When the San Antonio Spurs defeated the Los Angeles Lakers, it shouldn't have been a surprise if you saw Aron Baynes start in place of injured center Tiago Splitter.

The team has always depended on their superstars, mainly Tim Duncan throughout every championship, to lead the way, but it's the system that Gregg Popovich established that made it possible. When Baynes made his playoff debut, it was made possible only by the faith Pop has in his coaching philosophy.

"It was a high," Baynes said. "But at the same time there was business in front of me. I had to go out there and focus on what I needed to do, play that game plan. That's what's gotten us to this point right now. That's what I wanted to go out there and focus on, and, yeah, keep it rolling." (Justin Verrier/ESPN.com)

The San Antonio Spurs will have lots of time to practice, rest, heal up nagging injuries and tune up before playing either the Nuggets or Warriors in the second round of the 2013 NBA Playoffs. They will also have time to kill when they are not on the practice court.

Take guard Patty Mills for example. It seems he is quite "eager" to attend a Selena Gomez concert in San Antonio and start a mosh pit.

Selena Gomez concert in San Antonio???? Put me down for that! #moshpit

— Patrick Mills (@Patty_Mills) April 30, 2013

Obviously, Mills is kidding around but if your a Spurs fans, you got to be liking this.

The San Antonio Spurs closed out their series against the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday night. This earns the team more than a week long rest until their opponent is decided between the Denver Nuggets and Golden State Warriors.

This long rest may be beneficial for the Spurs to rest up nagging injuries like Tony Parker's ankle, neck, and whatever else is ailing him. This will also give Tiago Splitter and Boris Diaw an opportunity to possibly come back to the team to give it depth so the main rotation won't be averaging 35 or more minutes per game the next game.

The rest may worrisome with the Spurs coming in with momentum after a series sweep against the Lakers. With a week off against competition, the Spurs are in danger of losing the momentum they've desperately needed after finishing off the regular season in a poor fashion. This isn't the only factor either. The opponents for the silver and black play a huge role in this also. The Denver Nuggets were the favorites to win the series against the Golden State Warriors and may carry this series to seven games.

It will be a while before the San Antonio Spurs will be back on the court for the second round of the playoffs and fans may be craving to see their favorite team in action. Fortunately, Manu Ginobili gave a highlight to remember from Game 4 of the opening round series versus the Lakers at the expense of Dwight Howard.

Check out the Lakers and Howard's matador defense allowing Manu to get to the rim in the first quarter and throw down the emphatic dunk on Howard.

When Thunder's Russell Westbrook went down with an injury and was later deemed out for the rest of the playoffs, many pointed to the San Antonio Spurs as the hands-down favorite to come out of the Western Conference and play for the 2012 NBA title. However, former Spurs guard Steve Kerr thought otherwise.

Kerr was a guest on Bloguin's Awful Announcing podcast and he made it clear - the Spurs are the best in the West playoffs even before Westbrook went down with an injury.

Take a listen to what TNT's Kerr had to say about his former team (at the 19:50 point of audio below) including what the Thunder will have to do without Westbrook and why he thinks they'll come out of the West. In a nutshell, he thinks the team is too deep and even feels the Spurs can defeat the Heat should they meet in the NBA Finals.

When Tracy McGrady signed with the San Antonio Spurs, it was a huge surprise.

After averaging 25ppg with Qingdao in the Chinese Basketball Association, it wasn't a huge surprise for his former employer that he got another chance in the NBA.

It's not just another chance either. McGrady not only advanced to the second round, but he's also contending for an NBA championship with a legitimate contender.

Quingado GM Shun Tin commented on McGrady returning to the NBA this season.

We hope T-Mac is playing well elsewhere and can get a championship. It's is a very good thing, and we would like to see it. (hupu.com)

Sunday night was the deadline for early entrants in to the NBA Draft.  Most guys don't waste too much time declaring after the NCAA Tournament ends while others take their time and gauge their odds of being a first round pick or being drafted at all before they declare.  One of the ones choosing the latter was Colorado's Andre Roberson, who waited till late Sunday to make his decision to enter the draft.

The San Antonio native took his time with good reason. Colorado University's Athletic Department reported that Roberson made his decision after meeting with Head Coach Tad Boyle and Athletic Director Mike Bohn to discuss the NBA Undergraduate Advisory Committee's evaluation of his draftability.  That assessment revealed Roberson was likely a late second round pick and that there are guarantees he will be drafted at all.

When the San Antonio Spurs swept the Los Angeles Lakers, it was a result that was expected after Game 1 of the series. When the injuries kept piling up for Los Angeles, their fans were hoping the ending was coming sooner than having it drag out. They weren't blow out losses in the series, but they knew a championship wasn't coming.

With Kobe Bryant, Steve Nash, Steve Blake, Jodie Meeks, and Metta World Peace out for Game 4, this was the chance for the fans to see Dwight Howard's leadership. What the team got instead was an overly emotional Howard with what seemed to be the world on his shoulders. Howard's immaturity this game showed with careless fouls and technical fouls, like one that was given for elbowing Cory Joseph in the head. In fact, the D-League call up in Joseph was more mature during that situation than Dwight and he was the one who was in the receiving end of a dangerous hit.

Former Los Angeles Laker great Magic Johnson took notice of Howard's behavior and wasn't shy to voice his opinions on Twitter.

Fans of the San Antonio Spurs think they have the best team in the league and they may think they also are the best fan base out of the rest. There's one thing Spurs fans can know however. They can be sure they have the best arena in the league as far as StadiumJourney.com is concerned.

For the first time, we have the home of the San Antonio Spurs in our top spot for best NBA arena experience. When the AT&T Center hosts a San Antonio Spurs game, fans find out that that perfection is attainable. Whether it’s the immaculately clean arena (from seating areas, to concourse, to restrooms), the wide variety of concession items, or the passionate Spurs fanbase, there’s little doubt that your visit to the AT&T Center will be one of the best sporting experiences you’ve ever had.

This is major recognition for a team that's overlooked constantly every season.

The San Antonio Spurs sent the Los Angeles Lakers packing for an early Summer break with a 4-0 sweep of their first-round playoff series.

And though the series wasn't really a fair fight considering the Lakers were decimated by injuries, nevertheless, the Spurs handled business and now await the winner of the Nuggets-Warriors series.

So now that San Antonio ended L.A.'s up-and-down season, Internet sensation "Keyboard Cat" gave the Lakers a proper farewell (H/T SB Nation) by playing them off of the playoffs at the hands of the Spurs.