Tonight at 6 p.m. CST, we'll be going live with a very special edition of the Spurscast Live. Thanks to a few friends of the show and site, we've arranged an interview with former Spurs center Fabricio Oberto.

Now a member of the Washington Wizards, Oberto spent four years with the Spurs and we'll be getting his takes on everything from how the Spurs fare against the Mavericks to his involvement in social networking. Perhaps, we'll even read a few of our old Oberto facts to him.

But don't let Jeff and I have all the fun. Be a part of the interview by chatting with us live and asking questions in the chat. A select few will also have the opportunity to join us live "on-the-air" and speak with the man himself.

Get Project Spurs bookmarked, set your alarm clocks and join us back here at 6 p.m. CST for this special episode of the Spurscast.

Looks like the Spurs will remain in Dallas. After losing to the Mavericks in their final regular season game, the Spurs will open the 2010 NBA Playoffs against their interstate rival beginning this Sunday.

Here is the schedule and let the smack-talk begin!

No. 2 Dallas vs. No. 7 San Antonio

Apparently April 14 is not just any other day. A long time ago, in a blogosphere far, far away, fellow NBA Bloguin brother, Don, from With-Malice deemed today, "Unsung Hero" day.

Here is how Don described it:

"April 14th: ‘Unsung Player Day'... we should recognize the guys who toil and work hard every day, for no recognition. Well, today's your day. In reality, these guys are just as responsible for making the NBA what it is today - every team needs role-players, guys to come on and give that valuable 2-5 minutes. Without them, there is no NBA. I would encourage NBA bloggers to put up an ‘unsung player' on their blog on April 14th.  What's an 'Unsung Player'? A role player who gives his all in the 2-5 minutes he gets per game (try to be definitely under 10 minutes). Someone who doesn't get a lot of recognition..."

So without further adieu, here is our "Unsung Hero," Matt Bonner.

Sure he is such an easy target to poke fun. Awkward run, pale-white skin, cheesy grin and full of ginger awesomeness but when it comes down to it, he is a vital role player for the San Antonio Spurs.

He fully understands his role for the Spurs. He isn't out there to get "star minutes" but out there to spread the floor with his deadly three-point shot for Tim Duncan and other Spurs to operate.

It seems the long NBA season has taken its toll on the young rookie-forward in San Antonio, DeJuan Blair. If you look at the month of March, for example, his averages have dropped from 7.6 points and 6.2 rebounds per contest to 5.3 points and 6.1 rebounds in 18 minutes a game. The rookie is also averaging nearly two turnovers per game.

“He’s a young basketball player,” says Spurs coach Gregg Popovich. “He’s got a hell of a lot to learn about a hell of a lot of things. But his future looks bright. He is certainly coach-able and hardworking.”

And just when it seemed Blair was hitting the wall face first, came his performance in a Spurs' victory over the Denver Nuggets, Blair had 12 points and 8 rebounds, including 4 offensive boards, in 18 minutes of action. Everyone, including coach Pop has took notice.

“I thought he hit a wall a couple weeks ago, but he’s come out of it,” said Popovich. “I think he’s starting to regenerate.”

With the playoffs around the corner, a giant question is will Pop continue to give Blair quality minutes? Highly doubtful.

He has had trouble staying consistent this season.  If the playoffs started today, one potential team the Spurs would face would be the Dallas Mavericks, and Blair has had his share of trouble with Dallas.

In his three meetings with Dallas, Blair is averaging 1.6 points and 2.6 rebounds in 11 minutes. Also, acquiring Caron Butler from the Wizards gives the undersized Blair a match-up nightmare. Butler will not only be able to work Blair off the dribble, but use his size to back the smaller Blair down and work him in the post.

Blair also struggled this season against the first place Lakers. If by some miracle the Spurs were to face the Lakers in the later rounds of the Western Conference Playoffs, Blair has averaged six points but only a measly 3.3 rebounds per game against the much larger Lakers front court.

Of the top Western Conference teams, Blair has played his best basketball against the Nuggets. He averaged 10.7 points and 5.5 rebounds against the Nuggs. He is averaging 2.25 offensive boards a game when playing Denver.

Blair has the one thing needed to scale the rookie wall seeing how the playoffs are fast approaching -- a desire to grow as a player and learn the game. And there is no one better to learn from then the greatest power forward to ever lace them up, Tim Duncan.

“He’s a young guy and he’s willing to learn,” said Duncan. “He’s willing to do the work it takes. You put those two things together and it’s easy to extend a hand to help someone like that.”

Blair might have hit the proverbial "rookie wall," but he has all the tools around him necessary to climb and overcome this dreaded rookie curse. He has a head coach and a team that are confident in his ability to succeed. And as a young player in a grown man's league, confidence is essential if Blair is to be a consistently good player in a league where greatness is defined by consistency.

Let's just hope he smashes this wall come playoff time. Hulk style!

