Excellent thoughts from former PtR overlord Wayne Vore.

Heh, Ric Bucher's been showin' some love to the Spurs lately.

A really good interview. I really hope he can make a comeback, there aren't enough good centers in the league. (maybe the Phoenix Suns medical staff can help him out?)

Awesome piece written by PtR's adopted son, LatinD. I'm still looking for the rec button in that site.

I don't even get this. Seriously, Doc Rivers and D 'Antoni over Pop?

DOC RIVERS, CELTICS 22%

MIKE D'ANTONI 21%

GREGG POPOVICH, SPURS 16%

RICK CARLISLE, MAVERICKS 6%

RICK ADELMAN, T-WOLVES 5%

LEAST?

STAN VAN GUNDY, MAGIC 22%

SCOTT SKILES, BUCKS 14%

BYRON SCOTT, CAVALIERS 9%

FLIP SAUNDERS 6%

MIKE D'ANTONI 4%

FAST FACTS

The active coach with the best winning percentage, the Bulls' Tom Thibodeau (.767), was sixth (4%) on the most list.... The Pistons' Lawrence Frank and the Lakers' Mike Brown also received 4% of the least vote.... Saunders was fired by the Wizards (for whom he was 51--130) on Jan. 24; D'Antoni resigned from the Knicks (121--167) on March 14.... Van Gundy also finished eighth (3%) on the most list. Rivers didn't receive a single least vote.

BASED ON 134 NBA PLAYERS WHO RESPONDED TO SI'S SURVEY

"What began as a means to ease the burden on Duncan has gradually become a chance to emphasize Parker. The passing of that torch was fairly inevitable, but it’s the way the torch has been passed – so dramatically as the basic style of the grind-it-out Spurs is set ablaze – that has made San Antonio’s transition all the more vivid."

We kinda know this already, but hey, the national media's catching on!

Not outer space, sadly. Still, a good description of the vaunted Spurs attack.

Three players were mentioned: Nick Collison (OKC), Shane Battier (Miami) and Tiago Splitter (San Antonio)

Here's the take on Splitter:
"Projected WARP: 4.2; current WARP: 3.9

Only Denver and Chicago have relied on role players more than San Antonio this season, but of course that is nothing new for Gregg Popovich's team. Splitter's minutes have been slipping of late, but he remains very important to what the Spurs do. Over his past 20 games, Splitter's usage rate has increased to more than 20 percent, but his true shooting percentage remains well over 60 percent. Players who can do more without losing efficiency are tremendously valuable.

In terms of plus-minus, Splitter doesn't have as much of an impact as fellow role-playing big man Matt Bonner, but the two work in tandem to give Popovich the ability to load up in the paint or spread the floor as the situation dictates. In Splitter's case, not only does San Antonio's proficiency in the painted area increase with him on the floor, but his ability to collapse the defense opens up the corners. The Spurs shoot 46 percent on corner 3s with Splitter on the floor. Overall, San Antonio's true shooting percentage increases by 4.4 percent when Splitter plays.

Splitter's defensive impact is more muted, but the Spurs hold steady on that end when he's on the court. Teams like to isolate him, but he's held his own in those situations, ranking 62nd in the league according to MySynergySports.com. The Los Angeles Lakers could be looming in the second round for the Spurs and Splitter is going to be a key to making Andrew Bynum and Pau Gasol work when Tim Duncan is off the floor, though Popovich might opt to play them together a bit more often against L.A.'s twin towers."

Just a great and inspiring read. It's really nice to see ex-Spurs Monty Williams and Dell Demps doing a tremendous job with the franchise.

I think, more than Spurs proteges going to big markets, it's really in small cities where you can see how they apply whatever they've learned, from both a coaching and general management standpoint. Hopefully they'll get a new owner who truly cares about the team and winning.

I wanna be under the radar, dammit.

For the Western Conference, here's where the Spurs' assets rank:

3. Erazem Lorbek
European Club: Regal Barcelona (Spain)
Odds He’ll Defect: 25 percent.

Here’s another guy who could benefit from the decongested NBA lanes and a hastier offense, but as long as Nando’s a defensive liability (which he irrefutably is), I can’t see Gregg Popovich getting too psyched about seeing him in silver and black.

You can view the Eastern Conference picks here.

I know Falk's probably not the most loved guy in the league but he makes a lot of sense in this interview. Some highlights:

"SI.com: How did you see Billy's [Hunter[ part in it [the lockout]?

Falk: He doesn't think he needs support, which I find incredibly difficult to understand in a process that's inherently political. Stern -- who is a very smart, powerful guy, and the most able commissioner in the history of professional sports -- is surrounded by dozens of lawyers. No one says that having the lawyers around him weakens David Stern's position, but Billy feels that having support by powerful people somehow makes him look like he's weak.

