The San Antonio Spurs have a number of problems heading in to the playoffs.  Most of them revolve around the fact that their two best guards can't make lay ups at the moment because of various injuries.  However, the injuries and recoveries of Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili have created trickle down problems for the rest of the Spurs' roster.

Chief among those problems is the play of Tiago Splitter.  Overall, Splitter's play this year has been great, but the last six weeks or so, Splitter's offensive production has taken a dip.  That dip has coincided with injuries to Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili.  In the last 20 games, all of those since Parker went down with an ankle sprain, Splitter is shooting 48.4 percent from the field, which is down from his season average of 56 percent.

I think Splitter's poor shooting over the last six weeks is directly related to the absence of Parker, Ginobili or both.  As many of us know, Splitter is a terrific pick-and-roll player and makes a living of diving to the basket when rolling off screens.

Tony Parker and the San Antonio Spurs are closing in on playoff season and it couldn't come sooner for the Frenchman. During his French radio show, (via French site RMC Sport), Parker discussed which team he'll like to meet in the playoffs, Kobe Bryant's injury, and more.

When asked if Parker still gets the same excitement every year when the playoffs approach, his response was predictable.

For the Spurs, each season is important because it's not known how long Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili will still be playing. Tim has been incredible this year and it shows in his eyes that he still wants to win a title.

Parker was also asked who he'd prefer to see in the postseason between the Houston Rockets or the Golden State Warriors.

Former San Antonio Spurs video coordinator Will Voigt’s attempt at eliminating his former employers’ D-League affiliate in the D-League playoffs came up short as the Austin Toros swept the number one team in the D-League, the Voigt coached Bakersfield Jam.

After upsetting the Jam in the series-opening game with 113-107 win, it appeared the Jam would be sending the series to a third game, but the Toros’ late rally lead by Lester Hudson and Tre Kelly erased a double-digit deficit and gave the Toros a 114-107 win.

Jam head coach Voigt was recently mentioned in a post by Ric Bucher on Sulia as yet another offspring of the Spurs looking to come back and haunt them, albeit through the D-League.

Coming into the fourth quarter against the Golden State Warriors on Monday, a depleted San Antonio Spurs squad looked like it had a chance to pull an upset as the Spurs were down 90-87 with 9:15 remaining.

Then a young developing star by the name of Stephen Curry would catch fire by putting up 11 points in a stretch of four minutes as the Warriors went on a 19-0 run to put themselves ahead by 20 points, and the result ended up being a 116-106 loss for the Spurs.

Curry finished the night with 35 points and seven-made 3-pointers, while Gary Neal (25 points) and Patty Mills (23 points) did what they could to carry a Spurs team minus Tony Parker, Tim Duncan, Kawhi Leonard, Manu Ginobili, and Boris Diaw. But, missing their star power, the Spurs just couldn’t keep up with the Warriors in the fourth when Golden State had its explosion.

Considering it was a back-to-back game after falling to the Los Angeles Lakers the night before, the Spurs’ offense finally looked like it found some cohesion as the team was able to score 27 or more points in all but the third quarter.

The matchup of the game when the San Antonio Spurs visit the Golden State Warriors will be between Cory Joseph and Stephen Curry.

The Spurs will be without starting point guard Tony Parker (sore neck), so this will mean Joseph may take the majority of the minutes for this game with the team heading into the playoffs. Joseph's defense will be tested out against Curry, who's one of the league's premiere shooters. The Spurs are locked in to the second seed for the postseason while the Warriors are looking to get themselves in position for the sixth seed. The Spurs' bench may play spoiler and, if they do, Joseph will be a big part of that.

What Joseph must do on offense:

The San Antonio Spurs (58-22) will wrap up their two-game jaunt on the West Coast as they visit the Golden State Warriors (45-35) in Oakland. This will be the final meeting of the regular season between the two team and can quite possibly be a preview of a first round matchup in the playoffs. The Spurs will be without Tony Parker (sore neck), Tim Duncan (sore knee) and Kawhi Leonard (sore knee) tonight along with Manu Ginobili (hamstring) and Boris Diaw (back).

The Spurs lead the season series 2-1 with the Spurs defeating the Warriors in their last meeting 104-93 in San Antonio. Tim Duncan led the Spurs with 25 points, 13 rebounds and 4 blocks while Golden State was led by Stephen Curry’s 24 points, 3 assists and 2 steals.

The Spurs are coming off an 86-91 loss versus the Lakers in Los Angeles last night. The team was led by Duncan's 23 points and 10 rebounds.

The Warriors are coming off a 116-118 loss to the Lakers in Los Angeles. Curry led the Warriors with 47 points, 9 assists, 6 rebounds, and 3 steals.

And as the Spurs and Warriors get set to face off one last time in the regular season, here are five things to watch for during tonight's contest:

• The Warriors haven’t beaten the Spurs in regulation since December, 2007, in a 96-84 win at Oracle Arena.

• The Warriors are 7-0 when shooting 53 percent or better.

Collapsed on the floor, Los Angeles Lakers star Kobe Bryant knew immediately his season was over. His Achilles torn, his leg unable to bare his weight, Bryant somehow managed to bring himself to the free throw line for two points that would ultimately be the deciding margin. 

Most would say this isn't the way a legend of Bryant's stature should go out, I would argue it's the only possible way he will go, even if he returns from this. The last few weeks had been fitting, watching Bryant literally leave everything on the floor until his body simply couldn't sustain it anymore, and even then, defiantly pushing a little further after with the free throws. 

In the aftermath of the Bryant's injury there was a lot of discussion regarding the blame for Bryant's injury. In the game before the injury Bryant scored 47 points while playing all 48 minutes of a narrow Lakers win over a depleted Portland Trail Blazers. The heavy load was hardly an outlier for Bryant this season, as the Lakers have needed him for nearly every available minute to keep their playoffs hopes alive. 

Imagine your team is fighting for their playoff life and your star player is driving to the basket and suddenly falls in a heap to the floor. What would you do?

On Friday night, Kobe Bryant tore his left Achilles heel which brought back the question all playoff teams face this time of year: Do you continue to play your stars to get the best possible seed or rest your players to avoid injury before playoffs?

The San Antonio Spurs have always clearly had the position of valuing the rest of their players over killing themselves trying to win every regular season game while chasing a better playoff seed. Remember the first meeting between the Spurs and Heat in Miami aka "Restgate"?

On this episode of the Project Spurs-News 4 San Antonio Spurs Roundtable, Jeff Garcia, Kyle Boenitz and special guest Ari Temkin of AM 1250 ESPN SA's The Hardline react to the surprising news of the San Antonio Spurs releasing forward Stephen Jackson days before the playoffs begin.

How will this move affect the team considering the roster is thin with injuries to Manu Ginobili, and Boris Diaw? The panel break it all down including a look at the teams the Spurs could face in the first round of the playoffs.

All this and much more on this episode of the Spurs Roundtable.

Manu Ginobili's season hasn't gone as planned and if you ask him what his mindset is, the answer won't surprise you.

In an interview with Argentine site Ole, Manu summed up his feelings on his injury-riddled season.

"Sometimes things that are beyond the unimaginable happen. What do you want me to tell you? I feel frustrated."

That might be a huge understatement.

Ginobili has only played 59 games this season and it might not add to the total heading into the playoffs. He's been out with a hamstring injury and it looks like the progress hasn't been as he envisioned it.

Ginobil has admitted he's taking care of his body better now and it's been noticeable with a slimmer look this season.