Spurs of the Moment

The Spurs picked the Lakers apart on Sunday and are looking more like a team who underachieved up until March. The Daily Dime has a nice article on the game and how (as I’ve been saying) the Spurs need to get an extension over to Ginobili quick, fast, and in a hurry.

Ginobili is just as important to the Spurs as Kobe Bryant is to the Lakers, with one fewer championship on his résumé and about 86 million fewer dollars scheduled to be deposited in his bank account from 2011 to 2014. On Sunday, Ginobili was the impact player on the court, his 32 points on 10-for-22 field goal shooting leading the Spurs to a 100-81 victory over Bryant and the Lakers at Staples Center, in a game that made you rethink who should fear whom if they meet in the playoffs — and made you believe the Spurs might want to hurry up and get an extension done for Ginobili before he becomes a free agent July 1.

Unfortunately, for all the good that came with the Spurs’ win over the Lake-NoShows, some bad came of it as well. George Hill sprained his ankle and is expected to miss at least the next two games:

George Hill, who had enjoyed a star turn filling in for Parker the past 16 games, left Sunday’s 100-81 victory over the Lakers with a sprained right ankle and will not play in the final two games of the Spurs’ road trip.

Manu Ginobili started the second half at point guard with Hill out. Ginobili, Roger Mason Jr. and undrafted rookie Garrett Temple are expected to share the chore until Hill or Parker returns.

On a brighter note, here is a look at George Hill’s candidacy for Most Improved Player.