I've never met a person in a high position, whether it's a CEO or the president of the United States or a king, who doesn't have dozens of advisors that he relies on. He makes the final decision, but you surround yourself with a presidential cabinet. You have as many smart people as you can, hopefully people smarter than you, to help make sure that you do a good job. Billy has never embraced that concept. I think he somehow feels like putting smart people around you makes you look weak to the players."

"SI.com: In terms of agents separating themselves, I'd think that you of all people would see branding as playing a big part. Can't you separate yourself by landing marketing deals, etc.?

Falk: First of all, I think there's only one player in NBA history that has really been branded, and that's Michael Jordan. His brand has lasted from 1984 to 2012, is going strong, is over $1 billion. He's internationally recognized, is the second-most-recognizable person in China, and he truly has a brand that was cultivated.

But when he started, the intent wasn't to manage him to create a brand. It was to manage him to become a great player and the brand grew out of being a great player. I think today's generation of players are trying to skip that step. They're trying to create brands, but you can't create a brand. I think the brand is something that derives from your recognizability, your favorability, your performance, success, personality. It's a blend of different factors.

Michael Jordan developed a brand because it was something that developed naturally. It wasn't something that was manufactured, and I think today too many people are trying too hard -- in a faddish kind of a way -- and the fad things never last. In Michael's generation, there were people like Jim McMahon and Brian Bosworth -- they were fads. They were hot for a couple of years, but [Jordan's] brand lasted because it was built on a very strong foundation."

"SI.com: Do you see LeBron James as a brand?

Falk: No. First of all, he hasn't won a championship. Second of all, I'm a big LeBron fan and like LeBron personally, but I think he's trying too hard to be a brand, like we saw with The Decision. If I represented LeBron and he told me that he wanted to do a show called The Decision, I'd say, "Great, after you win your first ring, let's do a documentary detailing why you decided to pick Miami. The reason you picked them is because you wanted to win a championship, but until that time The Decision has made you extremely unpopular."

The problem is -- and I like [LeBron's manager] Maverick Carter, as well -- very few players have capable management. I think most of the players are managing their agents, because the agents don't have the confidence or the courage to tell the players what they really think they want to hear. They tell them what they want to hear because they're afraid of getting fired."

This dude is pretty remarkable, and a legend in his own right. Oh, and a good read, too.

And the Kobe fanatics pile on...

A pretty somber tone from one of my favorite writers over at Grantland (yes, I like Carles not for his hipster bro-ness. but because his writing is really easy to read and so effortless).

I won't say he's completely wrong, but I do hope the Spurs have that one last great run in them.

One of our guys from Pounding the Rock posted this, I thought you guys might enjoy. We're completely on the Linsanity thing, too.

Just so there's no blatant plagiarizing, I broke it down a bit on what I think are the most salient points.

Future projections:
Chances of making the playoffs: 98.1 percent
Chances of winning the Southwest: 76.3
Chances of making the NBA Finals: 17.0
Chances of winning the NBA title: 6.0

3) Bonner, Leonard and Anderson to the Cleveland Cavaliers for Anderson Varejao
"If there's a perfect player to address the Spurs' immediate defensive deficiencies, it's Varejao. His mediocre offense is paired with the length, quickness and intelligence needed to check the elite power forwards out West."

12. DeJuan Blair, PF, 22 years old

The 6-foot-7, 270-pound power forward fell to the 37th pick of the 2009 draft after two seasons at Pitt because he is missing anterior cruciate ligaments in both knees, and scouts did not think he had the lift to finish at the rim. In his first game with the San Antonio Spurs, he scored 14 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, proving some skeptics wrong for a night, but then continued to play well on a very good team. Blair has brute strength and a tremendous feel for the game. He runs the court, establishing early position. Blair fundamentally uses angles and positioning to lock up his opponents in the paint, often finishing in the paint over taller opponents. Tremendous pickup for the Spurs. Similar to: Charles Barkley

The full list: (rankings determined by Kevin Pelton's (Basketball Prospectus) SCHOENE projection system)
1. Kevin Durant
2. Derrick Rose
3. Kevin Love
4. Andrew Bynum
5. Blake Griffin
6. Russell Westbrook
7. Greg Monroe
8. James Harden
9. Kyrie Irving
10. John Wall
11. Ty Lawson
12. BLAAAAAAIIIIRRR
13. DeMarcus Cousins
14. Steph Curry
15. Danilo Gallinari
16. Ricky Rubio
17. Brandon Jennings
18. Mike Conley
19. JaVale McGee
20. Serge Ibaka
21. Nicolas Batum
22. Thaddeus Young
23. Tyreke Evans
24. Jrue Holiday
25. Brook Lopez