The San Antonio Spurs continue to roll along as they have won 11 of their last 12 games and continue to have the second best record in the NBA. The Spurs' chances of catching the Warriors for the one seed in the West are minimal, but they really don't care about that. They should be more worried about having a better showing against them the next couple of times they play one another.
Many people view San Antonio as a team that has a realistic shot at taking down the Warriors in a playoff series. The Warriors are obviously still the favorites, but the Spurs are having an outstanding season themselves, somewhat under the radar due to the Warriors' all-time great year. The biggest key for the Spurs with some of their older players is keeping guys healthy through the end of the playoff run.
Tim Duncan missed a good chunk of time earlier in the season with knee soreness, but he has been back now and is playing sporadically. Manu Ginobili is another player that has missed a lot of time due to injury, but he is also back now. Ginobili is extremely important to the Spurs because of his ability to score and change games off the bench. The 38-year-old guard missed about a month of action earlier this season after having testicular surgery but came back on March 5.
Ginobili's first game back was a dandy as he scored 22 points and looked as though he hadn't missed a beat. But in the three games since he has shot just 3-17, and he says he still feels "a little out of shape". Ginobili added that nothing is wrong physically but that he is not feeling as confident as he was before the injury and his stamina is not where he wants it to be.
The good news for Ginobili and the Spurs is that he still has about a month of regular season action left to work his way back into shape before the playoffs start. Head coach Gregg Popovich will likely rest Ginobili, Duncan and others periodically throughout the remainder of the season, but he will also allow them to get a rhythm and do what it takes to be ready for the postseason.
Despite the recent struggles Ginobili is having another very good season, as he is the Spurs' leading bench scorer at 9.8 points per game, and he has added 3.1 assists. The 14-year veteran has also done his work efficiently this season, as he is shooting 45 percent from the field and 36 percent from three. Ginobili may not be as explosive as he once was, but he is still incredibly important to this Spurs team, and if they want any chance to beat the Warriors in the playoffs they need him fully healthy and fully confident. That should come with more time on the court, but it is something to keep an eye on for the rest of the regular season.
