San Antonio Spurs' Manu Ginobili may be dealing with yet another injury, but once he gets back on the court, he will be on the verge of moving up the Spurs all-time points scored list.

Ginobili is 16 points away from tying former Spurs great Mike Mitchell for sixth place for the most points scored in Spurs franchise history. Currently, Manu has scored 9783 points while Mitchell logged 9799.

This season, Ginobili is averaging 12.1 in nine games for San Antonio and once he does return to the court, there is no doubt he will not only tie Mitchell but will surpass him. In fifth place in the Spurs all-time scoring list is James Silas with 10290 points scored.

Though I am sure Manu probably doesn't care about records and just wants to be back on the court and remain healthy, however, this is just another testament to his contributions to the Spurs fanchise and deserves a round of applause once he reaches the milestone.

Ginobili is expected to miss two weeks due to a strained left oblique.

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It looks like former San Antonio Spurs forward Bobby Simmons may be close to finding another NBA home.

After working out, but not making the Los Angeles Lakers this offseason, Simmons could be headed back to L.A., but it'll be to join the Clippers, according to a report on ESPN.com.

A second stint with the Los Angeles Clippers awaits for 2004-05 NBA Most Improved Player award winner Bobby Simmons.

The Clippers are planning to sign Simmons out of the D-League to a 10-day contract after the All-Star break, according to sources close to the situation. Simmons, 31, is averaging 13.5 points and 7.6 rebounds for the D-League's Reno Bighorns.

Simmons played in just two regular season games for the Spurs last season before being waived on November 5, 2010.

Spurs coach Gregg Popovich often praised Simmons, who didn't have a chance to make an impact in his previous stop with the New Jersey Nets when the coaching staff decided to give the team's younger players heavy rotation minutes over veterans.

Simmons will likely audition for a role as a bench shooter to try to generate some offense lost due to Chauncey Billups' injury.

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San Antonio Spurs fans hate to see Manu Ginobili sitting out games with yet another injury. Everyone knows how important he is to the team and how much better they are with him in the lineup. But as much as it’s killing the fans to see him in his street clothes at game time it sounds like it’s hitting Ginobili even harder.

“As competitive as he is, it’s just killing him,” said Coach Pop. “He was just beginning to get in shape again — finding a little rhythm. He’s pretty depressed.”

I doubt that there are many things more frustrating than coming back from an injury only to find yourself back off the court only a short time later. It’s been a very tough year for Manu. Hopefully he comes back from his latest injury well rested and ready to help the Spurs compete in the playoffs.

On a brighter note, Tim and Tony are getting some much-deserved recognition. Utah Jazz point guard Earl Watson praised the duo for how effective their pick-and-roll is.

“Tim does a great job of setting the screen, and Tony does a good job of attacking the bigs when he gets separation. You have to fight over that screen, but it’s not easy to do against a guy as big as Tim.” 

Not easy indeed. The Spurs run a great offense and that’s a big reason why. Duncan has always been famous for his strong fundamentals and you can include setting screens in that category. I’d hate to have to be a point guard fighting through a Duncan screen.

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The Dallas Mavericks are currently in 4th place in the Western Conference at 21-13, and though they're still capable of putting a strong run together to finish the season, the Mavs could be crossing their fingers win or lose this season.

The reason is because after this season, there's a chance the Mavs could land two possible big name free agents in Orlando's Dwight Howard and New Jersey's Deron Williams.

According to the New York Daily News, that is exactly the Mavs' goal this summer.

The ultimate disaster for New Jersey would be if Williams and Howard end up playing together, but not in Brooklyn. With some roster alterations that are doable, including using their one amnesty move on Brendan Haywood, the Mavs could be set up, cap-wise, to accommodate both players.

“The Mavs want to do what Miami did and put together their own big three,’’ said another GM. “That’s their goal.”

Williams privately told members of the Mavs last June during their Finals celebration that he would love to go back home and be a part of team with Dirk Nowitzki.

A lot of cards would have to fall in place for a move like this to take place. The first date to keep an eye on is the March 15 NBA trade deadline, if Howard isn't dealt before that date, then the Mavs' chances will have increased.

What say you Spurs fans? How would you feel if the Mavs were to get Howard and Williams and the effect on the Spurs?

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After defeating the San Antonio Spurs in the first-round of the Western Conference playoffs last season, one would think Memphis Grizzlies' Marc Gasol would want the Spurs again in this season's playoffs. With history and confidence on their side, one would think Memphis would feel the better matchup again would be San Antonio, right?

Well maybe not.

Gasol was interviewed on ESPN, and when asked which team he thinks will come out of the West, he picked the Spurs over the West leading Oklahoma City Thunder.

