Gregg Popovich Still Experimenting on a Nightly Basis

Asked if he thought his team had experienced good or bad fortune in managing to achieve a .500 record while two All-Stars have been held out with injuries, coach Gregg Popovich said it was simply all part of the game.

"It's a situation where every team gets injuries, and you have to continue to perform as best as you can.  And we've done a decent job. We could have done better in some areas, but it could have been better, it could have been worse.

The Spurs have used five different starting lineups through the first 11 games. Three players—Matt Bonner, Ime Udoka and Kurt Thomas—have managed at least one start and at least one DNP.

Popovich is candid about his methods—he's experimenting on a nightly basis.

"I see some combinations out there, and I wonder, 'Why did I do that?'" Popovich said. "We're getting a lot of looks at a lot of different combos, that's for sure."

"I think we're pretty much on course, learning. Young kids are learning the system and everybody's getting into shape. Hopefully, as we become whole we'll just become better and better."

Fans, of course, are less patient. They can't wait to see Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker back in the line-up for the Spurs.

They got their hopes up late last week when Ginobili spoke to the media at practice, telling them that his rehab was ahead of schedule. In true Ginobili fashion, he ramped up the stakes.

"I feel I'm very close," Ginobili said Friday. "I had a good practice yesterday. The ankle is not swelling. We're going to practice tomorrow and the day after. If it goes as well as yesterday, I think I'm ready to go."

Asked specifically which game he targeted for his return, Ginobili replied, "The next one. I would like to play the next one."

Popovich stepped in this weekend and put the brakes on the mounting expectations.

"He's getting more and more ready every day. Exactly when he'll play I'm not sure. [Tony Parker] is also improving on a day to day basis, but there's no date set on when he'll come back. When they're ready, that's when we'll play 'em."

The Spurs play four games this week, facing Memphis twice—once on the road (Monday) and once at home (Friday).  In between those games, the Chicago Bulls come to San Antonio on Wednesday night. Then, the Spurs head to Houston to face the Rockets on Saturday.

Odds are Ginobili will beg his way back into the lineup for limited minutes during one of those games.

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