This week's mailbag comes from Winston C. who trying to tell his friend just how good Tim Duncan is on the court.

"My friend and I are big time basketball fans. We're both 15 so we've obviously missed part of Duncan's career. Well I haven't. I've been watching the Spurs since I was 4 and he's been watching the Rockets since he was 11. Obviously he's missed a lot of Duncan's career, but seen a lot of Howard's. I'd given him stat comparisons between the two players proving Duncan is better and similar stuff. I need professional writers, you guys, to write an article that I can enjoy and share with him proving why Duncan is better AND why Duncan is the best Power forward of All time. I cannot understand why he doesn't think Duncan is the best power forward of all time. He's ignorant and needs to be informed. Please help me in this situation. Many thanks guys." --- Winston C.

Winston C,

Thanks for this question and I think it actually deserves a full article on Tim Duncan and Dwight Howard. But to prove your point here are some facts.

Tim Duncan

Dwight Howard

Arianné and Jeff are back for the latest Spanish edition of the Spurscast. In this episode, Arianne recaps the last games for the Spurs, and we discuss Manu Ginobili's new contract and the Los Angeles Lakers game against the Spurs.

Remember, Project Spurs was the first Spurs blog to have a Spurs podcast and the first to have a Spanish podcast for Spanish-speaking fans.

Jeff y yo estamos de regreso con el Spurscast en Español mas reciente.  En este episodio Arianné repasa los juegos de los Spurs y discutimos el mas nuevo contracto de Manu Ginobili con los Spurs y los Lakers de Los Angeles contra los Spurs.

Recuerden que Project Spurs fue la primera página de Internet en tener un podcast de Los Spurs y la primera en tener un podcast en español para los fanáticos de habla hispana.

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By Jeff Cerda, Project Spurs

The Spurs knew they could not afford to lose another game to a opponent with a losing record, and they played like it early in the game. The Timberwolves came into San Antonio with a overall record of 15-65 and a hapless 5-35 record on the road, so with those stats in the Spurs favor, they took full advantage.

The first quarter started off with a Matt Bonner three-point shot assisted by George Hill, who was returning after missing four games. Wolves' Al Jefferson would answer with five points making sure they would keep pace with the Spurs. The two teams exchanged baskets early to keep the game close and it looked like it was going to be yet another tough battle for the Spurs against a much less talented team.

After the Wolves' Corey Brewer layup put Minnesota up by seven at the 5:41 mark, Spurs' coach Gregg Popovich decided he had seen enough and called a time out to talk things over. After the time out the Spurs went on a 9-0 run to take the lead 24-22, and forced the Wolves to call a time out of their own. Spurs' Roger Mason Jr. sunk a three-point shot to push the run to 12-0, but Wolves' Kevin Love would make two free-throws to stop the bleeding. Little used Spurs' center Ian Mahinmi would get a slam dunk to put the exclamation point on the quarter and give the Spurs a 33-26 lead.

In the second quarter the Wolves used old fashion three-point plays to get back in the game. The Wolves went on a 12-4 run to get back in the game and tied the game at the 8:56 mark in the quarter. Back-to-back three-point shots from Mason Jr. and Bonner and a two point shot from Tim Duncan would give the Spurs the lead again 45-39.

The teams exchanged baskets to put the game at 49-43 Spurs. But this is when things really got going for the Spurs. The Spurs went on a 20-4 run which included a 10-0 run at one point but what was more impressive was that in the whole quarter they went on a 32-8 run. Needless to say the Spurs were off and running away with this game. The runs had the Spurs up big at the half, 69-47.

In the third quarter the Spurs did not let off of the pedal and kept making the Wolves play for their sloppy, lazy defense. By this point the Wolves looked like they were ready to pack their bags and head off to Cancun or Rio De Janeiro. Duncanplayed less than four minutes in the quarter which I’m sure made Spurs fans happy since the next game is against their interstate rival the Dallas Mavericks. Spurs' point-guard Tony Parker led the way in this quarter with eight points and Mahinmi chipped in seven points as the Spurs pushed the lead to as many as 29 points at one point in the quarter.

The Spurs shot 60% from the field as the Wolves had zero interest in playing defense and merely settled for trading baskets with the Spurs and found themselves down 74-98 at the end of the quarter.

By the time the fourth quarter came around the Wolves were simply going through the motions of the game, while the Spurs starters were getting some rest and the bench was finishing out the game. Spurs' guards Malik Hairston and Keith Bogans scored the first eight points of the quarter for the team as the two teams still continued to trade baskets.

Mahinmi fouled out with 5:08 to go in the game finishing with 14 points and seven rebounds, a much better game than Spurs fans have seen from him lately. The Spurs continued to knock down three-point shots, making 5 of their 14 in the quarter, shooting 14 of 26(53.8%) overall for the game. Bogans scored 11 of his 17 points and Hairston scored 13 of his 14 points in the quarter to help close out the game and give the Spurs a 133-111 victory.