Gasol points to the Spurs' consistency, confidence, experience and effort as to why he feels San Antonio will win the West. However, Stephen A. Smith decides to open his big mouth and question Gasol's pick.

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After winning the Taco Bell Skills Challenge on Saturday night, San Antonio Spurs guard Tony Parker took to the floor once more in Orlando on Sunday night. This time however, Parker wasn’t the player receiving a trophy, as Oklahoma City’s Kevin Durant lead the Western Conference All-Stars to a 152-149 victory with 36 points.

San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich might be smiling when he sees the box score from Sunday, as Parker only logged 12:16 minutes while scoring six points on 3-of-5 shooting, dishing four assists, and grabbing two rebounds.

The Eastern squad made their way back from down 21-points late behind Miami’s LeBron James’ 36 points, but James, ended up being the one to also create more of a headache for himself in the winding moments of the game.

The West came out with an impression of “Lob City” as starting Los Angeles Clippers point guard Chris Paul (12 assists) helped the West score 20 points in the paint with alley-oops to his big man Blake Griffin (22 points, 8 rebounds). Durant and Los Angeles Lakers’ Kobe Bryant (27 points) also knocked down an array of outside shots as the West lead 39-28 after one.

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Tony Parker is the only player representing the San Antonio Spurs at all-star weekend, and he got things started off right, winning the Taco Bell Skills Challenge.

For Parker, it was his third skills challenge. He also participated in 2003 and 2008.

After finishing the first round of the shooting, passing and dribbling challenge in second place in just under 30 seconds, Parker turned on the jets and finished with 32.8 seconds, missing only one pass his second time through to beat out finalists Deron Willaims and Rajon Rondo.

Aside from winning the challenge, Parker also won a Orlando-based teen from the Boys and Girls Club a $25,000 college scholarship from Taco Bell.

Parker will be back in action tomorrow night, coming off the bench for the Western Conference in the All-Star game, starting at 6:30 p.m. CST on TNT.

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So Tony Parker has been playing well this season hasn't he?

The San Antonio Spurs point guard has been showing so signs of slowing down and has led the Spurs to an 11-1 record so far for the month of February. He has been averaging 19.4 points and 8.1 assists this season.

Not only that, he has somehow managed to shift into high-gear once Manu Ginobili and T.J. Ford were hit with injuries, steadying the Spurs' backcourt.

And for his hard work on the court, TP has been nominated for the Western Conference Player of the Month.

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With the way Tony Parker and Gary Neal have been playing, it was easy to forget the San Antonio Spurs have been without backup point guard T.J. Ford for over a month now. But before Ford went down with a hamstring injury, he was giving the Spurs some quality minutes.

According to the Express News, Ford’s rehab is going well and we may see him back on the floor right after the All-Star break.

“Ford has been playing one-on-one against fellow reserve point guard Cory Joseph and has also been doing work in two-on-two scenarios. ‘I've got to get my legs back under me,’ Ford said. He's missed the last 24 games, but Ford should be ready to return in the second half for San Antonio.”

This is good news for the Spurs who are weakened by other injuries to Manu Ginobili and Tiago Splitter.

Even though Ford is not going to put up huge minutes or stats, it will be great to be able to get Parker a few extra minutes of rest each night. With the condensed schedule, good health and well-rested players will be essential for a championship run. Parker is playing at an MVP level right now, it’s important for the Spurs not to burn him out before they even get to the playoffs. Ford’s return should be a big help.

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It's no secret the San Antonio Spurs need size. After Tim Duncan and Tiago Splitter, San Antonio lacks in size. Matt Bonner and DeJuan Blair are goos but still not what the Spurs need when it comes playoff time.

The Spurs did try to address this lack of size by looking at players such as Kenyon Martin and Chris Kaman but neither panned out unless New Orleans buys out Kaman and the Spurs make a run at him.

But if the Spurs do not add another big this season, could 6'10" center Erazem Lorbek be the answer to the Spurs needs next season? Maybe.

Lorbek, whose rights were acquired via a 2011 draft day trade with the Pacers for George Hill, and his team FC Barcelona Regal participated in the 2012 Copa Del Rey and spoke on possibly coming to San Antonio this summer but remains indecisive (at the 2:20 point of video below).

It is also interesting to note Spurs' scouts were there to take in the action.

Lorbek averaged 14.9 points, 5 rebounds, shot 64% from the field in 15 games with FC Barcelona Regal. 

What do you think Spurs fans? Can Lorbek be the big the Spurs desperately need or are you convinced he will never wear the Spurs uniform?

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