Tony Parker is expected to miss two to four weeks after suffering a strained left calf last Saturday night.

Playing their first game without starting point guard, the San Antonio Spurs (49-11) were sloppy and committed 22 turnovers in the game.

The Memphis Grizzlies took advantage of Parker's absence and poor ball handling by San Antonio to defeat the Spurs 109-93. 

Here are some of the numbers that stood out in this Spurs' loss.

93.8 - The Grizzlies were nearly perfect from the free throw line, making 15-of-16 (93.8%) of their foul shots. The Spurs on the other hand just made 17-of-23 (73.9%) of their free throw attempts.

62 - Memphis mauled the San Antonio from the inside, outscoring the Spurs 62-34 on inside points.

52.8 - The Grizzlies shot a blistering 47-of-89 (52.8%) from the floor while holding the Spurs to 34-of-77 (44.2%) shooting from the field.

42 - Memphis edged San Antonio in the rebounding department 42-39.

27 - The Grizzlies beat the Spurs on transition 27-11 on fast break points.

• The San Antonio Spurs will face the Cleveland Cavaliers tomorrow and with Antawn Jamison out with an injury, the Cavaliers will be starting Samardo Samuels:

Samuels has played well the last few games, so Scott is rewarding him by starting him Wednesday at home against Tim Duncan and the San Antonio Spurs. He replaces Jamison, who could miss the rest of the season following successful surgery on his left pinky Tuesday morning. (cavs.ohio.com)

• Also, the Cavaliers will start JJ Hickson at center versus the Spurs tomorrow night:

Technically perhaps, J.J. Hickson will be listed as the Cavaliers' starting center Wednesday night against the San Antonio Spurs. That's where he's played for 21 games this season, and where he's had the most success. (cleveland.com)

• Draft Express did a retrospective on Spurs' DeJuan Blair and Gary Neal:

Proving his worth as an offensive rebounder, space-carver in the lane, and an active cutter off the ball, Blair is the perfect complement to the Spurs' stable of talented scorers, as he creates extra possessions on the glass, sets hard screens on the perimeter, and provides a good target for easy shots around the basket. Unsurprisingly, Blair embraced this role from his first day in the league, and it's a big reason why he's managed to be so successful so quickly.

It hasn't been a completely smooth road for Neal getting to where he is, as some of his stops overseas have been less successful than others, but he's done a great job maturing and coming to a better understanding of the team concept in the last four years. He's now been thrust into arguably the most team-oriented offense in the league, and he's embraced it well, taking full advantage of his first shot in the NBA.

• The Spurs' D-League affiliate Austin Toros, made a trade with the Erie Bayhawks. Project Spurs' affiliate site Toros Nation has the report:

Yesterday, the Toros traded rookie Jermaine Beal to the Erie Bayhawks as part of a three-team deal that will net them a third round selection in the 2011 D-League Draft.

• Express News' Tim Griffin talks about the Spurs' core players.

• ProBasketBallTalk has the Spurs ranked number one in their Power Rankings:

1. Spurs (49-10, Last Week #2). No deadline moves for this group, nor should there have been. They are 6 games up on the Mavericks and Celtics for best record in the league, and they will not be caught. They are going to have home court for as long as they last in the playoffs.

Hit the jump to read about Matt Bonner making fun of himself, an argument why Manu Ginobili should be the NBA MVP, the pros and cons of former Spur Dennis Rodman in the Basketball Hall of Fame and more.

With all signs pointing to free agent point guard Mike Bibby signing with the Miami Heat, it seems the San Antonio Spurs have expressed interest in Carlos Arroyo who was waived by the Heat to make way for the arrival of Bibby:

Indeed, the gloom may be limited for Arroyo, who has attracted interest from the San Antonio Spurs, who will be without sidelined starting point guard Tony Parker for two to four weeks due to a calf injury. (sun-sentinel.com)

As the report states, with the injury to Tony Parker, the Spurs would be looking for a point guard seeing how Parker will be out two to four weeks.

