Jeff and I are back for another episode of the Spurscast. To start this episode off, we reviewed the past week's games, which included some late game theatrics by Manu Ginobili. We also talked about what the Spurs had done well and what could be improved on.

Before discussing the topic of the week in the second half of the show, we read some of your comments about last week's topic. This week's topic was, "if Manu continues this level of play for the rest of the season, will he have a legitimate chance to win NBA MVP?"

Listen to our takes and get your takes in in the comments and we'll talk about them on the next show. Also, if two of our readers or commenters would like to debate this topic themselves, let us know in the comments and we'll set that up for later this week or next week.

Oh and if you want free tickets to a Spurs game, we here at Project Spurs are giving one lucky fan tickets to either the upcoming Denver Nuggets or Los Angeles Lakers game. Click here to find out how to win the tickets.

The Spurscast. The original San Antonio Spurs podcast.

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Intro Music: "Headstrong" by Trapt.

The perennial question for the aging San Antonio Spurs has been how to manage the minutes of the "Big Three" while pushing for playoff seeding and home-court advantage down the stretch. Manu Ginobili in particular has been known to show signs of wear-and-tear in the playoffs as well as being somewhat injury-prone late in the year.

No one plays harder than Manu on the court, so does coach Gregg Popovich make his team vulnerable to late season trouble by pushing Manu this early in the year? The Spurs are off the the best start in franchise history and, while it is still early in the season, it's worth examining.

Manu is playing more minutes so far this season than he has in his career with the Spurs. Prior to this season, the most minutes Manu has played per game was 31:06 in 2007-2008. At 32:00 minutes this season, how will a change in playing time affect Manu down the stretch?

An important factor to consider in examining the potential harm to Manu's health is Manu's time playing basketball in international competition. In most of the previous years, Manu has spent his NBA offseason playing for Argentina in some capacity. Such year-round competition has a significant effect on the body. While the rest of his teammates are resting and recovering from an 82-game NBA season, Manu is competing against the world's best.

This summer however, Ginobili decided to take a well-deserved break from international play to rest his ailing body after an injury-plagued season last year and the year before.  

How big of a role this will play in Manu's durability is hard to quantify. A younger body can put up with more wear-and-tear but as he gets older he required more time to recuperate. Will this break in his schedule merely help him to maintain or give him an edge and an energy that he has never had before?  

Only time will tell for sure, but there isn't any question that it will have some kind of positive effect on his performance this season. The danger is in Pop relying so much on this new-found energy in Ginobili that he pushes him to his limits too early in the season - pushing him further than he has ever pushed him before, even in his younger years.  

With the team off to such a blazing start, it may be a good time to slow down the pace of the starters. The Spurs are a deep team this year and the young guys can benefit from early season experience.  It is common knowledge Pop isn't concerned with accolades like best record or winning 70 games. Maybe the start has given him the opportunity to keep Manu fresh for the late season push that will undoubtedly be necessary in what is arguably the most competitive division in the NBA.  

Will Pop take my advice? I'm not holding my breath.  

• Want free San Antonio Spurs tickets? Of course you do! We here at Project Spurs are giving away free tickets to either the Denver Nuggets or Los Angeles Lakers game. How do you get them? Find out by clicking HERE.

• Spurs guard sat out against the Memphis Grizzlies last night and it seems he will be out for a few more games says Express News' Tim Griffin. Seems Hill sprained his toe.

“He was trying to be a hero,” Popovich said. “Finally, we stopped believing him. He’s on a little medication and in the boot and trying to stay off of it and see if the inflammation can be reduced. If that happens we’ll be O.K.”

Better to be safe than sorry. This will also mean more playing time for Chris Quinn who scored in double-figures in the last game against the Grizzlies.

• Tim Duncan hit another milestone in his NBA career when he played his 1, 000th NBA game:

"I would rather not be told that," Duncan said. "I've played for a long time, and I'm getting really old. I wish I'd only played 10 (games), and still have 1,000 more in front of me."

• Spurs' Tony Parker, James Anderson and George Hill visited the St. Peter - St. Joseph's Children's Home. Classy move on their part and just shows you how much the spurs do for the San Antonio community. Check out the video from spurs.com.

• Food for thought: It is soon to be an odd numbered year (2011) and Spurs fans know all of their four NBA titles were won in odd numbered years. Will 2011 give Spurs fans another river parade in San Antonio in June? Let's hope this pattern continues this season.

