NBA News & Rumors: San Antonio Spurs' Manu Ginobili Returns; Tony Parker Surpasses Tim Duncan, LaMarcus Aldridge

Nov 22, 2015 09:22 PM EST

The San Antonio Spurs are considered as one of the most formidable teams in the NBA today. With the Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili at the helm, the basketball squad have been known to demolish other teams throughout the reign of the Big Three. This season, the San Antonio Spurs added NBA All-Star LaMarcus Aldridge. The former Portland Trailblazers star has ben the most widely sought after basketball star during the offseason, so his entry to the Duncan squad was highly anticipated.

Earlier this NBA season, the San Antonio Spurs had to sideline Ginobili due to his hip injury. The health concern arose during the team's match against the Portland Trailblazers. The said bilateral hip tightness prevented Ginobili from helping out the San Antonio Spurs in their games against the Denver Nuggets and the New Orleans Pelicans. Meanwhile, an adductor strain prevented him from playing against the Philadelphia 76ers.

"Going left, long step and I pulled my groin," shared Ginobili in an attempt to make light of his injury during the Portland Trailblazers match, according to ESPN. "I'm so quick, so explosive, right? So my body's trying to keep up."

Ginobili went back to action though in the San Antonio Spurs' match against the Memphis Grizzlies. The NBA star managed to pitch in 15 points off the bench in the 92-82 victory of the Duncan squad at the AT&T Center.

Meanwhile, Aldridge had been notably absent during the Memphis Grizzlies face off. Reports revealed that the former Portland Trailblazers star incurred an ankle injury during the San Antonio Spurs' game against the New Orleans Pelicans.

"I don't know. We'll see how it feels," said Aldridge regarding his injury, according to a separate ESPN report. He shared, "It usually gets worse the next day. So we'll see how it feels when I wake up, and we'll re-evaluate it. I just want to make sure that if I'm out there, I want to be good on both ends of the floor, not just on one end."

Aldridge's injury occurred during the latter part of the first quarter of the match against the New Orleans Pelicans. According to sources, he mistakenly stepped on the foot of Alonzo Gee following a missed shot. Aldridge was immediately taken back to the locker room where he got his left ankle taped. He then played the game with a bit of a limp and a recurring pain.

Apart from Aldridge, the 104-90 loss to the New Orleans Pelicans had been a bad night for Duncan as well. The said match saw the power forward fail to get a rebound for the first time in his 19-season career in the NBA.

"Timmy didn't get a board?" asked Parker. The point guard further said, "That's because we played New Orleans. It's always something here. For whatever reason, every time we play them, it's a tough one. I don't know why. That's very rare."

Although Duncan and Aldridge appear to be struggling this NBA season, Parker is said to be flourishing with the new role head coach Gregg Popovich assigned him. By reducing the number of minutes he has on the floor, Parker had been dynamite once he got off the bench.

"I understand my role is going to change," Parker shared via San Antonio Express, referring to the changes in the San Antonio Spurs roster due to the addition of Aldridge. He added, "I don't need to score as much, and I have to get LaMarcus (Aldridge) and Kawhi (Leonard going). I know my role is changing, but I love it. The way that (Tim Duncan) changed towards Manu (Ginobili), and Manu changed towards me; it's the same thing with me now. The last four or five years it was my job to be aggressive and score, but this year is totally different. I have to be the engine in another way."

The quick way Parker adapted to the changes had been quite apparent recently. Kawhi Leonard commented, "He (Parker) got it going tonight. Once he gets it going, he makes the game easier for all of us. All we're doing is catching and shooting. That is the easiest shot in the game."