This season the eight-year pro has averaged 5.6 points, 1.6 rebounds, and 2.0 assists.

Again, there was a report the Spurs are also looking at former Spur Garrett Temple and are still waiting word from free agent Corey Brewer after speaking to him earlier today.

What are your thoughts Spurs fans?

According to the Washington Post, the San Antonio Spurs are interested in point guard Mike Bibby who was recently bought out by the Washington Wizards:

Portland, Miami, Boston, San Antonio, the Los Angeles Lakers and possibly Denver are believed to have interest in him.

With the recent injury to point guard Tony Parker, it would make sense to bring in Bibby as insurance until Parker returns. He also wants to play for a team in contention for the NBA title so the Spurs would suit him. However, there is also a report the Spurs are interested in former Spur Garrett Temple.

What do you think about Bibby Spurs fans?

While most San Antonio Spurs fans are talking about buyout candidates possibly joining the silver and black, the Spurs seem to be interested in bringing a former player back.

I listed a few names yesterday that the team could bring up from the D-League for a 10-day contract while Tony Parker is out with a strained calf muscle.

One of the names that did not make my list was Garrett Temple, someone Spurs coach Gregg Popovich is interested in, according the the San Antonio Express-News.

One name Popovich confirmed intrigued the Spurs: Garrett Temple, the combo guard who was with the Spurs for the final weeks of the 2009-10 season and went through most of training camp before being waived.

He called Temple “a very interesting name for us.”

Temple was with the Spurs in training camp and played in three regular season games before he was waived, a surprise to many considering Popovich called him his favorite player in training camp.

After Temple was waived, he played for the RGV Vipers, then was traded to the Erie Bayhawks before he was called up by the Milwaukee Bucks for a 10-day contract.

Temple, who is known to be a quick study, made an immediate impact in his first game with the Bucks, finishing the game with eight points, three rebounds and three assists in 18 minutes. 

For more on Temple, be sure to read his Q&A with Jeff Garcia and listen in as I interviewed him on the phone after a Summer League Game in Las Vegas. 

With 23 games remaining, the NBA stretch run is fully underway and the San Antonio Spurs will be looking to close out the regular season on a high note.

To discuss the Spurs and their stretch run, I recently spoke with San Antonio's News 4 WOAI Sports Reporter Humberto "Humbie" Cervera. In this Q&A he speaks on what he expects from the Spurs in their final games, the Dallas Mavericks, his thoughts on Mavericks' Jason Terry, and more. 

Jeff: What are you expecting from the Spurs in the stretch run?

Humbie: I'm expecting a lot of the same. They've found the formula to win games in the regular season. They're a very good team, but what we're all waiting for is if they can play defense to be the BEST team. If they can't they'll just be the Phoenix Suns of yesteryear.

Many point to the Lakers, Celtics, Spurs as the teams to beat but would you say the Dallas Mavericks should be mentioned in that list?

They'll always be one of those teams so long as Dirk (Nowitzki) is there. They've been through too many playoff battles to EVER say the Spurs will just roll right through them.

Speaking of the Mavericks, recently Jason Terry said Dallas can catch the San Antonio whether it be in the regular season or the playoffs. He went a bit further and said he would prefer it to be in the playoffs. Any "kind" words for Mr. Terry?

He's one of my least favorite players in the league first off. Dallas CAN catch them. I could also win the lottery in the near future. Just because something CAN happen doesn't mean it actually will. That's the difference between the Spurs and the Mavs. The Mavs are worried about beating the Spurs and the Spurs are worried about their next championship.

With the regular season nearing the end, what has been your biggest surprise and disappointment from the Spurs?

I still think Gary Neal is the biggest surprise, even more so than the 3 pt accuracy from RJ. The biggest disappointment still has to be the play of Tiago. Spurs brass tried to warn us he wouldn't be spectacular, but we all got our hopes up anyways.

