Singing the Same Old Tune

Tony Parker recorded his second
straight double-double Saturday.

It's never easy with the San Antonio Spurs in town and Saturday afternoon was no different.

It a game the Los Angeles Clippers seemingly had won, somehow they reverted back to their old ways and couldn't quite close out their 20th win of the season, falling in overtime, 103-100.

In a close game throughout, Los Angeles eventually found themselves trailing by 15 (65-50) early in the third quarter, but the Clippers, with their new found persistent and resilient personality, went on a 17-0 run that was capped off by an electrifying Blake Griffin dunk, giving his team the lead for the first time since the second quarter.

And after overcoming yet another deficit in the fourth, Los Angeles held a 95-92 lead with the ball after San Antonio's Gary Neal turned the ball over.

However, Ryan Gomes' inbound pass to Chris Paul, who scored 17 of his 21 points in the fourth quarter, took his momentum towards the backcourt, causing Paul to try save it and putting it right in the hands of Neal.

Neal, without any hesitation, stepped beyond the arch, drilling a game-tying three-point basket with 5.7 seconds left in regulation.

Paul missed a 14-foot jump shot as time expired, sending the game into overtime.

But in the extra period, the mistakes would continue. The Clippers suffered a shot-clock violation just after Matt Bonner gave the Spurs a slim one-point lead, 98-97. Following that turnover, Los Angeles got the ball back after a missed field goal attempt by Tim Duncan and with 42 seconds left, Duncan fouled Griffin, sending him to the line with a chance to regain the lead.

An exhausted Griffin would hit one of two, tying the game and giving him the first 20 point, 20 rebound game of his young career. But Neal would hit his fifth and final three-pointer of the night which proved to be the eventual game winner.

And after missed layup by Paul, San Antonio was given the same situation as the Clippers had at the end of regulation  -- three-point lead with the ball -- but this time experience proved to be the difference,

The Spurs inbounded the ball to point guard Tony Parker as he was fouled by Randy Foye. Parker, who outplayed Paul, finishing the game with a double-double (30 points, 10 assists), made both free throws.

Paul had a chance to tie the game with a three-point bucket after Griffin had a driving dunk and Neal missed two free throws, but his shot fell short, ending their modest two-game winning streak and calling his fourth quarter turnover the "biggest mistake of my career".

That might be a little exaggerated, but it was a disappointing loss in a game that had a playoff like atmosphere and postseason implications.

Los Angeles had been undefeated when Paul scores 17-plus points, but not with the hottest team in the NBA in town.

The Spurs now have an NBA season-best 10-game winning streak and have started their nine-game Rodeo Road Trip 6-0. But it comes as no surprise, even with the Clippers rapid change in cultural this season, that San Antonio comes into Staples Center and beats this franchise.

Paul and Co. gave away a win Saturday

against the San Antonio Spurs.

Grep Popovich's team has won 28 of the last 30 meetings against Los Angeles and have enjoyed unbelievable success on the Clippers' home floor. Since the 1997-98 season, San Antonio has the best winning percentage against the Clippers, winning .818 percent of their games in Staples, accumulating to a 22-5 record.

On another note, the Spurs lost both center Tiago Splitter and forward Manu Ginobili to injuries Saturday. Splitter left the first with a sprained right calf while Ginobili, in only his fourth game back from a broken wrist, suffered a strained left oblique.

If this is a potential postseason matchup, then we are in for one heck of a ride in the already wild wild west.

Manu Down

There is no question Ginobili has fought the
injury bug most of his career.

The San Antonio Spurs road to repeating as the top seed in the Western Conference just got a whole lot harder. In the team's 106-96 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves Monday night, guard Manu Ginobili broke his shooting hand and will be out indefinitely.

Ginobili, a southpaw, injured his hand late in the second quarter after fouling Minnesota center Anthony Tolliver on a shot attempt.

After being taken back for X-rays, it was revealed to the Argentinian native that he'd in fact broke the fifth metacarpal, right below his pinkie.

Prior to the injury, Ginobili had been 3-for-6 from the field, scoring 8 points in 12 minutes on the floor. Averaging 19.8 point per game thus far, the two-time All-Star has started all four games for San Antonio this season, after spending most of his career better served off the bench for three championship teams.

Ginobili captured the Sixth Man of the Year Award back in 2008 after setting career-highs in point per game (19.5), field goal percentage (.401) and minutes (31).

