We’re only ten days into March and the San Antonio Spurs (52-12) have already earned their ticket to the postseason. After beating Detroit on Wednesday night, the Spurs rebounded from their atrocious loss to the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday afternoon. 

Keyword in that last sentence: L-O-S-S.

The question is asked, are there any positive signs to build on from the losses?

I’ve gone ahead and broken down all 12 of the Spurs' losses. I’ve put them into unique categories and given a quick summary of what the category represents and a brief summary of the game.

Self-Inflicted Wounds

Self-inflicted wounds represent games where the Spurs hurt themselves in a losing effort. Whether it was numerous turnovers, not bringing the aggressiveness early in a game or just making critical mistakes in crunch time.

• October 30, 2010: New Orleans Hornets - L, 99-90

The Spurs fell behind 18 points in first half of this game. They made an effort to crawl back within five points in the fourth quarter, but in the end, the Hornets early lead was too much to overcome.

• November 26, 2010: Dallas Mavericks - L, 103-94

This game was like every typical I-35 rivalry. Close throughout, physical, emotional, win-in-the-fourth-quarter type format. The Spurs had too many turnovers in this game (17) and it showed down the stretch in the fourth quarter as the Mavericks created separation. Manu Ginobili did all he could with a heroic 31-point effort but in the end, not one player can win against 15 others.

The San Antonio Spurs picked up the win against the Detroit Pistons last night and Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich spoke on how well Tony Parker played:

Manu Ginobili spoke about the win against the Pistons and said Detroit did not look ready defensively in the first half:

(video woai.com)

The San Antonio Spurs (52-12) bounced back from an embarrassing loss by beating the Detroit Pistons (23-42) 111-104 and clinch a playoff berth.

The Spurs hit their first 14 shots and finished with a season high 40 points in the first quarter to take a 14 point lead and never looked back. 

Now it's time to check out some numbers in this Spurs' recent victory.

64.3 - The Spurs shot a blistering 45-of-70 (64.3%) from the floor while holding the Pistons to just 42-of-93 (45.2%) shooting from the field.

48 - San Antonio won the inside battle, outscoring Detroit 48-38 on inside points. 

46.2 - The Pistons shot well from behind the arc, making 6-of-13 (46.2%) three point attempts. The Spurs only made 6-of-16 (37.5%) shots from beyond the arc.

39 - Detroit controlled the boards, outrebounding San Antonio 39-32.

23 - Tony Parker led all scorers with 23 points. He also added seven assists and four steals on 11-15 shooting from the field.

20 - Richard Hamilton led the Pistons with 20 points off the bench.

• Express News' Tim Griffin talks about Spurs' draft pick Ryan Richards' appearance today at the Spurs' shootaround:

It was a routine shootaround for the Spurs before their game Wednesday against Detroit with one noticeable exception.

Assembled media members were treated to a brief glimpse of 7-foot power forward Ryan Richards from England, who was drafted in the second round by the team in the 2010 draft and still has not signed with the team.

• ESPN.com says the San Antonio Spurs are continuously being slept-on despite their domination of the NBA this season:

The Spurs may be the next NBA champions, yet they garner less attention than less-successful organizations because they do it as a team. There's no flashy team nickname like The Heatles, no bravado and no tacky preseason championship-type celebrations. Just teamwork and wins.

Teamwork -- a foreign word in this era of squads led by superstar egos and talent. No one player on the Spurs is in the top five for individual statistics in the league. Yet, in the final seconds of a close game, the options are plentiful because the talent is there.

• Spurs.com talks to Steve Novak about how he became a Spur:

One moment a Bighorn, the next a San Antonio Spur. “I think,” Novak says, “I definitely won that day.” His wife, Christina, would agree. Now Christina and their 7-month-old son, Mack, are preparing to move from Milwaukee to San Antonio.

• Spurs fans meet and greet George Hill and DeJuan Blair:

• Former Spurs player Carl Hererra has some legal woes:

A former San Antonio Spurs basketball player pleaded guilty Wednesday to a federal misdemeanor and was sentenced to a year of probation, putting an end to years of wrangling over his tax case.

