The Spurs only shot 38.8% from the floor last night while the Hornets shot 50% which was the big reason for the home loss last night. Manu Ginobili led the way for the Spurs last night with 23 points, 2 rebounds, 6 assists and 2 steals. Richard Jefferson had a solid game for the Spurs last night finishing with 18 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists. Tony Parker pitched in with 13 points, 4 rebounds and 4 assists in this game. The Spurs are now 1-1 on the year.

The Spurs will be without backup F/C Matt Bonner for the next 10-14 days due to a sprained right ankle. He was injured last night against the Pacers. Bonner played 14 minutes last night and he had 2 points, 1 rebound and 2 assists. The Spurs will miss his outside shooting while he’s out of action. Look for Antonio McDyess, DeJuan Blair & Tiago Splitter to see a spike in P.T. while Bonner is out of action.

The Spurs shot 50.6% from the floor last night and they outscored the pesky Pacers 30-20 in the 4th quarter to pull away for the win. Tim Duncan was outstanding last night! He played 33 minutes and he shot 10 of 12 from the floor as he finished up with 23 points, 12 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals and 4 blocked shots! Manu Ginobili also stuffed the stat sheet with 22 points, 3 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals and 1 blocked shot last night. Ginobili also hit 5 of 9 shots from three point range in this game. Tony Parker was excellent running the offense for the Spurs last night as he finished up with 20 points, 3 rebounds, 9 assists and 3 steals. Richard Jefferson (16 points), George Hill (16 points) and rookie James Anderson (10 points) also helped out offensively for the Spurs last night. The Spurs are now 1-0 on the year.

The Spurs were 50-32 last season so the linesmakers are banking on them having another year just like 2009-10. The Spurs have basically the same team as last year except for Tiago Splitter and rookie shooting guard James Anderson. Still, I think they are going to be better with a healthy Tony Parker so if I had to make a bet on the Spurs this year I would take the over. The Spurs are also 30-1 to win the NBA Championship this year and that’s pretty good value.

61-year old head coach Gregg Popovich deserves more respect than he gets. He led the aging Spurs to a 50-32 record (61%) last season and they were 4-6 (40%) during the post season. Popovich now has a 736-362 (67%) record in his career during the regular season and he is 106-69 (60.6%) during the post season as a head coach for the Spurs. The Spurs have won 4 NBA Championships under Popovich (#5 all-time and he is #3 in post season wins all-time in NBA history. Popovich will continue to have the Spurs playing at a very high level again this year.

The Spurs have finally signed 25-year old center Tiago Splitter. They drafted him in the first round of the NBA Draft in 2007 but he decided to play overseas for a while. Splitter played in 16 games in the EuroLeague last season and he averaged 26.4 minutes, 13.0 points, 5.4 rebounds and 1.8 assist per game. Splitter could be an impact player for the Spurs as he is likely going to open this year as the starting center.

36-year old Antonio McDyess is a bit undersized but he makes up for it by playing hard. McDyess played in 77 games (50 starts) for the Spurs last season and he averaged 21.0 minutes, 5.8 points, 5.9 rebounds and 1.1 assists per game. He has now played in 942 games (629 starts) in his NBA career and he has averaged 28.3 minutes, 12.6 points, 7.7 rebounds, 1.3 assists and 1.1 blocked shots per game. McDyess will likely play 15-20 minutes per game which should keep him playing at a high level for the Spurs in 2010-11.

30-year old Matt Bonner really helps the Spurs spread the court when he plays as he is a outstanding shooter for a big man. Bonner played in 65 games (8 starts) for the Spurs last season and he averaged 17.9 minutes, 7.0 points, 3.3 rebounds and 1.0 assist per game. He has now played in 430 games (84 starts) in his NBA career and he has averaged 18.3 minutes, 6.7 points, 3.5 rebounds and 0.7 assists per game. Bonner has shot 40.5% from behind the three point arc in his NBA career and his shooting is his main asset for the Spurs.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE SPURS CENTERS IN 2010-11: C+

34-year old Tim Duncan just keeps rolling along for the Spurs. He played in 78 games (77 starts) for the Spurs last season and he averaged 31.3 minutes, 17.9 points, 10.1 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 1.5 blocked shots per game. Duncan has now played in 977 games (975 starts) in his NBA career and he has averaged 36.4 minutes, 21.1 points, 11.6 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 2.3 blocked shots per game. The Spurs will likely continue to monitor Duncan’s minutes to keep him healthy and fresh for the whole season and the playoffs.

