The San Antonio Spurs are the hottest team in the NBA right now. They went 8-1 on their annual Rodeo Road Trip, sit atop the Southwest Division, and are second in the Western Conference at 24-10 to the Oklahoma City Thunder at 27-7.

And as the team heads into the All-Star break on a winning note, Charles Barkley recently stated on TNT's Inside the NBA, the Spurs can not only beat the Thunder in the playoffs, but come out of the West to the NBA Finals. Take a look.

This season, the Spurs and Thunder split their first two meetings and despite the Thunder's stellar record, it seems the Spurs can hold their own versus the West's best. Here is how the two teams fare against one another in their two meetings this season. no comments

“It was great to have Tony (Parker) and Tim (Duncan) back. And then we just fed off of them,” said San Antonio Spurs forward DeJuan Blair after his team closed their Rodeo Road Trip with a 114-99 victory over the Denver Nuggets on Thursday.

It was a major plus to have both Parker and Duncan back, but Blair was the story of the night as he tied his career high with 28 points and 12 rebounds to lead the Spurs. After their one game of rest, Parker returned with 16 points and 12 assists, while Duncan was the enforcer on defense with 18 points, nine rebounds, and three blocks.

Defense helped the Spurs create their stamp on the game, as the Spurs held the Nuggets to just 15 points (5/17 shooting) in the first quarter. The Spurs used a 19-1 run to get a 16-point lead on top of the Nuggets, as the Spurs went into the second quarter leading 31-15. Blair, Duncan, and Danny Green (16 points) combined for 20 points in the first quarter.

Blair continued his dominance as he scored eight points in the second quarter and the Spurs shot 50% (9/18) from behind the arc in the first half. The rout had begun as the Spurs once lead by 28-points, as they took a dominating 65-39 lead into halftime. The Spurs had another explosion on offense as Blair, Green, and Matt Bonner (12 points) contributed with 22 of the team’s 34 points in the second quarter.

If the San Antonio Spurs were planning on signing Joel Pryzbilla, they missed their chance.  According to Slam Online, Pryzbilla has decided to return to Portland to back up LaMarcus Aldridge and Marcus Camby.

"'Ghostface' Przybilla is taking his talents back to Oregon, as he plans to re-sign with the Blazers.

From the Oregonian: “Joel Przybilla was coming back to the Trail Blazers to be a backup center despite the recruiting efforts of the Miami Heat, and repeated phone calls from the Chicago Bulls.

On Wednesday, Przybilla reached an agreement to play the rest of the season for the Blazers providing the 32-year-old can pass a physical on Sunday afternoon in Portland."

This means Kurt Thomas and Joel Pryzbilla may play at the same time.  This also means a lot of guys are going to get beat up going in to the paint against Portland.

For the Spurs, another one bites the dust.  Not that they were actively pursuing Pryzbilla anyways.  After missing out on Kenyon Martin and Chris Kaman, the Spurs seem set on their four man rotation of Tim Duncan, Tiago Splitter, DeJuan Blair and Matt Bonner.  It's not enough, I think everyone, including the Spurs realize that this won't be enough come playoff time, but I would imagine they're waiting for the trade deadline or for guys like Kaman or Antawn Jamison to get bought out.

Maybe they're trying to bring Antonio McDyess back for the stretch run.  What do you think Spurs fans?  Should the team trade for a big, wait for one to be bought out or try to coax McDyess out of retirement?

Since Coach Pop sacrificed the Spurs’ 11-game win streak to rest Parker and Duncan during a 40-point loss to the Portland Trail Blazers, the two should be well rested for the game tonight against the Denver Nuggets.

The Spurs are trying to end their Rodeo Road Trip on a high note and come home with a win rather than a 2- game losing streak.

The Nuggets started off the season hot, jumping out to a 14-5 record. They looked like they were going to be the surprise team in the West, but since then they’ve only won 4 of their last 15. The biggest reason for the drop-off is most likely injuries.