If you can point to one thing right now, what would it be for the Spurs to focus on with their remaining games?

Defense. That's the biggest thing they're all talking about right now. We've had the privilege to see 4 championships come through here and we all know it wasn't because of their great offensive prowess that they pulled that off. If the spurs defense isn't right they could find a wrong matchup and lose as early as the 1st round.

The San Antonio Spurs have lost starting point guard Tony Parker for two to four weeks due to strained left soleus in his calf muscle he suffered against the Memphis Grizzlies this past Sunday.

Manu Ginobli spoke on the loss of Parker and he says the whole dynamic of the team changes and will be looking to push the tempo more.
 

(video woai.com)

According to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports, Corey Brewer is expected to speak with San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich today.

Brewer will also be speaking with the Boston Celtics, and the Dallas Mavericks.

The fan response here at Project Spurs has been positive to the possible addition of Brewer to the Spurs.

Leave your comments and stay tuned!

SAN ANTONIO SPURS (49-10) vs. MEMPHIS GRIZZLIES (33-28)

The San Antonio Spurs tied a franchise record 21 straight home wins by defeating the Memphis Grizzlies 95-88 last Sunday. Both teams will face again tonight at the FedEx Forum as the Spurs (49-10) tries to equal their win total from last season and extend their current winning streak to four games.

The Grizzlies (33-28) will definitely be a tougher team playing on their home floor where they are 20-8 this season.

Tony Parker will be out for this game because of a calf injury he suffered on Sunday. That means George Hill will likely be the Spurs' starting point guard until Parker returns and Manu Ginobili might play extra minutes with the backcourt being short-handed.

The Grizzlies are still in 8th place in the Western Conference just half a game over the Phoenix Suns.

Hit the jump for the keys of the game and find out which team will win this matchup.

• Does the injury to San Antonio Spurs guard Tony Parker lead to the possibility of the Dallas Mavericks catching the Spurs for the best record in the NBA?

Does it crack open the door for the Dallas Mavericks (43-16), who despite winning six in a row and 15 of 16 remain six games behind San Antonio (49-10), to make a run at the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference?

Dallas has 23 games left starting Tuesday night at the vastly improved Philadelphia 76ers, who have moved above .500 at 30-29 and have won four in a row. (espn.com)

• Spurs' coach Gregg Popovich and Manu Ginobili talk about the scoring drought in last night's win against the Memphis Grizzlies:

• With all the talk about small markets thriving against larger markets such as New York, in any new CBA, the Spurs are seen as the exception:

Now, there are exceptions to the rule in the NBA. The San Antonio Spurs play in a smaller market and currently have the league's best record. That's because they've drafted brilliantly -- not just Tim Duncan as the no-brainer No. 1 choice, but Tony Parker (28th pick, one pick after Jamaal Tinsley), Manu Ginobili (57th pick), DeJuan Blair (37th) and George Hill (26th). Brilliant management and talent evaluation can overcome a middling (13th) payroll. (indystar.com)

• Spurs' Tim Duncan and David Robinson weighed in on the small versus big market cities in the NBA:

“I always thought it was special to be in one place and you could put together a team, especially in a small market like San Antonio’s,” said Hall of Fame center David Robinson, who won two championships and spent his entire 14-season career with the San Antonio Spurs. “But it’s real tough because the small-market teams don’t have the money to do what a New York can do and the Lakers can do. It’s going to be hard for a lot of small-market teams.”

“The big teams getting the best players might be what [people] want to see. It might be the biggest draw,” conceded Spurs forward Tim Duncan . “But obviously, if the league wants to stay competitive all-around, that makes room for much better games on a nightly basis.” (sports.yahoo.com)

Hit the jump to read about how to score some free Spurs tickets, a Spurs caption contest, more from the Spurs win over the Grizzlies and more.