As we get ready for Game 6 tonight in Memphis, let’s remember that the Spurs would be heading home for the summer if not for the shot that rookie Gary Neal hit at the buzzer.

While the vast majority of NBAers are in Los Angeles for the All-Star Game or at home enjoying a few days off with the family, newly-single Tony Parker was in Las Vegas for a party at LAVO. Here are a few pics.

Check out Antonio McDyess’s tip-in at the buzzer to beat the Lakers last night at Staples Center.

Was it goaltending? Lakers fans think so, but a quick read of the NBA’s goaltending rules leads me to believe that it wasn’t:

Section I-A Player Shall Not:
a. Touch the ball or the basket ring when the ball is using the basket ring as its lower base.
EXCEPTION: If a player near his own basket has his hand legally in contact with the ball, it is not a violation if his contact with the ball continues after the ball enters the cylinder, or if, in such action, he touches the basket.
b. Touch the ball when it is above the basket ring and within the imaginary cylinder.
c. For goaltending to occur, the ball, in the judgment of the official, must have a chance to score.

The view from the side shows that the ball was coming off, but I think it was still in the imaginary cylinder when McDyess’s hand touched it. However, as part “c.” states, if the official did not think it had a chance to score (which it didn’t), then it cannot be goaltending. This appears to supersede the fact that the ball may have been in the cylinder.

Spurs win.

My beloved Bucks, coming off of a surprising win in Dallas to snap the Mavs’ 12-game winning streak, gave the Spurs one hell of a run before Manu Ginobili hit this game winner at the buzzer.

The Bucks had a chance to take the lead, but failed to get a good look at the hoop. It’s a situation where Brandon Jennings has to create his own shot, but he ended up picking up his dribble and giving the ball to Luc Mbah a Moute, who tried to draw the foul on an airborne player.

Ginobili had 26 points, six rebounds and four assists in the win. Chris Douglas-Roberts (21 points) and Drew Gooden (20 points) led the Bucks in scoring, but it was Andrew Bogut (15 points, seven rebounds, four assists and SEVEN BLOCKS) who was the player of the game for Milwaukee. I sure hope he gets a long, hard look for the All-Star team, but Al Horford, Shaquille O’Neal, Roy Hibbert and Brook Lopez might have something to say about that. None of those players are the defensive presence that Bogut is, however.

This is a nice collection of clips of Ginobili attacking the rim. He’s one of the best in the league at getting to the bucket and finishing.

This year, I’m going to preview the NBA season by starting with the lowest of the low and working my way up to my Finals picks. If a franchise is a legitimate championship contender, I’ll focus on what stars have to line up for a title run. If a team is a playoff also-ran, I’ll identify the weaknesses that have to be shored up via trade, free agency or draft over the next couple of seasons to make it a contender. If a team is likely to miss the playoffs, I’ll take a look at the salary cap, and provide a blueprint for how the team should proceed in the near future to get back in the postseason.

#10: Denver Nuggets
It’s tough to handicap Denver’s chances this season given the uncertainty surrounding Carmelo Anthony’s future with the franchise. There’s very little doubt in my mind that if the Nuggets hold onto Melo for the entire season, he’s going to sign elsewhere next summer. Will they risk losing him for no compensation after watching Chris Bosh bolt Toronto last summer? It seems doubtful, though it’s going to be very difficult to justify trading Anthony away in the middle of the season if the team is playing well and looks to be amongst the West’s elite. The truth is that the Raptors did get something out of Bosh’s departure. People forget, but Toronto and Cleveland actually worked out sign-and-trades with the Heat and each garnered a couple of first round picks (and a trade exception) out of their respective deals. The Nuggets could wait and (probably) do the same thing, but they’ll get better value if they trade Anthony before the deadline. With one foot out the door, the Nuggets are going to be answering questions all season about the status of their superstar and it’s going to be a distraction. There’s no way around it. With a pretty good roster, the Nuggets will be good, but they’re not good enough to overcome all the drama. If Denver moves Anthony and eventually trades Chauncey Billups as well, they’ll be in great shape financially, building around Ty Lawson and whatever young players (Derrick Favors?) they can acquire for their two stars. But make no mistake — this is going to get a lot worse before it gets better.

#9: Utah Jazz
For the first time in six seasons, the Jazz head into the season without the potent duo of Deron Williams and Carlos Boozer. Williams is basically the franchise cornerstone and is still there, but Boozer is long gone. So the Jazz are going to take a step back, right? Not necessarily. They have one of the best backup power forwards in the league (Paul Millsap) ready to take Boozer’s place and they stole Al Jefferson from the T-Wolves, so the front line will be fine assuming Mehmet Okur’s recovery from an injury to his Achilles. Of greater concern is the wing, where the losses of Kyle Korver and Wes Matthews will hurt if C.J. Miles, Raja Bell and Gordon Hayward are not up to the task. Head coach Jerry Sloan will have his team competing and it’s rare that the Jazz are ever out-executed on any given night. Another 50+ win season looks likely.

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In many ways, today’s USA/Brazil game was a typical Team USA game. The Americans overcame sloppy play (22 turnovers) and poor outside shooting (2-of-11) from all players not named Kevin Durant, and survived against the Brazilians, who had every chance to steal a win against the superior talent of Team USA. But Leandro Barbosa went cold in the second half, finishing 3-of-13 from 3PT after a hot start, and Brazil came up short.