21-year old DeJuan Blair is an up and comer for the Spurs. Blair played in 82 games (23 starts) for the Spurs as a rookie last year and he averaged 18.2 minutes, 7.8 points, 6.4 rebounds and 0.8 assists per game. Blair will need to improve his free throw shooting as he only shot 54.7% last season but that is the only weakness I can see in his game.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE SPURS POWER FORWARDS IN 2010-11: A+++++++++++++

30-year old starting small forward Richard Jefferson is back to prove that last season was a fluke. He played in 81 games (70 starts) for the Spurs last season and he averaged 31.1 minutes, 12.3 points, 4.4 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game. Jefferson has now played in 652 games (569 starts) in his NBA career and he has averaged 35.2 minutes, 17.0 points, 5.1 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game. I expect Jefferson to bounce back this year and average closer to 15.0 points per game than the 12.3 he averaged last year.

23-year old Alonzo Gee could be a surprise for the Spurs this year. Gee played in 11 games (2 starts) for the Wizards last season and he averaged 16.5 minutes, 7.4 points, 3.0 rebounds and 0.6 assists per game. Gee was a rookie last season so he might be even better than he showed in his first taste of the NBA last year.

30-year old Bobby Simmons is a decent veteran so don’t be surprised to see him bump Gee down the depth chart. Simmons played in 23 games (2 starts) for the Nets last season and he averaged 17.2 minutes, 5.3 points, 2.7 rebounds and 0.7 assists per game. He has now played in 435 games (228 starts) in his NBA career and he has averaged 25.5 minutes, 9.4 points, 4.0 rebounds and 1.6 assists per game. Simmons has shot 40.1% from three point range in his NBA career so he could be a good asset to have off the bench for the Spurs this year.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE SPURS SMALL FORWARDS IN 2010-11: B

The Spurs have dealt 23-year old point guard Curtis Jerrells to the Hornets for a 2nd round pick in 2010. Jerrells played in 50 games (all starts) for the Austin Toros of the D-Leage and he averaged 40.2 minutes, 20.7 points, 4.5 rebounds, 5.7 assists and 1.9 steals per game. Jerrells probably wasn’t going to make the Spurs anyway so I really like this deal for them.

33-year old Manu Ginobili is still the main man at shooting guard for the Spurs. He played in 75 games (22 starts) for the Spurs last season and he averaged 28.7 minutes, 16.5 points, 3.8 rebounds, 4.9 assists and 1.4 steals per game. Ginobili has now played in 553 games (261 starts) in his NBA career and he has averaged 27.8 minutes, 15.0 points, 4.0 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 1.5 steals per game. The Spurs like to bring Ginobili off the bench but I think he will be starting this year.

21-year old rookie first round pick James Anderson will be learning behind Ginobili. He played in 33 games for Oklahoma State last year and he averaged 34.1 minutes, 22.3 points, 5.8 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 1.4 steals per game. Anderson played in 101 games in his three years for the Cowboys and he averaged 32.8 minutes, 17.9 points, 5.1 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 1.1 steals per game. Anderson has a nice upside but the Spurs will likely bring him around slowly.

24-year old Garrett Temple proved that he could score as a rookie last year. He played in 27 games (4 starts) last season with the Rockets, Kings & Spurs last year and he averaged 12.4 minutes, 5.0 points, 1.1 rebounds and 0.8 assists per game. Temple will likely be doing a lot of watching this year.

George Hill will also likely get some P.T. at shooting guard in 2010-11 for the Spurs and he’s pretty solid there.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE SPURS SHOOTING GUARDS IN 2010-11: A