San Antonio Spurs Antonio McDyess has experienced it all in the NBA during his 14 seasons.

He has experienced the best of times such as going to the NBA finals in 2005, and being named an All-Star in 2001.

He has also experienced the worst of times like the repeated knee injuries and more importantly, not capturing an NBA championship.

Before entering this season, McDyess said this will be his final hurrah in the NBA, and barring any last minute change of mind, he is taking all the lessons learned throughout his career and imparting his wisdom to the younger players on the Spurs team.

In 2005 with the Detroit Pistons, McDyess finally tasted the NBA Finals when he faced his current team. It was a thrilling seven game series where the Spurs captured their third NBA title. The NBA title eluded McDyess once again.

Now with the Spurs having the league's best record, and with championship hopes riding high, McDyess knows to temper any premature excitement.

"It's looking good," said McDyess when asked about how his championship hopes are shaping up with the Spurs this season. "But as you know and I know, the regular season really don't mean a thing once you go to the playoffs. You can have the best record and just because you got the home stand doesn't mean like you can't lose."

This is true and the Spurs can also learn from franchise experience. In 1995 the Spurs had the NBA's best record but ran into a hot Houston Rockets team in the playoffs and title hopes quickly vanished.

Same goes for McDyess when he was with the Detroit Pistons.

As first reported earlier this month here at Project Spurs, we been keeping an eye on San Antonio Spurs' head coach Gregg Popovich and forward Tim Duncan reaching personal milestones in their NBA careers. Here were the last two updates which you can read here and here.

Here is the latest.

Popovich is currently third in the all-time list of most coaching wins with one team with 782 victories. In first place is former Utah Jazz coach Jerry Sloan with 1,127 wins and in second place is Boston Celtics' former coach Red Auerbach who has 795 wins. Popovich needs 14 more wins to move into second place.

Duncan is currently 11th on the all-time NBA career blocked shots list with 2,345 blocks. With 12 more blocks, he will move into the top ten surpassing former NBA player Alonzo Mourning who registered 2,356 blocks.

• The San Antonio Spurs will conclude their Rodeo Road Trip in Chicago when they face the Bulls this Thursday night. The Bulls have been without star Joakim Noah due to injury but could he be returning to action versus the Spurs?

Asked if he will lobby the Bulls to come back Thursday when they host San Antonio for the last game before the break, Noah paused for a few seconds, then chose his words carefully.

“We’ll see how it feels,” he said. “I’m just taking it day by day. I’m just trying to get better and improve.” (dailyherald.com)

• Last night the Spurs defeated the New Jersey Nets and Spurs' Richard Jefferson, who used to play for the Nets, had this to say about his former team:

“One of the things with the group that I came with, we took a lot of pride in turning around the franchise,” the Spurs forward said before the Spurs 102-85 victory at the Prudential Center. “Even it was a defensive championship or making the playoffs every year, we all took that as a step in the right direction of making this an elite franchise.

“So, obviously, their struggles hurt.” (nydailynews.com)

• Check out this chart-of-the-day from Business Insider on the Spurs and their chances at reaching 70 wins this season:

Currently, the Spurs are just one game off the pace to finish 70-12 (below). In order to reach 70 wins, they will need to go 24-3 over the final 27 games. The Spurs did start the season 25-3, so they are capable. But with a 7.5-game lead in the Western Conference, you can be certain that Gregg Popovich will get his star players rest down the stretch. Still, if the Spurs are in reach the final week, history may be too tempting.

• Hoopism.com gives the greatest shots in NBA history and their location on the court. Find out which Spurs made the list.

Hit the jump to read what former Spurs' players George Gervin and Danny Ferry had to say about traveling on the road, Popovich on the Spurs' record, Tony Parker hosting a party in Las Vegas, how to win free tickets to the Spurs-Oklahoma City Thunder game this month, and more.

Let’s say you have three MVP candidates: Kobe Byrant, Kevin Durant and Manu Ginobili. Now let’s say the teams coach has decided to bring each player off the bench. How do the fans react?

Typical Laker fan: “What! What’s going on with Phil? Huh? Bench Kobe! Who does he think he is? The Mamba is our team!”

Typical Thunder fan: “Why would coach Brooks bench KD? We’re going to fall behind! We’re going to dig ourselves a hole early and need Durant to bring us back! Oh no!”

