Apr 17, 2013; San Antonio, TX, USA; San Antonio Spurs guard Tony Parker (9) is checked by trainer Will Sevening after he hurt his knee during the second half against the Minnesota Timberwolves at the AT

The NBA got its wish when the Utah Jazz and then the Houston Rockets wet the bed on the final day of the regular season, opening the door for the surging Lakers to leapfrog the Rockets — and the certain playoff doom of an OKC matchup — in exchange for a bout with their old old nemesis, who find themselves limping into the playoffs, the San Antonio Spurs.

Spurs probable starting lineup:

PG Tony Parker

SG Danny Green

SF Kawhi Leonard

PF Tim Duncan

C Tiago Splitter

Jettisoning Stephen Jackson just days before the playoffs began in exchange for Tracy McGrady would seem a questionable move by most clubs, but for the continuity-based Spurs it could be suicidal. Whether hyperbole or not, the Spurs are in a bit of trouble. Dealing with injuries up through the last week of the season to Parker, Leonard, Ginobili and others – they’d be in quite a bit more trouble if their MVP wasn’t lining up against an old-as-dirt sieve like Steve Nash.

Lakers probable starting lineup:

PG Steve Nash

SG Steve Blake

SF Metta World Peace

PF Pau Gasol

C Dwight Howard

The injury to Kobe Bryant seems like a fitting consequence to the league’s shameless attempts to drag the Lakers kicking and screaming into the playoffs — if only the Rockets could have finished off the Suns before losing to the Lakers, OKC would be throttling them in the first round instead of giving the Lakers a shot against a not-quite-healthy Spurs squad that was the only Western Conference qualifier to finish the final 10 games of the season under .500.

Nevertheless, the Spurs will need to get a more than solid performance from its bigs to contend with the Lakers twin towers and a return to form by Ginobili and Parker if they wish to make it a quick series. With their superior depth and coaching, I have no doubts they will.

Prediction: Spurs in 5.

Apr 17, 2013; San Antonio, TX, USA; Minnesota Timberwolves head coach Rick Adelman reacts during the first half against the Minnesota Timberwolves at the AT

The Wolves end on a high note. In what can only be considered an extremely disappointing season for the Timberwolves, they closed out the 2012-2013 regular season with a 108-95 win over the San Antonio Spurs on Wednesday night ending a 16 game losing streak in The Alamo Dome. This is also the first time the Wolves have won a season finale since the 2008 season.

The Wolves went into halftime trailing by 6, 61-56. The Wolves came out in the 2^nd half hitting their shots and outscored the Spurs 52-34. The Wolves took the lead at the 6:50 mark in the 3^rd quarter and never looked back.

The Wolves erupted for a 41% 3 point shooting performance. They also forced the Spurs into 18 turnovers while committing 12.  The Wolves got a very efficient offensive performance from Derrick Williams, who finished 7-15 for 21 points. Even with Nikola Pekovic out for the season finale, the Wolves out rebounded the Spurs 45-40.

The Wolves had 6 players in double figures, Chase Budinger netted 15 points while Greg Stiemsma and Ricky Rubio each finished with 12 points. JJ Berea and Dante Cunningham each had 10.

The Spurs, the 2 seed in the West, opted to sit their starters and Manu Ginobili in the second quarter.  The best thing on the night for the Spurs was seeing Manu on the floor before the first round of the playoffs.

As I’ve heard John Gordon say many times, “that is all, that is all. There is no more. For all of you listening and I know there are many. That is all, that is all.”  Thank you Wolves fans.