Ginobili Returns, Spurs Back to Being Elite?

The Spurs and Spurs fans alike got very good news last Monday when All-Star guard Manu Ginobili returned to the lineup, quite earlier than expected.

Ginobili injured his left ankle after re-aggravating the injury that bothered him throughout last season. The Spurs also moved above .500 for the first time this season Monday with a victory over the Memphis Grizzlies.

So is this the return of a dominant team that struggled early on? Can they again be considered one of the NBA's elite?

Not yet. Ginobili will defenitely give the team a big boost in scoring, where they needed it, but he is still not 100%.

Tony Parker still has set no timetable for return, some wonder if it will be before 2009. Even if Parker returns, he too will need to play himself into the form he was in to start the season, which could take a week or two. 

Ginobili's impact will gradually increase, as does his playing time. He will take a lot of pressure off Tim Duncan, and Roger Mason, Jr. should have more open looks. Opposing teams will now need to put their best defender on Ginobili instead of Mason.

Finley will also have much better looks, no longer needing to take 20 shots each game.

When Parker returns, the Spurs will once again be an offensive force, with four players that can drop 20 on any given night.

The team should not rely on Manu too heavily, especially before the new calender year.

The worst possible thing that could happen is have him re-injure his ankle, which would greatly diminish their title chances. Fortunately the Spurs understand that, as Ginobili only saw 11 minutes his first game back.

Look for that to increase gradually, until it is back around 30-35.

As the Spurs have proved multiple times, the regular season does not really matter. As long as they get the third or fourth seed and have their three stars healthy for the playoffs, they could once again go deep.

Who knows, another championship could be hanging in the rafters of the AT&T Center in June.

After all, 2008-09 is an odd year.