Cory Joseph wasn't supposed to be in the playoff rotation. A call up from the D-League's Austin Toros, Joseph was supposed to fill in for the team during injuries to Tony Parker, Gary Neal, and sometimes Manu Ginobili.

The San Antonio Spurs had more than enough of a surplus with Neal, Nando De Colo, and Patty Mills fighting for minutes in one position for backup point guard.

Fast forward to Game 1 of the first round of the NBA playoffs and Cory Joseph has cracked the rotation over De Colo and Mills and head coach Gregg Popovich's reasoning is simple enough on why the Austin Toros call up has made it this far.

"Cory did a good job defensively. He was solid. He didn't make mistakes," Popovich explained postgame. "He got us into offense. He made a couple of shots, but his defense was very solid and that's what we want him to do."

DeJuan Blair hasn't gotten consistent minutes from the San Antonio Spurs. The fan base was screaming for him to be traded during the season and he seemed to have lost his place on the court until Stephen Jackson was released by the team.

But if this is Blair's final games in black and silver, he sure left us with this gem.

Blair has a very "interesting" pre-game ritual to say the last. He was caught by Spurs.com in the back heading out to the court in a choreographed dance before a game.

Check out the dance below including some of the staff taking part in Blair's fancy moves.

Much was made of Manu Ginobili's hyper-efficient Game 1 line and rightfully so. Ginobili, far removed from his days as the San Antonio Spurs' offensive catalyst, tied a team-high in points (18) in a mere 19 minutes.

AT&T Center -- Losing your star player right before the postseason begins was probably not what the Los Angeles Lakers wanted to face, as the team saw Kobe Bryant suffer a torn left Achilles injury as they were fighting for a playoff spot against the Warriors.

Yet despite losing Byrant for the season, the Lakers rallied to secure the seventh seed and carry a 5-game winning streak heading into the playoffs which netted them a first round series versus the No. 2 San Antonio Spurs.

Game 1 was went as many expected with the Lakers losing to the Spurs 91-79, however, the Lakers outshot the Spurs (41% to 37%) in the game which should give L.A. some confidence heading into Game 2.

Talking with the media postgame, Pau Gasol says his team has to remain confident without Bryant and just needs a be a little sharper on both ends of the court.

For the first time in the last 13 years and only the second time in the Mark Cuban era, the Dallas Mavericks missed out on the postseason. San Antonio Spurs fans might not think much of the Mavs’ past success because they’re spoiled by their own streak of playoff appearances, but Dallas’ recent history is quite impressive.

Now, as a lottery team, the Mavericks are looking to “rebuild.” It seems a little silly to say that when they’re only a couple years removed from winning an NBA championship and still playing at a .500 level. However, Cuban says any team that finishes outside the playoff teams enters the rebuilding phase. Which is something all teams except one have gone through recently.

It was a beautiful sight to see. After struggling through injuries and a big slump, Manu Ginobili returned to form just in time to lead the Spurs to a Game 1 victory.

Ginobili had 18 points in 19 minutes off the bench, including a dagger pull-up three-pointer that seemingly came out of nowhere. The Spurs are surely hoping this is the return of Manu and he’s back to his old self, but Coach Gregg Popovich is still a little cautious about his health.

"It was great to have Manu back,” Coach Pop said. “He does what he does. He makes big shots. He creates problems for the opponent and he's got a great will, a great desire. I'll worry all night about how he'll feel in the morning. If he says he feels great, then that will be a good sign for our team."

The San Antonio Spurs and Los Angeles Lakers may have gotten their first round series underway with San Antonio getting the win in game one but it is never too late to get in predictions from the experts.

For the past few years at the start of each playoff series, I ask a handful of bloggers and media members for their thoughts on the series and their predictions. Normally I get a mixed back of predictions, but for this opening-round series against the Los Angeles Lakers, it was a clean sweep of predictions for the Spurs over the Lakers.

Richard Oliver, San Antonio Express-News

I see the Spurs winning in five games. The Lakers will ride some emotion for a win at home, but are simply too shredded by injuries to outlast the Spurs.

Chris Duel, TalkNowSA

AT&T Center -- San Antonio Spurs' Manu Ginobili's 2012-13 regular season was mired with injuries. He played in 60 of 82 games and was only able to get 11 minutes on the court in the team's regular season finale in San Antonio. His inconsistent play coupled with his injuries was enough for many to ponder if this might be the end of the road for Manu, as many felt he wasn't the player he once was.

Then Game 1 of the first round of the playoffs versus the Lakers tipped off and when the final buzzer sounded, it was Ginobili receiving the most praise.

Off the bench for San Antonio, Manu scored 18 points, had 2 steals, 2 rebounds and hit crucial three-pointers during the game (3-5 from behind the arch) in 18 efficient minutes to help lead the Spurs to a 91-79 victory over Lakers in Game 1.

"I feel good. I'm very happy that I played the whole game, that I didn't get hurt and that that I scored a little bit," said Ginobili postgame.

And it wasn't just Manu who was happy he saw more time out on the court, so were the other two players who make up the "Big 3."

San Antonio Spurs' Matt Bonner shoots the three-ball well. Save for an excellent final round from Kyrie Irving in this year's NBA All-Star 3-point shoot out, he would have claimed the crown. Add the fact he connects with both the fans and media, it makes him an excellent, and generally well-liked Spur.