Despite Ginobili being hampered by injury much of his career, the now-34-year-old veteran set career-highs in games played (80) and games started (79) a year ago, helping the Spurs to the best record in the Western Conference (61-21) and an impressive 36-5 home record.

With Ginobili averaging just 66 games a year the last three seasons and no time table for his return, a mix of young players and talented veterans will need to continue the tradition thats has been laid.

Randolph Continues Postseason Surge

Randolph is playing the best basketball
of his career at the right time.

The Memphis Grizzlies continued their magical postseason run Sunday afternoon along with forward Zach Randolph.

The No. 8 seeded Grizzlies came away with a 114-101 victory in Game 1 of the Western Conference semifinals against the heavily favored Oklahoma City Thunder.

Randolph lead the way with 34 points, 10 rebounds and even snatched three steals on the road. Memphis became only the second No. 8 seed to upset a No. 1 seed in NBA postseason history after beating the San Antonio Spurs in six games.

They joined Don Nelson's Golden State Warriors as the only other team to accomplish that feat coming at the hands of the Dallas Mavericks back in 2007.

Randolph has been the anchor to Memphis's success early on.

Randolph has been the NBA's best player early in this year's postseason, averaging 21.5 points per game, grabbing 9.1 rebounds and shooting a remarkable 50 percent from the field.

In his second season with the Grizzlies, Randolph is excelling and may have found himself a home. His regular season numbers consisted of 20.1 PPG, 12.1 rebounds and also shot 50 percent from the field. A former first-round pick of the Portland Trail Blazers back in 2001, Randolph has bounced around during his 10-year career.

Randolph spent his first six seasons in Portland, where he developed into an All-Star caliber power forward, but was sent to the New York Knicks draft-night in 2007 for Steve Francis and Channing Frye.

The southpaw would play for the Knicks during the 2007-08 season, where he averaged 17.6 PPG, a career-worst since becoming a full-time starter in 2003. The former Michigan State Spartan started the 2008-09 season with the Big Apple, but only played 11 games for New York before being shipped to the Clippers in November of that season.

He would finish out the season with Los Angeles and that offseason was traded for the final time, this time to his current home in Memphis. Randolph was rewarded after leading the Grizzlies to their first playoff win in franchise history with a four-year extension worth $66 million.

With only three players on their current roster to make it out of the first-round before they beat the Spurs, the Grizzlies have nothing to lose during this current playoff run and everything to gain.

With every minute and possession the Grizzlies encounter during this year's postseason comes a little more experience for the future. With the top three teams record wise in the Western Conference centered around aging veterans, the young Grizzlies are on the rise to becoming the Western Conference elite.

They will now need to sign center Marc Gasol to an extension to continue to see that rise, with the rest of the core guys locked up for the long haul. Mike Conley, Rudy Gay and O.J. Mayo are all under contract for the next couple of years, along now with Randolph.

Memphis is not longer a stepping stone in the Western Conference and are better than their 46-36 record indicates.

If may be only one win, but the Grizzlies might well on there way to the Western Conference Finals with a convincing victory on the road against the athletic Thunder. Randolph will look to continue his great postseason Tuesday night in Oklahoma.

Does Kobe Deserve MVP?

Bryant's love for the game is what sets
him apart for the rest of the pack.

Los Angeles Laker guard Kobe Bryant has not been talked about much this season as the league's Most Valuable Player, something he seems to be in the thick of every season.

Chicago's Derrick Rose is the favorite to came home the honor in 2011 and rightfully so. Rose has taken a .500 Bulls team from a year ago and made them part of the Eastern Conference's elite. As for Bryant, he might be putting together one of his best season rather quietly.

Despite Bryant's numbers are not off the chart, averaging about 25 point per game along with 4.5 assists, he is playing some the best basketball of his career.

As a team the Lakers are surging since the break winning 15 of their first 16 games. Los Angeles currently sits comfortably as the No. 2 seed in the West, only trailing the NBA's best team, the San Antonio Spurs.

The Spurs were once up as many as nine games on the Lakers for the West's top spot.

During this recent run by the Lakers, they embarrassed the Spurs on their home floor back on the March 6, 99-83. Now, with only nine games left in the regular season for Los Angeles,  they find themselves only three games back of the Spurs in the loss column. A month ago if you would have said the Lakers had a chance to catch San Antonio for the best record, you would have been called crazy. That is no longer the case.

