• John Smallwood of Philly.com handed out his NBA awards heading into the All Star break. Look who he had as his MVP thus far:

But I do have co-MVPs - Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker, of the San Antonio Spurs.

• Stephen Brotherston of Hoopsworld wrote an excellent piece on the San Antonio Spurs' latest gem, Gary Neal:

Neal has developed his offensive skills, his basketball knowledge and matured physically and emotionally.  The Spurs have once again found themselves a player who has made an immediate impact and the rest of the league just overlooked.

• Sam Smith of Bulls.com answered questions from his mailbag. One of the questions was regarding Tim Duncan getting picked over Portland's LaMarcus Aldridge for the All Star Game:

But the coaches picked him. I was surprised. I thought the commissioner would add him, though the coaches likely wanted to honor the Spurs' record with two guys and already had the allotment of guards.

Hit the "read more" button to find out Bonner's role in the NBA bargaining agreement, changes during the Jerry Sloan era and whether Tim Duncan has ever eaten a sandwich with Matt Bonner.

PHILADELPHIA - The San Antonio Spurs (44-8) face the Philadelphia 76ers (24-28) tonight and here is what Richard Jefferson and Antonio McDyess had to say about their opponent:

Jefferson on the matchup against the Sixers:

"(We) just try and play our game.They're a young, talented team that run the court extremely well. They're great at forcing turnovers which fuels their offense and confidence. They have a great home crowd who really supports them and enjoys the way they play. This is a tough building for a lot of teams."

McDyess on the Sixers:

"Tough team. They're not a .500 team but they are a tough team. They're still the seventh seed in the playoffs. On paper they're so they are so much better than their record shows. They're really athletic, play hard, got young guys, they mix things up. It's going to be a tough battle for us. Even though we got a great record, but they got a great stand right now at home.

PHILADELPHIA - San Antonio Spurs' rookie Tiago Splitter will be out of action tonight as the Spurs face the Philadelphia 76ers after a hard fall on the court against the Toronto Raptors.

Before tonight's game I spoke to Splitter and he gave me an update on his injury.

"We don't know yet," said Splitter when asked how soon will he be back on the court.

"We're looking day-by-day and let's see how I feel tomorrow. Tomorrow we are playing again so let's see if I'll be able to play."

When asked what is it with him and falling under the basket, as he did with a dunk earlier this season, he just laughed and had this to say.

"The second time I knew when I was there [under the basket] I knew I was going to fall bad. It happens and now I will just try the rehab and get on the court as soon as possible."

Splitter did say the Spurs have not given him a time-frame as to when he will be back on the court.

The Spurs are 68 percent favorites to win tonight's game against the Philadelphia 76ers, according to AccuScore. Check out their game simulation, player projections and full game forecast below.

 

Former San Antonio Spurs' player Dennis Rodman and member of the Detroit Pistons 1989, 1990 championship teams is set to have his jersey number 10 retired by the Pistons.

“Individual accomplishments have never been a big deal for me as a player, but to be honored for my contributions in this way by the Detroit Pistons organization is truly humbling,” Rodman said in a statement issued through his manager, Steven Simon of Prince Marketing Group. “This organization gave me a chance to blossom, regardless of my size or what school I came from. My only regret is that the man that believed in me more than I did myself, Chuck Daly, is no longer with us. I’m sure he’ll be with us that evening in his own way.”

Rodman was traded to the Spurs for Sean Elliott in 1993 and played with the Spurs until 1995. He averaged 17.3 rebounds in 1993-1994 season and 16.8 rebounds in his final season before being traded to the Chicago Bulls for Will Perdue.

For his career, the "Worm" played in 911 games, averaged 7.3 points, 13.1 rebounds, 1.8 assists.

Despite his off-the-court issues, there is no denying he was a master rebounder, relentless defender, and champion.

He truly belongs in the Basketball Hall of Fame.

(Detroit Free Press)

Update: According to the Spurs, Tiago Splitter will sit out against the 76ers tonight with a strained left hamstring.

After falling hard to the court Wednesday night against the Toronto Raptors, San Antonio Spurs' rookie Tiago Splitter is questionable tonight against the Philadelphia 76ers.

However, Splitter says he feels fine:

"It's a little bit painful right now but I'll be good," Splitter said.

Hopefully this won't stunt any progress Splitter was making. Against the Sacramento Kings, he posted 16 points, 9 rebounds and displayed great footwork in the paint and against the Raptors he scored 6 points, and grabbed 8 rebounds.

(cbssports.com)

The San Antonio Spurs are currently on their annual Rodeo Road Trip to make way for the San Antonio Stock Show and Rodeo.

The grounds of the AT&T Center turn into what you'd expect from a rodeo -- country music, cowboys, cows, and pigs races where the pigs are named after San Antonio Spurs' Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker: 

It is not all learning for the kids: some enjoyed the daily pig races. A capacity crowd saw swine like Brad Pig and Kevin Bacon run the track. There were also pigs named after San Antonio Spurs starts like Hamu Ginobili and Tony Porker. (ksat.com)

This got me thinking of other swine-related names for other Spurs' players. How about James HAM-derson.

Why not give it a try Spurs fans. Leave your swine-related Spurs' players name in the comments. 

As reported earlier this month here at Project Spurs, San Antonio Spurs' head coach Gregg Popovich and forward Tim Duncan are nearing personal milestones in their NBA careers.

Here is an update.

Popovich is currently third in the all-time list of most coaching wins with one team with 780 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 16 more wins to move into second place.

Duncan is currently 11th on the all-time NBA career blocked shots list with 2,339 blocks. With 18 more blocks, he will move into the top ten surpassing former NBA player Alonzo Mourning who registered 2,356 blocks.

After complaining of back spasm against the Orlando Magic, Philadelphia 76ers' Evan Turner is expected to play tonight against the San Antonio Spurs:

"I'll get it situated right now," Turner said after playing 13 minutes and scoring two points. "It just spasm-ed up on me. I'll be ready to roll. It just spasm-ed up. I woke up today and I took a nap and I woke up again and it started hurting. I'm going to have it checked out again and I will be ready for Friday."

Tonight's matchup also pits Sixers' big man Spencer Hawes against Spurs' big man Tim Duncan; however, Hawes grew up admiring Duncan:

"He was a guy I thought my game was similar to," Hawes said. "I could really try to emulate some of the things he was doing. I think his skill set was something I always admired and always tried to copy to a certain degree."

(source dailylocal.com)

• The San Antonio Spurs will next face the Philadelphia 76ers on their Rodeo Road Trip and 76ers' coach Doug Collins has nothing but respect for the Spurs:

• Against the Toronto Raptors last night, Tiago Splitter took a nasty fall on the court and fell right on his backside. But he says he feels pain everywhere but is OK.

• ESPN's Michael Wilbon spoke on the Spurs' 44-8 record. He defends the Spurs style of play against those who say the Spurs are boring, Tim Duncan's shot at a fifth ring, and more.

• Express News' Tim Griffin reports on a rare statistical feat the Spurs accomplished:

Four different Spurs had at least six assists in the game, a feat that hasn’t happened for the franchise in more than 18 seasons according to STATS LLC.

Hit the jump to read why teams should fear the Spurs, what music Tim Duncan sings to his children at night, how to win two free tickets to the Spurs-Oklahoma City Thunder game later this month and more.