(Sports Network) - The San Antonio Spurs have gotten healthy and that's
terrifying for the NBA.
Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili should all be in the lineup Tuesday
night when they continue their nine-game rodeo road trip in Sacramento against
the Kings.
The Spurs own the NBA's best record at 41-12 and their version of the Big
Three are all back.
Duncan returned on Wednesday before the break in a 96-95 victory in Cleveland
over the Spurs. He missed several games with a knee and ankle injury.
Parker sat in a road win over the Chicago Bulls, but came back against the
Cavs and Ginobili has been in and out of the lineup all season.
The Spurs are 4-1 thus far on the rodeo trip with their only loss coming in
Detroit to the Pistons on Feb. 8. That setback is San Antonio's only one since
Jan. 11 as the Spurs are 14-1 in that span and riding a three-game winning
streak.
"It's a great position to be in obviously," said Duncan. "Just want to be
healthy at the end of the season, that's our goal. Pop (head coach Gregg
Popovich) has done a great job of keeping our minutes down."
The Spurs don't return home until Feb. 27. After that, San Antonio has 17 of
its last 24 in the AT&T Center.
The Kings dropped their last two before the break, both away from home. After
Tuesday's tilt with the Spurs, Sacramento is back on the road for five
straight through the southern part of the country.
Sacramento hasn't had an All Star since Brad Miller and Peja Stojakovic made
the squad during the 2003-04 season. Isaiah Thomas availed himself nicely
during the Rising Stars Challenge.
The second half of the Kings season won't be focused on a playoff push. It
will revolve around the future of the organization.
With a sale pending to investor Chris Hansen's group, a move to Seattle seems
imminent, although the transfer application needs to be approved by the NBA's
Board of Governors.
Sacramento mayor Kevin Johnson is refusing to give up hope that the Kings will
leave.
"I don't see any scenario where both cities are happy," NBA Commissioner David
Stern admitted over the All-Star break.
Thomas acknowledged that the media scrutiny about a possible move looms large.
"In the situation I'm in, people want me to say things I just can't say," said
Thomas. "Like I always tell people I love Sacramento, I love Seattle, and I'm
never going to change that. I can't control what happens. And it's tough on my
teammates, because we don't know really more than you guys know. We don't know
if anything is going to happen. We just are out there, we've got to go out and
play basketball."
On the court, the Kings are 10th in the NBA in scoring, but 29th in opponents'
scoring.
The Spurs have won 15 of their last 16 against the Kings and the last time the
Spurs lost in Sacramento was Nov. 26, 2007, winning nine in a row there.
The Sports Network