Carl V. Herrera, 44, quietly told Senior U.S. District Judge W. Royal Furgeson that he was glad to put the matter behind him.

A federal jury convicted Herrera of felony tax evasion in a 2007 trial after the Internal Revenue Service alleged he owed more than $550,000 in back taxes for 1994 through 1997.

But Furgeson threw out the conviction because he didn't think Herrera willfully did it. (Express News)

• TheSpoof.com says Los Angeles Lakers' Ron Artest and Spurs fan "Coffee" Bob will make a Starbucks commercial together.

Hit the jump to read about how you can win free tickets to an upcoming Spurs game, Detroit Pistons head coach recalling the 2005 NBA Finals, a member of the Spurs remembers a tornado, Popovich on Hornets coach Monty williams, and more.

Recently, the city of San Antonio was announced as the host city of the WNBA All-Star game this coming July but the San Antonio Spurs want the NBA All-Star game to return to the Alamo City.

Back in 1996, San Antonio had the privilege to host the NBA All-Star weekend but since then, the NBA has not given San Antonio a chance to host another.

However, Spurs Sports & Entertainment has reached out to the NBA about their continued interest in hosting another All-Star weekend in San Antonio:

Spurs Sports & Entertainment President Rick Pych says the organization has shared with league officials its continued interest in hosting another NBA All-Star Game in San Antonio.

But he says the only way it makes sense for the Alamo City to host the event a second time is if the game is staged the same place it was played in 1996 — in the Alamodome.

“We do have an interest in bringing the game back to San Antonio,” Pych says. “And we have talked to the league about it. But we would want to have it at the Alamodome.”

Having it in San Antonio's Alamodome does make sense. It has a larger seating capacity, in downtown San Antonio, close to major attractions and hotels, and will provide more opportunity for fans to attend at a lower ticket price.

If the NBA All-Star game can be held at the new Cowboys Stadium, why not the Alamodome?

Next year Orlando will be the host city. Let's just hope after the All-Star game is over, Spurs fans will hear the news it's returning to San Antonio.

Note: Travis Atkins, staff-writer at Project Spurs' affiliate site Toros Nation covering the San Antonio Spurs' D-League affiliate Austin Toros, recently did an in-depth interview with Toros guard Carldell "Squeaky" Johnson. In this interview, Johnson talks about growing up in a neighborhood where violence was common, never giving up on his dreams, suffering through Hurricane Katrina, and more.

By Travis Atkins, Toros Nation
Austin Toros point guard Carldell “Squeaky” Johnson is in his fourth year with the team, a rarity in a league where rosters change from day-to-day. Since his first year in 2007, Johnson has seen dozens of teammates come and go, some to the NBA, some to other professional teams and some just out of basketball.

Johnson has fallen into the category of a good player that everyone likes and is a team leader, but has never been able to break into the NBA. For Squeaky, whose road to Austin was long and rocky, playing for the Toros has not been a minor league struggle, but a dream realized.

“I never actually thought that I would be the guy that would be on the pedestal,” Johnson said. “Going to the NBA wasn’t the ultimate goal for me. For me it’s being successful and not doing things that my father wouldn’t agree of. With that being said, yeah I’ve made it and for me to continue playing basketball without actually thinking it’s a job or getting a job, I’m making it.”

Squeaky is having his best season yet with the Toros, averaging a career high in minutes (34.5), points (12.3) and assists (6.5). Overall, Johnson has enjoyed his time in Austin.

“It’s been great man,” Johnson said. “It’s been a lot of ups and downs. I went from starting, to being a role player, to a guy that was just supporting the team in different ways. Now I got the job of starting and being part of the team and I’m excited about it.”

Johnson wants to keep playing basketball as long as possible and said he would love to be back with the Toros for a fifth season. If that doesn’t work out, he would be fine with playing somewhere overseas. 