San Antonio has suddenly dropped five of their last eight games, including the one to Los Angeles. Bryant has been at the core of it all. His passion and will to win has enabled the Lakers to make this recent surge and possibly catch the Spurs.

If Bryant and the Lakers are able to catch them you can ensure Bryant will be a top candidate for the MVP Award. The Lakers have been heavily criticized all year with their sometimes lackadaisical play.

Now, led by their captain, Bryant has helped lead them to best record since the midway point in the season and is getting them positioned for June. The Lakers play San Antonio one last time this season in Los Angeles, coming the final week of the regular season, April 12. If things continue to way are they headed, that game could decide the fate of the best record not only in the Western Conference, but throughout the NBA.

Bryant and the Lakers will be ready and so will San Antonio trying to avoid yet another bite from 'The Black Mamba'.

Lakers Hitting Stride for June

Barnes adds fresh legs to the Laker bench.
(Bahram Mark Sobhani / Associated Press)

The Los Angeles Lakers headed into Sunday's afternoon game in Texas losers of their previous two meeting with the San Antonio Spurs this season.

Most recently, at home on a buzzer beating tip in by veteran Antonio McDyess. Los Angeles jumped out to an early 34-13 first quarter lead and never looked back, handing the Spurs only their third loss at home this season. Before the loss San Antonio had won 22 straight games at the AT&T Center.

San Antonio has widely been considered the best team in the NBA most of the season and deservingly so with the best record (51-12) and playing the most consistent. The Lakers came out sending a message Sunday, that they are still the two-time defending champions and still the team to beat in the Western Conference despite what the standings say.

The Lakers have won seven straight since the break and have played solid defense, holding opponents under 90 points per contest during that stretch.

It seems as if the Lakers were waiting for the right time to hit the gas pedal and put themselves in a good position for the postseason. It is almost certain that this will be Phil Jackson's last season as a head coach in the NBA. Kobe Bryant and Co. know this and are focused on achieving their ultimate goal for their legendary coach.

Jackson would love nothing more than to finish his career with his fourth career three-peat, securing six NBA titles each with two of greatest players in NBA history.

Most of the season, Andrew Bynum and Ron Artest looked disinterested on the defensive side of the ball if they were not getting their share of touches on the offensive end. That seems to have changed in the second half with both playing superb defense as well as contributing on the other side of the floor. Forward Matt Barnes returned the lineup Sunday with five points and six rebounds in only 14 minutes.

Barnes should also add some depth and energy to a team that is hitting its stride at the right time. These two teams will not meet again until the final week of the season, with the Spurs holding a 2-1 season edge.

With Los Angeles healthy and slowly climbing up the standing, they look primed for their third parade in as many years down Figueroa.

Wake Up & Smell the Rose(s)

Rose has the Bulls firing
on all cylinders.

The Chicago Bulls head into the All-Star break with a 38-16 record, good enough for the No. 3 seed in the Eastern Conference and fifth best in the NBA.

We can attribute that to the first overall pick in 2008 out of the University of Memphis. At the young age of 22, Derrick Rose is making a strong bid for the Most Valuable Player Award this season.

Only in his third season in the NBA, he is beginning to raise the question, is he the best point guard in the NBA?

The Bulls finished 41-41 a year ago as the eighth seed in the East, only to be bounced out in the first-round by the then-LeBron James-led Cleveland Cavaliers. What a difference a year makes, as Rose and Co. have elevated to new heights.

Rose has averaged 24.6 points per game, along with 8.2 assists in the first half, both well above his career averages and this is despite having two key components miss significant time. Offseason acquisition Carlos Boozer missed the first two months of the season with a broken hand and the team's emotional leader Joakim Noah has been out since mid-December with a torn ligament in his right thumb.

Boozer and Noah have only played nine games together this season, giving us a small sample size to how good this team could be. Noah should return to the starting lineup shortly after the All-Star break, adding a huge boost for a team that seems to already be surging.

They're coming off an impressive win at home just before the break against the team with the best record in the NBA, the San Antonio Spurs. Rose led the way with 42 points and 8 assists. With the best record against the Western Conference at a 17-7 mark, Chicago has made themselves a legitimate NBA Finals contender thanks to my first half MVP in the NBA.

The Windy City has reason to smile come June and well into the future.