Official release:

LOS ANGELES -- The 2011 NBA All-Star Ballot was unveiled today during a special tip-off event in Los Angeles, the Official Host City of NBA All-Star 2011. NBA All-Star Balloting presented by T-Mobile will begin this afternoon at 3 p.m. ET. The 60th NBA All-Star Game, which will air live on TNT and ESPN Radio in the U.S., and reach fans in more than 200 countries and territories in more than 40 languages, will be played at STAPLES Center on Sunday, Feb. 20, 2011.

To the surprise of no one, the Spurs’ Big Three – Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili – will once again be given the opportunity to represent the San Antonio Spurs at an NBA All-Star game.

Duncan, named an All-Star every year of his Hall of Fame 12-year career, is vying for his thirteenth All-Star selection and is also looking to extend his consecutive start streak to twelve – the latter being something only Kobe Bryant can best with a start this year.

Tony Parker is looking to make his fourth All-Star game appearance in 10 years, his last coming during the 2008-09 campaign, and Manu Ginobili looks to return to the NBA’s prime-time and crown jewel event for the first time since 2005 – a notion seeming almost as laughable as the fact that this would only be the second All-Star game of Ginobili’s 9-year career.

With the NBA releasing their final All-Star ballot before Thanksgiving, before more than 10 games have been played for most, Richard Jefferson’s absence is understandable even if not warranted. Both DeJuan Blair and George Hill have struggled early on, Tiago Splitter has yet to entrench himself into the Spurs’ rotation and Antonio McDyess’ superb early-season play can’t exactly be considered Millsapian – the Utah forward who was inconceivably snubbed.

So there it is. The Big Three are on the ballot; and no one else. But if we’ve learned anything from politics recently or historically, know this: write-ins are allowed and it’s important you get the dead vote out.

Vote early, vote often, vote HERE!

Do it to it, Spurs fans.

Follow Nick Kapsis @Project_Kap

During last night's win over the Chicago Bulls, San Antonio Spurs guard Manu Ginobili pulled this move on the Bulls and once again opposing teams forget he likes to go left.

The San Antonio Spurs (9-1) used a strong 3rd quarter to turn a 10 point halftime deficit into a 15 point lead entering the final period.

The Chicago Bulls (6-4) did not recover in time and the Spurs tied their franchise best start after 10 games. The last time San Antonio opened the season 9-1 was in 1981 during the George Gervin era.

Now, it's time to check out the numbers that stood out in this Spurs latest victory.

71 - The Spurs shot a blistering 71% from the floor while the Bulls just made 26% of their field goals attempts in the third period that turned the game into San Antonio's favor.

50 - The Bulls are one of the league's best in rebounding. However, the Spurs won the battle of the boards 50-42. Tim Duncan had a season high 18 boards for San Antonio.

46 - The Spurs continues to shoot well from behind the arc making 6-13 (46.2%) of their 3-pointers, including 2-2 from Matt Bonner and 1-1 from George Hill. The Bulls connected on 6-17 (35.3%) from the three point line.

37 - The Spurs only scored 37 points for the entire first half but outscored the Bulls 37-12 in the third quarter alone, that proved to be the game's turning point.

33 - Derrick Rose had a game high 33 points, four assists and three rebounds for the Chicago Bulls.

28 - San Antonio are proving to be effective on transition as they beat the Bulls 28-18 on fast break points. 

24 - The Spurs shared the ball better, they had 24 assists for the game compared to 17 by the Bulls. Duncan and Manu Ginobili had five assists a piece. 

21- Despite some distraction because of his on going divorce with Eva Longoria, Tony Parker led the Spurs with 21 points, three rebounds and seven assists. 

20 - After a miserable first half, Ginobili finished the game strong and had 20 points, five assists, four rebounds and two steals for the Spurs. This was the 7th time that Manu scored 20 points or more in just ten games.

18 - After struggling on the Spurs' three previous games, Duncan turned out a solid effort and finished the game with 16 points, a season high 18 rebounds, five assists, two block shots and a steal.

0- Taj Gibson went scoreless for the Bulls, going 0-7 from the field in 16 minutes of playing time. Richard Jefferson added 12 points and 5 rebounds for the Spurs and had zero turnovers in 34 minutes of action.

Rookie Watch: Gary Neal had four points, two steals, one assist and one rebound in 15 minutes of action while Tiago Splitter had his first DNP-CD (Did Not Play - Coach's Decision) of the season.

What's Next? The Spurs will visit Deron Williams and the Utah Jazz at the Energy Solutions Arena in Salt Lake City on Friday.

Join me as I chat courtside from the AT&T Center for tonight's Spurs vs. Bulls game and make sure to scroll down to read Robby Lim's game preview.

The San Antonio Spurs have signed former Cleveland Cavaliers player Danny Green to the roster.

“He’s a talented young man who has impressed us with his combination of pretty good defensive skills and awareness and a pretty good shot,” Popovich said. “He’s a young guy who, in time, is going to be a good player. Sometimes it takes somebody two, three, four years before they find the right situation. (source Express News)

Green will bring more youth to the team and not to mention a much needed swing-man for the small-forward position (6'6"). He also can be a solid defender which fits right into the Spurs mindset.

