The regular season, thankfully, is over. For the San Antonio Spurs it ended with a whimper, but you know, one with reasons. They didn't have Manu Ginobili for nine of their final ten games and were without Tony Parker for 12 of their last 22 games. The losses piled up as much as they can for a team that won 58 games, so fans and analysts alike expressed concern. According to Ginobili, the losses don't bother them one bit, but rather how they've been playing lately.
"We don't care about the losses. The thing is that we aren't playing that well. We haven't been very solid. So that's the concern, not the loss. In April, we haven't been real sharp. We have to pick it up. You know how the West is, you blink and you're out of the fight. We really have to step up."
Ginobili returned last night and the Spurs still lost, but as Jesse Blanchard noted, all that really matters about last night's game is we got a glimpse of Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, Kawhi Leonard and Manu Ginobili on the court together and they looked great. Ginobili looked rusty but not unhealthy.
Now they welcome the Los Angeles Lakers to the AT&T Center for the first two games of the first round of the playoffs. Dwight Howard and Pau Gasol both look as good now as they have all season, so that's a concern for the Spurs. However, if Parker and Ginobili are able break down the Lakers' perimeter defense there's going to be a ton of open shots for Leonard, Danny Green and the other reserves, not to mention the action Duncan and Tiago Splitter will see working off the screens they set.
Wins would've been nice, looking better in those losses would've been cool too. But health is most important and hopefully the practice time between now and Sunday well help everyone get their rhythm back.