Typical Spurs fan: “OK” 

Of course in reality, that will never happen. But, it does show you hypothetically where the San Antonio Spurs as a franchise stand with their fan base. The Spurs fans and team are almost invincibly linked. This was evident on Saturday night against the Washington Wizards. Before the game, word came out that Coach Popovich had decided to bench “MVP candidate” Manu Ginobili for “sixth man of the year candidate” George Hill. The move didn’t really create much of a ruckus in Spurs land. Why? Because Spurs fans have faith and trust in the organization that leads their team, it’s that simple. If Coach Pop felt Manu needed to come off the bench, then Spurs land said “OK.”

By the way, it’s Views From The Couch! Volume 11. Let’s go!

Hit the "read more" button to find out if Manu may need rest? What happened in Philly? Is the defense finding its identity? And as always, all your comical commentary from the past week!

Many were shocked to hear the news of Jerry Sloan's resignation as head coach of the Utah Jazz last week, especially after signing an extension with the Jazz.

After 22 full seasons and well into his 23rd with the Jazz, the announcement came as a surprise to many. Even Jazz great Karl Malone sounded off on Sloan's resignation saying his former coach would never quit.

There are even reports that Sloan's riff with point guard Deron Williams and a belief he became undermined with Jazz ownership were the main reasons for his departure.

Last week in Philadelphia I spoke to San Antonio Spurs players Antonio McDyess and Richard Jefferson to get their views on Sloan's resignation. Here is what they had to say.

McDyess on Sloan:

"He's one of my favorite coaches and to see him resign definitely was eye-opening and a surprise to me. Jerry Sloan definitely a legend in this league as a coach and as a person. Just to see him step down was sad to see. I'm sure he has something in store and hopefully it will work out for him."

Jefferson says Deron Williams is not to blame:

"I was shocked. I was even more shocked to hear that they were actually trying to blame a player," Jefferson said. 

"There's no one player that's going to run out a coach. I think sometimes a coach looks at a situation and just feels like he's ready to move on. To say that in 26 years that Deron Williams is the first player, I think that's just disrespectful to both sides. To say that about Deron, and to say that about their coach, to say now (Sloan) can't handle that."

"Like they say, Karl Malone was no angel when he was walking around Utah. They had ups and downs, they had losing streaks. They had years where they struggled, the situation with Carlos Boozer. There has been a lot of things that had gone on over the course of his 26 years (sic) there. So now to say him and Deron weren't getting along and that's why the coach left, I think that's a bad, bad excuse."

Jefferson on how Sloan left the game:

"It's not up to us to determine how we feel how he should go out," continued Jefferson. 

"If he decides to go out before the playoffs for health reasons, if he wants to take a leave, whatever it is, it's not for the media, it's not for the players to determine. If he felt like right now is the time where his passion wasn't in it, then who are we to judge."

Jefferson went on to say, "This man has committed more time than any coach in professional sports has. To say he needed a certain way to go out, he has earned the right to go out however he wants. It's very similar to Brett Favre. A lot of people felt Brett Favre should have retired but if he felt like he could play more, then it's his decision. He has earned that right."

Those are the thoughts of two Spurs players on Sloan's resignation. Share your thoughts on the topic and how McDyess and Jefferson reacted in the comments below. 

Here is some locker room material for the San Antonio Spurs' bench courtesy of Dallas Mavericks' guard Jason Terry.

Terry is convinced that the Mavericks' bench is "second to none,'' but he doesn't feel the reserves get the credit that they are due.

"When we get to the Finals and win it all, then everybody will realize what we mean to this team,'' he said. (SportsDayDFW)

The Mavericks are second in the Southwest Division to the Spurs with a record of 38-16 to the Spurs' NBA leading record 46-9 and the Spurs' bench has a lot to do with that.

Looking at the Spurs' main players off the bench you have Gary Neal who averages 8.7 points, George Hill at 11.2 points, Matt Bonner with 7.4 points, Antonio McDyess with 5.1 points and 5.2 rebounds. Let's not forget, Manu Ginobili and his 17.9 points per game is perfectly fine coming off the bench if need be.

Granted Terry is averaging 15.9 points off the bench for Dallas and making a strong case for Sixth Man of the Year but the Mavericks will need more than just him coming off the bench if they want to make it to the Finals. 

However, I say let him yap all he wants.

The Spurs dismissed the Mavericks from the playoffs last season and I'm sure should these two teams meet yet again, history will repeat itself. Hopefully the Spurs' bench will have a lot to do with that dismissal.

Which cartoons does San Antonio Spurs forward Tim Duncan watch when he is spending time with his children? How about Dora the Explorer, Blue's Clues, Tom and Jerry and more.

