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.

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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

The San Antonio Spurs (45-9) will face the New Jersey Nets (17-38) tonight in New Jersey as the Rodeo Road Trip continues. Before tip-off I spoke to Nets' center Brook Lopez on his thoughts heading into the matchup versus the Spurs.

"Yeah it's a great challenge for us. We can definitely come out with a win tonight. We just have to play they way I know we can play. Playing good defense, limit them to one board. Getting out and really let everyone touch the ball on the offensive end."

Lopez on what head coach Avery Johnson has brought to New Jersey from his days with the Spurs:

"A decent amount. I think it's mostly the winning experience."

On this episode of the Spurscast, Jeff and I discussed the last week of San Antonio Spurs games including our usual positives and negatives from each game and we talked about Jeff's coverage of the 76ers game from Philadelphia. Also, the ice cream truck makes a cameo.

Our topic of the week was " Should the Spurs go back to playing a slower, half-court offense." Listen to our takes and give yours in the comments.

The Spurscast. The original Spurs podcast.

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PHILADELPHIA -- In June 2010, the Philadelphia 76ers added the former coach of the San Antonio Spurs' D-League affiliate Austin Toros Quin Snyder to their assistant coaching ranks in charge of player development.

Snyder led the Toros from 2007-2010 and took them to the D-League Finals in the 2007-2008 season in his first season as coach. He coached in the 2009 NBA D-League All-Star Game in Phoenix, received the Dennis Johnson Coach of the Year award and reached the D-League semi-finals. In his final season with the team, he took the Toros to the D-League semi-finals.

Snyder compiled more wins and had more players get call-ups to the NBA than any other coach in the D-League. Some of those players saw action with the San Antonio Spurs such as Malik Hairston, Pops Mensah-Bonsu, Marcus Williams, Curtis Jerrells, and Alonzo Gee.

While I was in Philadelphia to catch the Spurs-Sixers game last week, I caught up with coach Snyder to get his thoughts on coaching the Toros, the D-League, the Spurs, and more.

Jeff: Have you been keeping an eye on your former team now that you are with the 76ers?

Coach Snyder: Yeah. To coach the Toros and be with the Spurs, I had such a great experience with that organization. I want to see them do well and I follow them as much as I can.

When you took the job with the Toros, did you feel any added pressure following in the shoes of the late Dennis Johnson?

No I wouldn't call it pressure. I was certainly revered in that opportunity and aware of the tragedy that was his heart attack. But I think once basketball started, that was another thing.

You have a reputation as being a player's coach when you were in the D-League. Do you feel your time with the Toros and in the D-League was training for your current position?

I think it's great training for a lot of reasons. One of the things about the D-League is it's hard. I think if you understand that as a coach then the players are working hard and it's not an easy situation to "try to make it." You have an opportunity to go through that with them. There's a lot of really good things about that league - that's one of them.

While you were with the Toros you got an opportunity to coach some great players like Dwayne Jones and Alonzo Gee. How was it to work with them?

It was great. To see them have success to get either call-ups or signed with NBA clubs, I try to follow those guys as much as possible.

How was it to have the luxury of learning the Spurs' system?

According to foxsportsohio.com, the San Antonio Spurs have expressed interest in Cleveland Cavaliers' shooting guard Anthony Parker:

While Parker has not been linked to one team in particular, the belief around the league is he can help a team in contention as a key reserve. And while the Cavs most definitely appreciate him, at 35 years old, he is not part of the long-term plans.

Teams such as Chicago, San Antonio and Dallas all would be ideal landing spots for Parker, and according to sources, each has expressed at least a passing interest.

The Spurs are stacked at the shooting guard position with Manu Ginobili, Gary Neal, James Anderson and at times George Hill. Furthermore, I doubt Parker would get any minutes especially seeing how well Neal is playing this season.

If any player on the Cavaliers' roster would be interesting for the Spurs would be big man Anderson Varejao. However, he has been out for the season with an injury and he may be untouchable.

• The San Antonio Spurs will face the New Jersey Nets tomorrow and Nets' guard Devin Harris says the Nets' defense is similar to the Spurs and says he knows how to attack them on the court:

According to Devin Harris, the Nets’ defense is very similar to the Spurs’.

“Our system is sort of the same,” Harris said.

As such, Harris said, the Nets ought to know how to attack the Spurs’ defense when they play them Monday night at the Prudential Center. The key, he said, is to attack them in transition.

“With a team like that, you’ve got to push the pace,” he said. “You don’t want to go against their half-court defense because it’s solid. We’ve got to push the ball, and try to score in the first 6, 7 seconds. We don’t want to spend a lot time in their half-court defense.” (nj.com)

• Nets' coach and former Spurs' player Avery Johnson says he wants the Nets to be known for their outside shooting:

“Oh yeah,” Johnson said when asked if he wants his team to become known for its 3-point shooting. “This is the way the game is now. That’s why (the Nets’ 3-point shooters) will tell you they do not have any restrictions on 3s. As much as people want to say about us being a little bit more disciplined team, I’m liberal in that area, especially with guys who can shoot 3s.” (nj.com)

• The Spurs may have the best record (45-9) in the NBA but according to the LA Times' latest NBA Power Rankings, the Miami Heat are number one:

1. MIAMI (39-14) Riley's Runts go 30-6, with one of Big Three out in three of the losses. (3)

2. SAN ANTONIO (45-9) Forget Lakers and Mavericks. The closest beast in the East is 5½ back. (1)

• With the Trade deadline looming, RealGM.com has some trade deadline needs for the Spurs and names Troy Murphy as a player the Spurs could target:

Hit the jump to read how the NBA All-Star game can be improved, how to win a pair of free Spurs tickets and more.