Adding Green comes off the Spurs waiving Alonzo Gee and Garrett Temple and the addition complies with the NBA rule of having at least 13 players on the roster.

The San Antonio Spurs will look to match their best 10 game start in franchise history when they host the Chicago Bulls at the AT&T Center in San Antonio. The Spurs (8-1) are coming from a nice road 117-104 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder last Sunday with Matt Bonner connecting 7-7 from beyond the arc.

The Bulls (6-3) started off their seven game road trip with 95-92 hard fought win over the Houston Rockets and are riding high on four game winning streak.

Tim Duncan has been struggling on offense lately and the Spurs will need a good effort from him to get the win. While the Bulls will lean heavily on Derrick Rose, Luol Deng and Joakim Noah on the offensive end. This will also mark the first time Keith Bogans will play against his former team.

KEYS TO THE GAME

SPURS:

Denver Nuggets forward Carmelo Anthony has made it known he would like to be traded. The usual teams with the best pieces to make a trade with Denver have been the New York Knicks and the New Jersey Nets.

However, read this tidbit from Peter Vescey at the NY Post:

I'm admittedly slow on the uptake, but Anthony gave me the impression he's singularly interested in playing for a team in the habit of inhabiting first place and bedding championships -- you know, like the Lakers, Celtics and Spurs.

So, I was not all that surprised when Anthony revealed to The Post he has not expunged any of those three teams from his bottomless pit of gaping options.

For as much as San Antonio Spurs fans would love to have Anthony on board, chances are slim he will ever wear the black and silver. Granted the Spurs would have the players to make a trade with Denver (such as George Hill, DeJuan Blair, Richard Jefferson, etc.) but would the Spurs trade away their future or bring in a malcontent? I think not.

In the end take it with a grain of salt seeing how this probably will never happen.

(H/T RedsArmy)

The San Antonio Spurs have announced they have waived Alonzo Gee.  The Spurs now have 12 players on the roster.

Seems the Spurs have  been cutting players lately. Aside from Gee, the team has released Bobby Simmons and Garrett Temple since the beginning of the season. This begs the question: are these moves in preparation for some future player movement? Also with Gee gone and James Anderson out for some time due to an injury, the Spurs are really short-handed at the back-up small forward position.

As for Gee, he has a promising future in the NBA and I'm sure another team will sign him. Last season with the Washington Wizards, Gee recorded a double-double, scoring 13 points and 10 rebounds against the Denver Nuggets. On March 26, Gee made his first NBA start against Charlotte Bobcats, and scored a career-high 19 points.

In a recent episode of the game show Jeopardy, an answer featured San Antonio Spurs player Tim Duncan.

The answer seemed easy enough with a major clues in the answer being "center" and "Spurs" but apparently contestants Lea and Hans got the question wrong. What made it even more hilarious was Hans being way off with his Carmelo Anthony reply. Epic fail.

The San Antonio Spurs are off a best start in recent years and there are many reasons for this. Richard Jefferson is playing better in his sophomore year, Tony Parker is having a career season in the assists department, DeJuan Blair is beginning to settle in his starting role, Matt Bonner is hitting his shots and their bench got deeper.

All this has made the Spurs a better team than a year ago but they will not be 8-1 after nine games if Manu Ginobili has not been playing phenomenal.

Ginobili has scored at least 20 or more points in six of the Spurs' nine games and currently leads the team with 21.3 points per game and is second in assists at 4.3 per ball game. Not only that, his 40.6% 3-point shooting and 92% clip from the foul line are career bests.·

But more than just numbers, Ginobili has always provided the Spurs the extra punch that pushes them to the next level. What do I mean? Here are a few examples.

Against the Phoenix Suns, Ginobili made a critical pass that translated into a Jefferson 3-pointer late in the fourth period and then he sealed the game by making the final free throw of the game. Spurs win 112-110.

Three nights later, the Spurs found themselves trailing against the Houston Rockets 113-111 with 16 seconds remaining on the clock. Never giving up, Ginobili fouled Courtney Lee to send him to the foul line and put him under pressure. Lee missed both free throws. On the ensuing play, Manu made a 17 footer to send the game into overtime and the Spurs eventually won the game.

On the road against the Charlotte Bobcats, the Spurs looked headed to a fourth quarter collapse as the hard-fighting Bobcats made a 7-0 run to cut the Spurs' lead to 93-91. Ginobili again rose to the occasion, he made a driving layup with 4.9 seconds left that clinched another Spurs win.

If that wasn't enough, in a close game against the Thunder, with the Spurs needing some separation, Manu scored five straight points and handed an assists to a hot-shooting Matt Bonner mid-way in the final period for another 3 pointer. At that point, the Oklahoma City Thunder were done and never recovered from a 13 point deficit.

Simply put it. When Manu plays like Manu, the Spurs are better. Sure, the Spurs are still a good team with Parker, Duncan or even Jefferson at the helm. But with Manu weaving some magic, the Spurs are definitely a tougher team to beat.