With leading scorer Danilo Gallinari out the last nine games with a sprained left ankle and not expected back until after the break, Denver could also be without point guard Ty Lawson (sprained left ankle), forward Nene (strained calf) and backup swingman Rudy Fernandez (strained lower back) on Thursday.

The Nuggets lost a hard-fought game in Los Angeles against the Clippers late last night that will no doubt take its toll with a quick turnaround and a short-handed matchup against the well-rested Spurs.

If the Spurs want to win this game tonight, they’ll have to get their defense going against one of the highest scoring teams in the league.

The Spurs have given up at least 100 points in each of their last four games. The Nuggets, despite their injury problems, continue to put up at least 100 almost every night. The last time these two teams played, the Spurs won an offensive slugfest, 121-117.

If the Spurs can slow down this high-powered offense, they’ll have a great chance of winning the game. If not, they better be ready to put up a lot of points.

San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich is currently the longest tenured coach in the NBA, and for that matter, the longest tenured among MLB, NFL and NHL coaches.

However, 16 years and four championships later, Popovich has only won Coach of the Year once.

On NBA.com's Hang Time Blog, several writers are weighing in saying Popovich is halfway to another Coach of the Year award.

Gregg Popovich in a close call over Doug Collins, just because it would &!#% off Popovich to have to go to center court to accept the award. OK, and because the Spurs remain near the top of the conference despite meshing youth with experience while overcoming the Manu Ginobili injury.

Starting the season with a team whose core is yet another year older, lost one of their best interior bigs, traded away a fan favorite for an unproven rookie and relying on a backup point guard who has been bounced around the league isn't exactly the best "welcome back" package ever, but somehow Popovich was able to bring all those pieces together.

Then after losing Manu Ginobili, then T.J. Ford in early January, a loss that most expected would have the Spurs floundering at the bottom of the Western Conference, Popovich made personnel changes that allowed the Spurs to wade atop the Western Conference waters.

Now with Ginobili out again along with Splitter and Ford still recovering, Popovich gave up a winning streak by resting Tony Parker and Tim Duncan. Sure it's a move that has drawn criticism, but it's also a move that gives the healthy members of his big three some extra rest heading into the all-star break.

And in about two weeks, when Parker and Duncan aren't completely gassed when Ginobili and Splitter return, I wouldn't be surprised to see the pundits celebrate Popovich's move as just another brilliant adjustment, similar to when he puts X's and O's up on his grease board during a timeout prior to a critical possession.

No one knows what the rest of the season holds, but for Spurs fans, it's easy to get excited about seeing what Popovich will do with that aging core, unproven rookie, journeyman backup and the rest of the Spurs from here on out..

Yesterday, San Antonio Express News columnist Buck Harvey reported that James Anderson's agent is encouraging the Spurs to trade the second year shooting guard who has been buried on the bench since he had a poor start to in the first half of his first start of the season against Golden State.

He's shown flashes of why the Spurs drafted him (his play during the near come back against the Mavs comes to mind) but he's also looked really bad in other games (last night's Portland game was awful).

In a way I feel bad for Anderson. First he got benched and despite two of their top three guards being injured for most of the season, he still couldn't get some time on the court. Then his contract option didn't get picked up, so he has to worry about being a free agent this summer and isn't getting any playing time to show other team what he's got.

So now he's looking at signing with a team for the league minimum next season, being a training camp invitee or hanging out in the D-League waiting for guys to get injured so he can sign a ten day contract.  This guy was supposed to be the Spurs' sixth man this season, so I'm sure the last couple of months of his life haven't been what he's expecting. Then again, he's a millionaire at age 22 so I don't feel that bad for him.

We’re halfway done with the NBA season, so you know what that means. It’s time for grades. NBA.com graded all the teams in the league on their frontcourt, backcourt, defense, bench, coaching and gave them an overall grade for the whole team.

Despite not getting a lot of love from the media during their 11-game win streak, the Spurs seem to have a lot of respect from the guys at NBA.com. Overall they were given an A, the highest grade that was given out, along with the Oklahoma City Thunder. Definitely something to be proud of.

The highest grades for the Spurs came from their backcourt, mostly because of the way Tony Parker has been playing and from their coaching, because everyone knows Coach Pop is a genius.