• In the last game versus the Grizzlies, Spurs' Matt Bonner's one of his basketball sneakers literally fell apart and it ended up looking like a flip-flop sandal. Since we are on the topic of sneakers, check out this 2008 video of Bonner promoting a charity event called "Sneakers and Speakers" with Bonner playing the tambourine, showing off his painting "skills," and more.

For the third straight game, the San Antonio Spurs found themselves on another down-the-wire finish.

This time there were no buzzer beaters to win the game, instead the Spurs needed overtime to beat the Memphis Grizzlies who played without leading scorer Rudy Gay (one-game suspension) 112-106 and improved their record to an NBA best 23-3.

Now, it's time to look at some numbers it this Spurs' latest victory.

73.7 - The Spurs shot better from the foul line making 14-19 (73.7%) free throws while the Grizzlies converted on 14-21 (66.7%) from the free throw line.

57.1 - The Grizzlies made 8-14 (57.1%) of their three-pointers. The Spurs were 10-23 (43.5%) from beyond the arc.

51.2 - For the third straight game the Spurs have shot 50% or better from the field, while holding their opponents below 50%. They made 44-86 (51.2%) of their field goal attempts, the Grizzlies on the other hand, made 42-95 (44.2%) shots from the floor.

48 - The Grizzlies won the battle of the boards, out rebounding the Spurs 48-41. 

37 - Tony Parker had a game-high 37 points, including 16 in the fourth quarter and overtime as he helped the Spurs pull off another dramatic win for their eight straight victory. 

27 - Inserted into the starting lineup because of Gay's one game suspension, O.J. Mayo led the Grizzlies with 27 points and hit a game-tying 3-pointer with 21 seconds left that sent the game into overtime.

24-21 - Zach Randolph had a monster game posting 24 points and 21 rebounds for his third 20-20 performance of the season.

13-10 - Tim Duncan added 13 points and 10 rebounds for San Antonio and surpassed 21,000 points for his career.

10 - Chris Quinn scored 10 points off the Spurs' bench and shot 4-7 from the field, including 2-4 from behind the arc.

3 - For the second straight game, Antonio McDyess went a perfect 3-3 from the field and added six points, three rebounds and two steals for the Spurs.
 
0 - Matt Bonner, McDyess, Neal and Quinn did not commit a single turnover for the entire game.

Rookie Watch: With George Hill out with an injury, Gary Neal stepped up as he scored 11 points, grabbed five rebounds, had one assists and a steal in 28 minutes of action. Tiago Splitter returned to the line up recovering from a right abductor contusion. He had two assists in eight minutes

What's Next? The Spurs will host the new-look Phoenix Suns at the AT&T Center in San Antonio on Monday.

Follow Robby Lim on Twitter @RobbyLim21

• Want free San Antonio Spurs tickets? Of course you do! We here at Project Spurs are giving away free tickets to either the Denver Nuggets or Los Angeles Lakers game. How do you get them? Find out by clicking HERE.

• After the dramatic ending to the Spurs-Denver Nuggets game which ended in Manu Ginobili drawing the offensive foul on Carmelo Anthony, Nuggets coach George Karl was obviously upset with the loss but was fined $25, 000 for public comments he made about the refs:

NBA vice president Stu Jackson announced the punishments Saturday.

Karl was fined for public comments about the officiating following the Nuggets' 113-112 home loss to the San Antonio Spurs on Thursday.

Kind of don't blame Karl. It was an emotional loss for his team. Though as a Spurs fan, I loved how the game ended.

• Speaking of the dramatic ending to the recent Spurs-Nuggets game, seems Ginobili and the Spurs rather not win games like that:

(video courtesy of woai.com)

• Spurs' coach Gregg Popovich is considered a great NBA coach and knows how to get the best out of his players. Case in point, the constant reminder about how close the Dallas Mavericks are in the standing:

On display in the San Antonio locker room at its training facility is a board that lists the league's standings and offers a reminder that despite the Spurs' gaudy early-season record, the Mavericks continue to nip at their heels. Coach Gregg Popovich was asked if he ever ran out of ways to motivate his team considering its success.

"Coaches are sick people," said Popovich. "Whether you win or lose, there are always many mistakes made. They'll never all be corrected, but that's why we have jobs."

• Express News' Tim Griffin talks about how the injuries to Houston Rockets' Yao Ming and Phoenix Suns' Steve Nash should benefit the Spurs.

