The Spurs were considering using the amnesty clause to cut 31-year old small forward Richard Jefferson before the 2011-12 season began. They have to be glad that they didn’t do it as Jefferson is playing very well for the Spurs so far this year. Jefferson has played in 9 games (all starts) for the Spurs so far this year and he is averaging 29.9 minutes, 14.1 points, 3.0 rebounds and 1.0 assist per game. Jefferson is shooting 51.7% from the floor so far this year and a incredible 58% (28 of 50) from three point range! The Spurs should let Jefferson shoot more to help them make up for the loss of Manu Ginobili.

22-year old C/PF DeJuan Blair is really playing solid basketball for the Spurs so far this year. He has now played in 6 games (all starts) for the Spurs so far this year and he is averaging 24.5 minutes, 13.8 points, 6.8 rebounds and 1.0 assist per game. The Spurs should consider playing Blair more minutes as he is clearly a better basketball player than his backup, Tiago Splitter. The Spurs need to start going with youth and Blair is a solid player to start to rebuild around in the future.

Sure, the 2010-11 season ending in disappointing fashion, but it was still a good year for the Spurs. 62-year old head coach Gregg Popovich led the Spurs to a 61-21 (74.4%) record during the regular season and he was 2-4 (33.3%) during the playoffs. He now has a career record of 797-383 (67.5%) during the regular season for the Spurs and he is 108-73 (59.7%) during the playoffs. The Spurs have won 4 NBA Titles on Popovich’s watch and he might add more trophies before his career is over. He will be in Basketball’s Hall of Fame at some point in the near future, book it.

33-year old shooting guard Manu Ginobili still has a lot left in the gas tank as he proved last year. Ginobili played in 80 games (79 starts) for the Spurs last year and he averaged 30.3 minutes, 17.4 points, 3.7 rebounds, 4.9 assists and 1.5 steals per game. He has now played in 633 games (340 starts) in his 9 years with the Spurs and he is averaging 28.1 minutes, 15.3 points, 4.0 rebounds, 3.9 assists and 1.5 steals per game. Ginobili is the Spurs’ all-time leader in three-pointers made with 958. He is also #7 in games played (633), #6 in assists (2,467), #5 in steals (960) and #7 in points scored (9,674) in Spurs’ history.

24-year old guard George Hill is taking advantage of the Spurs wanting to watch Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili’s minutes down the stretch. In his last seven games, Hill is averaging 29.9 minutes, 18.4 points, 1.4 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 1.0 steal per game. In those seven games, Hill is shooting 56.4% from the floor (44 of 78) which is outstanding! Hill has now played in 73 games (4 starts) so far this year and he is averaging 28.2 minutes, 11.7 points, 2.6 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game. Hill is going to be a big part of the Spurs’ success in the playoffs as he will be the first guard off the bench.