(video woai.com)

We've seen San Antonio Spurs guard Manu Ginobili take a boring assist and make it into something spectacular before. His passes alone have made Sportscenter highlights.

We've seen him throw 90mph curve balls through the air that somehow find their way in the hands of a player at the rim for the easy layup, instead of beheading an opponent. Last night, he pulled another one out of his bag of tricks, the between-the-legs dish, passing the ball between the legs of Nets center Derrick Favors and getting it into the hands of a driving DeJuan Blair.

YouTube Link

NEW JERSEY - It may be Valentine's Day but the San Antonio Spurs (46-9) showed no love tonight towards the New Jersey Nets (17-39) as they beat the Nets 102 to 85 at the Prudential Center.

For the most part, the Spurs got the win in the paint dominating the Nets 40 to 28. Tim Duncan was doing most of the damage for the Spurs as he scored 15 points, three blocks, and grabbed 11 boards.

The Spurs' other big man DeJuan Blair pointed to Duncan as the key to the Spurs dominating the Nets in the inside.

"Tim Duncan sparked it off. He played great against a great player (Brook Lopez)."

But it wasn't just the Spurs inside game that got the win tonight. The Spurs held the Nets to 45% shooting (36 of 80) and dominated the boards 50 to 39.

In the second half, the Spurs didn't start off strong as they picked up two quick offensive fouls and Nets' center Lopez was hitting shots at the rim.

But the Spurs went back to what was maintaining their lead by getting it in the middle to Duncan and clamping down on defense as at one point they held the Nets to 32.8% shooting at one point.

"It was tough," said Nets' Brook Lopez on playing Duncan. "I tried to keep him from getting middle, but he spun back a couple of times and had some big shots. They were good looks for him they went down."

It also wasn't just Duncan doing the damage to the Nets on the inside. Spurs' guard Tony Parker was knifing into the lane, getting lay-ups and finished the night with 13 points and seven assists.

Nets' coach Avery Johnson had a lot to say about his former team's performance tonight and Parker.

"They do a good job off of scoring their offensive rebounds. They do a good job at closing out quarters, definitely closing out the halves, and Tony (Parker) is the reason. He's number one on points in the paint for a reason. You saw it tonight, but we just didn't do a good job of getting what we call, two on the ball, getting some support in that situation."

Spurs' coach Popovich was also pleased with the Spurs' focus on the defensive end.

"I was pleased, I thought we focused the entire game. We played with physicality and we played good defense throughout the game."

Manu Ginobili led the way for the Spurs scoring 22 points.

Perhaps Nets' coach Johnson said it best, "We just didn't have much of an inside game tonight."

The Spurs will conclude the Rodeo Road Trip with a visit to Chicago to face the Bulls on Thursday.

Notes:

• Five Spurs scored in double figures tonight: Duncan with 15, Blair with 10, Manu Ginobili with 22, Tony Parker with 13, George Hill with 13, and Gary Neal with 11.
• The Spurs are now 34-3 when scoring 100+ points and 38-0 when shooting a higher field goal percentage than their opponent.
• The Spurs came into tonight's matchup ranked first in the NBA in three-point field goal percentage at .395. Tonight they shot .438% (7-16) from the three-point line.
• Duncan tallied his team-leading 19th double-double tonight recording 15 points and 11 boards in 26 minutes.
• Nets' Lopez scored 11 points and grabbed 10 rebounds in 30 minutes.

• Al Iannazzone of northjersey.com wrote about how San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich saw potential in Avery Johnson and still sees’ the “Little Generals” potential today:

In a perfect world Johnson would like to build “a program” similar to what Popovich has in San Antonio. (They both use the word program, by the way). It helps when you have David Robinson and later Tim Duncan. The Nets (17-38) obviously need to upgrade their roster.

• Jacob Rosen of flyernews.com wrote a beautiful piece remembering Chris Daniels, former Spurs guard Antonio Daniels older brother whom passed away 15 years ago:

Although Chris Daniels' opportunity at an NBA career was tragically cut short, his dream continued with his younger brother Antonio Daniels.

• Since it’s Valentine's Day, here’s a great piece about finding love regardless of age. Kwtx.com tells the story of a couple who are 92 years old and are set to be married Saturday; one of the common interests they found they shared? The Spurs:

Soon Etter and Massey became bridge partners and soon learned they shared a love for the San Antonio Spurs.

 Hit the "read more" tab to see why maybe it wasn't the worst case scenario Tony Parker didn't make the All Star team and how advertisements on jerseys would impact the Spurs