• Though the Spurs got the win over the Nuggets, everyone was talking about the insanely nasty dunk Nuggets' JR Smith did on Spurs' Gary Neal. But it seems some people thought it was Spurs' George Hill who was on the receiving end of Smith's dunk. Hill made it clear it was not him via Twitter:

• The NBA has been running big-head commercials during the NBA season. For their holiday big-head commercial, Spurs' Tim Duncan made a cameo.

• San Antonio Spurs' center Antonio McDyess reiterated this will be his final season in the NBA in an interview with fanhouse.com:

"No doubt,'' McDyess said in an interview with FanHouse before Thursday's game at Denver about retiring. "I've been in it for 16 years. I'm tired. My body is breaking down. I'm just tired. Enough is enough.''

However, he did say there might be a slim chance he might change his mind:

"I hate to say never, that I won't (ever play again) because I still love the game,'' McDyess said. "But if you ask me right now, it will definitely be, 'Yes, I'm done after this year.' ... It's a strong, strong, strong yes (of retiring after this season). ... I'm pretty sure I will retire, but I still got friends that still say, 'Hey, Dice give us one more year.''

If indeed this is his final season in the NBA how fitting would it be for McDyess to win an NBA title before he exits the game. And at the rate this Spurs team is winning, it might not be out of the realm of possibility.

• Tim Duncan's streak of All-Star appearance might end but Denver Nuggets' coach George Karl says Duncan has his vote to be in Los Angeles this February:

Nuggets coach George Karl also endorsed Duncan’s status as an All-Star caliber big man, despite the dip in his scoring to a career-low 13.4 points per game in a career-low 28.9 minutes per game.

“He’s still one of the top guys,” Karl said. “If it’s a fourth-quarter game, he’ll be a dominant factor. Defensively, he’s been great.” (source Express News)

• It would appear Spurs' coach Popovich's reputation as a phenomenal coach extends globally. In particular, Australia. South Australian cricket coach Andrew Jarman. Jarman, trying to revive his cricket's team into a winning program sought out Popovich to pick his brain:

Jarman, 44, knows he will have his doubters in the cricket world but he noted how Crows coach Neil Craig last month ventured overseas to seek advice from famed US basketball coaches Gregg Popovich (San Antonio Spurs) and Mike Krzyzewski (Duke University).

• Against the Milwaukee Bucks, Manu Ginobili sealed the Spurs victory on the offensive end with a game-winning shot. Against the Nuggets, Ginobili sealed the Spurs victory on the defensive end with by picking up the offensive-foul on Carmelo Anthony. Let's relive that winning moment from Ginobli one more time:

• Miss any of the other NBA action besides the Spurs games? Well check out Express News' Tim Griffin's post on who played well and who didn't. Need to read this.

(Note: Please welcome Project Spurs newest writer Mr. Jake Faunce. Jake is an avid Spurs fan and will be bringing a fresh look at the Spurs. Enjoy his debut post.)

By Jake Faunce, Project Spurs

NBA fans and pundits alike seem to be surprised at the hot of the San Antonio Spurs. Why they are, I have no idea.

I consider myself a sports Republican. If an owner wants to spend the money to keep his team competitive he should be free to do so. Small market teams would have to do better in the draft and managing resources. To me its sink or swim. The Spurs fall into the small market category.

What have they done to remain competitive despite drafting low every year? Well, they have drafted better then any team in North American sports. They have drafted late first and second round picks and turned them into rotation players and cornerstones of championship teams. Players like Tony Parker (28th overall), Manu Ginobili (57th overall), George Hill (26th overall) , Dejuan Blair (37th overall), Tiago Splitter (28th overall) and a promising young rookie in James Anderson at 20th overall in this past NBA Draft. It's amazing really and unheard of in sports.

So for a team to have an off year by Spurs standards, you would expect a franchise this smart, savvy and diligent to come back with guns blazing, and they did.

Richard Jefferson worked all off season with coach Gregg Popovich on fundamentals and really studying the ins and outs of this complex offensive scheme. The team itself made an inevitable change from the focus of the offense being Tim Duncan, to handing the keys to the offense to their dynamic backcourt. There was also a team wide focus of starting out better, don't lose early games you shouldn't, to put themselves in a better position come playoff time. The result is a fast paced cohesive offense, solid defense and the best start in franchise history.

If anyone is surprised by the Spurs hot start, they haven't been following this team closely. All the Spurs player movement done the past 12 years, maintaining a level of excellence starting from Popovich to Duncan and others within the Spurs franchise, is an amazing achievement in every way possible.