Outside of Durant (27 points, 10 rebounds) and maybe Chauncey Billups (15 points) and Derrick Rose (11 points), this team is a mess. The bench managed a paltry six points, but Coach K leaned heavily on his starters, playing each guy a minimum of 29 minutes. (Durant played 39 minutes.) There was little or no offensive movement, leaving Durant, Billups and Rose to create on their own. How a team with this much talent can turn the ball over 22 times in 40 minutes is mind-boggling.

Moreover, there was little to no enthusiasm from the U.S. bench, while the Brazilians were standing and cheering their teammates throughout the game. At one point, I think Danny Granger (zero minutes) fell asleep. (Kidding. Not really.) They played hard enough defensively, and even though they gave up a ton of open shots, they eventually wore the Brazilians down.

One reason I tuned in was to see the Spurs new center, Tiago Splitter, who Fran Fraschilla called the best center in Europe. He’s 25, moves well for his size, and has a pretty nice jump hook with both the right and the left hands. I suspect he’ll be in foul trouble for the entire month of November as he figures out how NBA officials are going to call the game, but he has the potential to be as good as any center Tim Duncan has played with since David Robinson. (I realize that’s not saying a whole lot.)

John Hollinger breaks down the financial impact of Richard Jefferson’s decision to opt out and his resulting contract with the Spurs. Skip to the bolded text if you’re not interested in the nuts and bolts.

On the other hand, they got under the tax solely because Richard Jefferson opted out of a final year on his deal that would have paid him $15 million. This one raised eyebrows in front offices around the league, many of which suspected that there was a prearranged deal between the two parties.

This isn’t an outlandish premise, given that:

• Jefferson told reporters in April that it might be worth it to opt out if he could get a four-year, $40 million deal (he said it right here on April 11).

• That’s almost to the dollar the deal he received in July.

• Doing so got the Spurs out of the luxury tax and allowed them to sign Splitter at a discount.

• There didn’t appear to be any kind of serious bid from another team to drive up Jefferson’s price.

That said, we have no smoking gun that there was any kind of prearranged deal between the Spurs and Jefferson. We don’t even have a smokeless gun. All we have is the circumstantial evidence above, as well as two other pieces of information:

1. The Spurs don’t sign bad contracts.

2. This is the worst contract of the summer.

Seriously, four years and $39 million for Richard Jefferson? Did Isiah Thomas take over the franchise and not tell anybody? Wings who depend on athleticism have a rough time in their late 20s and early 30s; Jefferson just turned 30. He wasn’t a $10 million per year player two years ago, and sure as heck isn’t going to be one two years down the road.

Follow the money, however. Jefferson’s opt-out and lower-salaried return means the Spurs will save about $17 million in salary, luxury tax and tax distributions this year (if one presumes Splitter was coming regardless). Jefferson’s new deal cost $31 million after this season, which is all we care about since the Spurs were paying him in 2010-11 either way. Subtract $17 million from $31 million and you end up with Jefferson’s deal as a three-year, $14 million extension, which seems eminently reasonable … if you were going to prearrange such a thing.

In other words, it was in the Spurs’ benefit for Jefferson to opt out and sign a longer deal at a lower average salary due to the cost savings this season. That savings put the Spurs under the cap and allowed them to sign Tiago Splitter, which Hollinger calls the best contract of the summer.

Hmm.

According to Marc Stein, Richard Jefferson will officially back with the Spurs sometime soon.

This is the week, by all accounts, that San Antonio and Richard Jefferson will complete the restructured deal that we’ve all assumed had to be forthcoming since Jefferson stunningly opted out of a $15 million salary for next season on the eve of free agency. The specifics in terms of years and dollars remain unknown, but I’ve been assured that Jefferson will officially be back with the Spurs quite soon.

In describing his decision to leave $15 million on the table, the word ‘stunning’ is totally appropriate. Jefferson sees himself as a 20-point scorer in an up-tempo offense, but the rest of the league sees him as a 30-year-old aging athlete who averaged 12 points a game last season. He probably thought he’d get a deal in the four- or five-year range at $9-$10 million a season, but it looks like he’s going to have to settle for quite a bit less. He did the Spurs a favor by opting out, so maybe they’ll treat him well.

Jeff McDonald and Chris Mannix have some news/rumors about Richard Jefferson.

Jeff McDonald: FWIW, source close to the process sets odds of Jefferson returning to SA at 95 percent.

Chris Mannix: Contrary to some reports, Richard Jefferson does not have any kind of deal in place with Spurs to return for more years at lesser salary.

Chris Mannix: I’m told Jefferson is open to returning to SA but his first priority is a long term deal at the best annual salary he can get.

Jefferson raised more than a few eyebrows when he opted out of the final year of his contract with the Spurs (at the tune of $15.2 million) in order to become a free agent and secure a long-term deal. He overestimated the market for the services of a 30-year-old swingman who averaged 12-4-2 and shot 32% from long range.

The Clippers are reportedly interested, but McDonald seems pretty sure that he’s headed back to San Antonio, which is curious because Jefferson has said in the past that the Spurs’ offense does not showcase his abilities. Maybe he doesn’t care if he has a long-term deal in place. Jefferson’s market seems to be about three or four years at the mid-level ($18-$24 million total), which makes one wonder why he’d leave a one-year payday of $15 million on the table.

At this point, he might as well play for the Heat at the veteran’s minimum. At least that way he can say he opted out for the chance to win a ring instead of looking foolish for overestimating his value.