Manu Ginobili missed 22 games after breaking a finger. But Tony Parker stepped in like a World's Strongest Man competitor and carried the team in his absence, averaging a career high in assists and earned an All-Star berth. 

The lowest grade came in the defense category. The Spurs are not the defensive powerhouse they once were, now allowing more than 95 points a game, but luckily their offense is keeping up.

The Spurs were written off before the season as being too old. When they got off to a slow start on the road, people thought their reign on top of the Western Conference was coming to a close.

But halfway through the season, the Spurs are in second place in the West, breathing down the necks of the Thunder. If the Spurs can stay healthy, and Manu can bounce back from this most recent injury, they’ll definitely be a force to contend with in the playoffs.

It looks like Kawhi Leonard will be the only San Antonio Spurs player in the Rising Stars challenge this coming weekend in Orlando for 2012 All-Star weekend.

With Splitter suffering a strained right calf in Saturday's game against the Los Angeles Clippers that will keep him out two weeks, the NBA named Utah Jazz forward Derrick Favors as Splitter's replacement.

Splitter had been selected along with Leonard as part of Charles Barkley's team.

You can still catch Leonard and the rest of the rookies and sophomores in the game's new format on Friday night. 

“Everybody rests players in this schedule,” said San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich after his team was shot out of the Rose Garden by the Portland Trail Blazers by 40-points on Tuesday, 137-97.

The Spurs went into Portland with the longest winning streak in the NBA, 11-games. Then, coach Popovich elected to choose rest over another possible win on the second night of a back-to-back, as he rested All-Star point guard Tony Parker and forward Tim Duncan.

The Blazers took advantage of the depleted Spurs lineup with outside shooting as the Blazers made 15-of-28 three pointers, led by LaMarcus Aldridge (21 points) and Jamal Crawford (20 points). The Spurs’ rookie Kawhi Leonard used the 43 minutes he played to not only play tough defense once again, but showcase his hidden offensive skills as Leonard lead the team with 24 points, 10 rebounds, five steals, and one block.

The Spurs started rookie Cory Joseph (13 points) at points guard, and Richard Jefferson at power forward. The Blazers made the most of the smaller Spurs lineup as the Blazers went on an early 9-0 run five minutes into the first quarter to stretch their lead to nine points. The Spurs responded with their own 12-2 run two minutes later and they earned their first lead of the game, 20-19. This however, would be the Spurs’ last lead of the game.

The San Antonio Spurs (23-9) will take their 11-game winning streak into Portland tonight to face the Portland Trail Blazers (17-16).

The Spurs are coming off a hard-fought win over the Jazz 106-102 but will enter tonight's game limping. Out for two weeks are Manu Ginobili and Tiago Splitter due to injury. Also, there are reports of James Anderson wanting his way out of San Antonio which, for Spurs fans and the team, hope doesn't distract the team's winning ways.

Portland enters tonight contest off a 103-92 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers and will be looking to end the Spurs' hot streak.

The last time these to teams met, the Spurs walked away with a 99-83 win in San Antonio but as the Spurs and Blazers get ready to tangle, here are five things to watch for in tonight's matchup.

• History not on San Antonio's side. Portland has won eight of the last 10 games versus San Antonio.
• So the Spurs have difficulty reaching the century mark against the Blazers. The Blazers have not allowed the Spurs to score 100 points since 2007. A streak of 13 games.
• If the game in on the line, don't foul Crawford. Jamal Crawford ranks third in the NBA at free-throw shooting at 94%.
• Portland can score, a lot! Portland is one of four teams in the Western Conference to have six players to average in double-figure scoring. LaMarcus Aldridge, Nicolas Batum, Jamal Crawford, Gerald Wallace, Wesley Matthews, and Raymond Felton.
• The Blazers defend the three-point line quite well. Portland allows teams to shoot 30.9% from long distance good for second in the NBA.

Matchup to watch: Tim Duncan vs. LaMarcus Aldridge. Here is how the two big men fared against each other (via nba.com) in their first meeting this season.