The Spurs will keep ''surprising'' everyone, but Spurs fans won't be surprised.

If you're a regular Project Spurs reader, you may have noticed that we started selling Spurs tickets a few months ago through a partnership with TiqIq.

TiqIq is a service that aggregates ticket prices from several vendors to give buyers real-time ticket deals and updates.

Aside from the service they provide, TiqIq has now given us two Spurs tickets to make one reader's Holidays extra special.

So how do you win?

TiqIq has built us a branded twitter page for Spurs ticket updates, @ProjectSpursTiq, and while you should follow anyway to find great ticket deals, a random follower of that account will be given a pair of tickets to either the Nuggets game on December 22 or the Lakers game on December 28.

If there are 500+ followers to that page, the tickets will be for the Lakers game, otherwise you'll be watching the Spurs take on Carmelo Anthony and the Nuggets. Either should be great to watch in person at the AT&T Center.

One quarter into the season and the San Antonio Spurs still hold the best record in the NBA. While it is certainly a reason to be happy and excited, it doesn't necessarily mean the Spurs can rest on their laurels.

At 22-3 and in the midst of the best start in franchise history, the Spurs are winning games early in the season like never before. However, they only hold a slim lead over the Boston Celtics and Dallas Mavericks for the best record.

It is also noteworthy this team currently sit on top of the NBA due to a relatively easy early season schedule.

During their first 25 games, the Spurs already played the Los Angeles Clippers (three times), the Golden State Warriors (twice), the Minnesota Timberwolves (twice) and the Indiana Pacers, Charlotte Bobcats, Cleveland Cleveland and the Philadelphia 76ers. That means most of their games early on can be considered "winnable" games.

Granted, they've had some success against playoff caliber teams like the Orlando Magic, Utah Jazz, Oklahoma City Thunder, New Orleans Hornets, Chicago Bulls and the Denver Nuggets, but the Spurs have yet to face their toughest test of the season.

Not to take anything away from the Spurs' remarkable start but they are about to get a reality check before the year ends.

They will play seven games in the next 13 days. That will start on a three-game home-stand against the Memphis Grizzlies, Phoenix Suns and Nuggets, a road game against the Orlando Magic on a set of back-to-backs, a visit from the defending champion Los Angeles Lakers and a road game against the Mavericks.

That stretch should provide the Spurs a better gauge on how they really measure up against some of the best teams in the NBA.

Will they keep their composure and be able to sustain momentum? I'm pretty sure but we will soon find out. 

For the second straight night, Manu Ginobili helped the San Antonio Spurs to win another close game.

One night after drilling the game winner against the Milwaukee Bucks, this time Ginobili sparked a Spurs run in the final period and drew an offensive foul from Carmelo Anthony that sealed the Spurs' victory.

Here are some of the numbers that stood out in this thrilling game.

52 - The Spurs won the inside battle, outscoring the Nuggets 52-42.
 
50 - The Nuggets made their outside shots, making 7-14 (50%) of their 3 point attempts. The Spurs made only 9-26 (34.6%) shots from beyond the arc.

42 - The Spurs controlled the boards, out rebounding the Nuggets 42-36.

31 - Carmelo Anthony had game-high 31 points and added nine rebounds for the Nuggets.

28-16-4 - Tim Duncan just reminded everyone that he's still one of the best bigs in the league. He stuffed the score sheet with 28 points, 16 rebounds, four assists, four blocks and one steal.

26 - The Spurs did a better job of sharing the ball, they had 26 dimes compared to the Nuggets' 20.

24 - Tony Parker added 24 points and nine assists for San Antonio.

10 - Matt Bonner led the Spurs bench with 10 points on 3-4 shooting from three-point range.

6 - After leaving the game early against Milwaukee because of hyper-extended knee, DeJuan managed to score six points in 14 minutes of action. Antonio McDyess and Gary Neal scored six points a piece off the bench. McDyess went 3-3 from the field. 

2 - George Hill scored just two points, grabbed two rebounds and had four assists in 33 minutes of playing time.

0 - Duncan, Bonner and Neal did not commit a single turnover for the entire game.

Rookie Watch: Gary Neal had six points and seven rebounds in 20 minutes of action. Tiago Splitter did not play, one night after suffering a right abductor contusion. 

What's Next? The Spurs will host the Memphis Grizzlies at the AT&T Center on Saturday to start their three game home-stand.

Follow Robby Lim on Twitter @RobbyLim21