Squeaky, who was given his nickname by his aunt after a character from Laverne and Shirley (Squiggy), has had some stability the last four years as a member of the Toros, something he has not always had. Johnson was a senior star point guard at the University of Alabama-Birmingham in 2005 when Hurricane Katrina hit his hometown of New Orleans.

Click HERE for the complete article at Toros Nation.

On this episode of the Spurscast, we discuss the week that was for the San Antonio Spurs. What we liked, and didn't like from the Spurs in the past few games. We also talk other Spurs news.

In the second half of the show, we dive right into the main topic: Are there any lingering concerns from the Spurs loss to the Lakers? We go over the pros and cons of the loss to the Lakers, what this might mean down the road for the Spurs, and much more.

The Spurscast. The first and original San Antonio Spurs podcast.

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The San Antonio Spurs will be facing the Detroit Pistons tonight and Spurs' Antonio McDyess says Tim Duncan will be ready to have a bounce-back game after his less-than-stellar performance against the Los Angeles Lakers where he finished the game with two points, seven rebounds, 1-7 shooting in 23 minutes.

(video woai.com)

After their first home loss in more than three months, the San Antonio Spurs will try to get back to their winning ways and sweep the season series against the Detroit Pistons tonight at the AT&T Center.

San Antonio (51-12) has used a 29-3 home record to help build a four game lead over Boston in the entire NBA. Their 22 straight home victories came to an end with a 99-83 loss to the defending champion Los Angeles last Sunday.

Tim Duncan was held to only two points and 1-of-7 shooting for the second time this season against the Lakers. 

Rookie Greg Monroe is averaging 15.4 points and 10.3 rebounds while shooting 59.1 percent over his last eight games with the Pistons. He had 12 points and seven boards Sunday night, and was one of seven players to score in double figures for Detroit (23-41) in a 113-102 win over the Washington Wizards.

Tayshaun Prince returned from a four game absence due to back problems and scored 20 points while Rodney Stuckey had 19 points, nine assists and seven rebounds.

Duncan had 10 points and 10 rebounds, while Monroe scored 14 and grabbed 13 boards in San Antonio's 100-89 road win on February 8 at Detroit. 

Hit the jump to find out the keys to the game for the Spurs and Pistons, and which team wins this game.

• San Antonio Spurs' Tim Duncan had this to say about Los Angeles Lakers' Andrew Bynum and how he disrupted the Spurs' offense in the loss to the Lakers:

“He bothered a lot of people in the lane,” Duncan said, “and just his size was definitely the difference.” (nba.com)

• The Spurs are regrouping after the huge loss to the Lakers:

• With Minnesota Timberwolves' Kevin Love is racking up the double-doubles this season, Spurs' Tim Duncan ranks among the top 12 players all-time in career double-doubles:

Of the top 12 all-time double-double leaders (points-rebounds), according to the Elias Sports Bureau, Wilt Chamberlain stands alone at 966. Malone is next at 894 and Elvis Hayes had 890. The only active player on the list is San Antonio Spurs forward Tim Duncan with 704, one behind Charles Barkley. (espn.com)

• Austin Toros' Marcus Cousin has been called up to the Utah Jazz, and added two new players. Read all about this at Toros Nation.

• Speaking of the Toros, check out this great article about the Toros' new home, the Cedar Park Center at Toros Nation.

• Spurs' Gary Neal suffered concussion-like symptoms recently and the NBA is taking steps to prevent this injury to its players:

According to STATS LLC data reviewed by the AP, eight NBA players have missed games this season because of head injuries, concussions or concussion-like symptoms and there's been an average of nine players per season who've missed playing time over the previous five years.

Besides Paul, Miami's Mike Miller, San Antonio's Gary Neal, Phoenix's Vince Carter and New Jersey's Anthony Morrow and Damion James all have dealt with blows to the head since Feb. 15. (nba.com)

Hit the jump to read about how you can win free tickets to a Spurs game this month, what Neal's former coach at Towson said about him, the Spurs falling out of the number one spot in NBA rankings, and more.