio Spurs are finally clicking when playing on the road. Last night they traveled to New Jersey to take on the lowly Nets, with Manu Ginobili suited up to play. After starting the season with an abysmal record on the road, the Spurs are inching closer to being above .500 when away from Texas.

Entering into the game the Spurs had won six straight, all without star player Ginobili, who hasn’t played since early January due to a broken hand. Saturday night, however, he returned and played 17 minutes and scored eight points while dishing out four assists. Six Spurs players scored in double figures, including Gary Neal, Tim Duncan (who had his ninth double double of the season), Tony Parker, DeJuan Blair, Daniel Green and Tiago Splitter. The Spurs led by 15 at the half and shot over 50% for the game, limiting the Nets to 40% shooting. The Spurs effectively moved the ball and got all players involved, instead of getting caught up in Ginobili’s return. It was the first time Ginobili had played in almost 40 days, but you have to question whether you want to mess with the Spurs’ mojo they have had going during their long win streak.

The road trip to New Jersey is just the beginning for the 19-9 Spurs; before the All-Star break they are on the road six more times. They fill face opponents such as the Pistons, Raptors, Clippers, Jazz, Trailblazers and Nuggets. It would be impressive to see the Spurs win all six of those games; realistically, however, a victory over the Clippers, Trailblazers and Nuggets would be the most impressive as the Western Conference playoff race tightens.

Earlier this week the All-Star reserves were announced. Missing from those chosen was Tim Duncan, who, for the first time in his career in the NBA, will not play in the All-Star game. He had been chosen 13 times in a row for the game, including 12 in a row for being a starter (one start shy of the record set by Bob Cousey). Marc Gasol got the vote over Tim Duncan? Really?

Duncan is averaging 13.9 points per game with 8+ rebounds. Those stats are in less than 28 minutes per game. During the Spurs’ win streak, Duncan has been more explosive, scoring more points and adding more power to his game. Marc Gasol is averaging 15 points and 10 rebounds a game in almost 11-12 more minutes than Duncan. Of course, Timmy D could still be picked an injury reserve, but it is sad and disheartening to see such an impressive run come to an end for several first time players. Instead of looking at consistency and solid numbers, it appears the coaches are more focused on the glitz and glamour of the weekend, and want the younger stars to participate instead.

Does anyone else think that Duncan deserved to be selected as a reserve? Share your thoughts!

The San Antonio Spurs are finally doing things right; it’s about time, huh? In this week’s NBA.com power rankings the Spurs come in at number SEVEN, up four spots from last week where they sat #11. Oh, by the way, they have also won several games on the road.

Things are going very well for the Spurs. Tony Parker had 42 points and nine assists against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Saturday. That was the end of their perfect week, going 4-0 against West Coast opponents, and earning the title of “Hero Team of the Week.” Their run last week raised their record to 17-9, and now sit top of the Southwest Conference and third in the West, trailing only Oklahoma City and the LA Clippers. After beating Memphis on the road (yes, shocking!) on Monday the Spurs are riding a five game win streak heading into tonight’s game against the Philadelphia 76ers.

Tonight’s game opens up an eight game road trip for the Spurs, who won’t play a game at home until after the All-Star break. During this stretch they should hopefully improve their road record as they match up against teams like New Jersey, Detroit and Toronto. Tim Duncan has been more dominant on the court as of late, scoring 19 against the Hornets and pulling down 15 rebounds against the Thunder.

Things can only get better for San Antonio; Manu Ginobili could return this week after missing 21 games so far this season due to a broken shooting hand. Before his injury, Ginobili was the leading scorer on the Spurs, averaging almost 18 points a game. The Spurs are 14-7 without him, but he is most missed in his ability to control the ball and feed it to his teammates. Ginobili is not supposed to start when he returns according to coach Gregg Popovich. Instead, he will provide a great spark off the bench as he eases his way back into the rotation.

Lastly, congratulations to Tim Duncan who became the 26th player in NBA history to score 22,000 career points and the 11th player to have 12,000 rebounds. The others on that short list of 11 include Hall of Famers and future Hall of Famers such as: Wilt Chamberlain, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Elvin Hayes, Moses Malone, Robert Parish, Hakeem Olajuwon, Charles Barkly, Karl Malone, Shaquille O’Neal and Kevin Garnett.  With his play as of late, Duncan will surely continue his upward momentum for the Spurs as they attempt to take control of the Western Conference.

Wednesday night’s game against the Houston Rockets looked like more bad news for the Spurs. After the first quarter they were trailing the Rockets 27-16. At halftime they were down 52-39. Instead of succumbing to pressure and falling even more in a hole, the Spurs outscored the Rockets 28-19 in the third quarter and 32-20 in the first, overcoming an 18 point deficit.

Had this game been on the road the outcome might have been a different story. Instead, the Spurs improved to 11-1 at home and Tim Duncan played at an all-star level last night as well, something that was desperately needed by his team. He ended up with 25 points and seven rebounds, much more significant numbers compared to what he had been producing as of late. Duncan led an 11-2 run to cut the 18 point deficit to a more manageable number and had 16 of his 25 points in the third quarter.

Tony Parker was also helpful on the offensive end, providing 24 points for the Spurs. The Spurs ended the game on an 8-0 run, completely different game play than what has happening in the first half. Gary Neal also provided 15 points for the Spurs. The Rockets were hard to stop, however. Led by Kevin Martin’s 29 points, Kyle Lowry and Courtney Lee both added 15 points.

The victory was the second in a row for the Spurs. North Carolina coach, Roy Williams was also in attendance watching the game and his former player, Danny Green who now plays for the Spurs. The win was much needed for the Spurs, who can hopefully translate this recent run (with Tim Duncan’s offensive productivity as well) into their next few games as they prepare for Oklahoma City and Philadelphia in the coming days; both young teams with great offense and defense.