Former San Antonio Spurs player Ime Udoka spent close to three seasons in black and silver (2007-2009, 20 games in the 2010-2011 season) but it seems he still has nothing but praise for his former teammates Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, and Manu Ginobili and his former coach Gregg Popovich.

In the video below, Udoka speaks on the secret to Popovich's success as an NBA coach, calls TP "Flash," describes Ginobili as "unique," and say much more about his former team. He also sends his hopes San Antonio will capture the NBA crown this season and says how much money he would bet on the Spurs.

Also, former NBA player Sergio Rodriguez picks the Spurs and the Heat to meet in the Finals but thinks Miami will win it all.

Paul Millsap is known for his determination on the basketball court as much as his skill.  He came in to league known as an undersized big man who could hustle and rebound.  He's turned himself in one of best power forwards in the league, not to mention the Utah Jazz's emotional leader. 

It would make sense then, that unlike Al Jefferson's kind words about the San Antonio Spurs, The Salt Lake City Tribune's Steve Luhm writes Millsap is putting the Jazz deficit squarely on his shoulders.

"I put a lot of pressure on myself, and I feel I haven’t played my best basketball," he said. "I haven’t been the leader I know I’m supposed to be. So a lot of this weighs on me."

Millsap hasn't been great this series, but he certainly hasn't been the problem.  The problem is the Jazz don't have any shooters and the larger problem is they're not as good as the Spurs.  I think a big credit to Millsap's offensive struggles go to Boris Diaw.

The San Antonio Spurs are on the verge of sweeping the Utah Jazz in their first-round playoff series which would mean one step closer to the NBA Finals and a shot at the franchise's fifth NBA title.

The playoffs are such an exciting time during the NBA season and just being in the league has to be an exciting time in a player's life. It is considered the pinnacle of basketball and many strive to make it there and hopefully walk away with an NBA championship ring.

Well maybe not every basketball player shares that strong sentiment.

The 2012 Olympics are nearing and the Spurs will have players represented in London who will be playing for their respective home country. One player is Spurs' guard Patty Mills.

Mills will be playing in London this summer for Australia but when it comes to playing in the NBA versus representing his country, he makes it clear, nothing beats playing for an Olympic medal.

'For me, there is nothing better than representing Australia at that level, and that's something I always dreamed of. Playing in the NBA is one thing but nothing will beat playing for Australia for an Olympic medal.''

This sentiment is shared by many international players and even shared by Manu Ginobili, Tony Parker and Tiago Splitter. Representing their home country is such a huge honor for these Spurs players which is a feeling not fully shared by many American players.

Shaquille O'Neal recently earned his PhD and it seems he is putting his new found knowledge by making a smart choice and is picking the San Antonio Spurs to make this year's NBA Finals along with the Miami Heat.

"Like a lot of people, Miami and the [San Antonio] Spurs. I think it'll be either the Spurs or the Lakers. L.A. is the only team that matches up with the Spurs."

OK so maybe "Dr. Shaq" may need a refresher but hope he realizes the Spurs won the regular season series with the Lakers (2-1) including thoroughly beating LA in the final two meetings despite the Lakers' size advantage.

But if you are wondering why Shaq likes the Spurs in the Finals over other powerhouse teams in the West, namely the Thunder, he points to head coach Gregg Popovich and his former rival Tim Duncan who he feels has some more gas left in his tank.

Down 3-0 in their playoff series versus the San Antonio Spurs, the Utah Jazz seem over-matched in most facets of the game in their playoff series versus the Spurs.

The Spurs are looking much like an NBA championship team in these three playoff games and Utah's Al Jefferson feels the same way.

Now facing elimination, though Jefferson said can be beat, he also says the Spurs are playing like something he has never seen.

"Right now, they just playing well, man. I ain't never seen nothing like this," Jefferson said.

He added: "I'm happy to be in the playoffs. I'm happy to go through what I'm going through right now, because that's what it's all about. I just think we're playing against a team that is at its peak, and I don't see nobody beating 'em. … It's a great team. I just take my hat off to 'em. Mad respect."

Indeed the Spurs are just dominating the Jazz in this series. The Spurs took Utah's best shot in Game 3, yet found a way to get the win. And the way San Antonio is playing in the postseason, it should serve as a strong message to the rest of the playoff teams. This Spurs team is ready, deep, and is on a mission to capture the NBA crown yet again.

However, if you are a Jazz fan, I am sure you probably don't want to hear one of your stars seemingly tossing in the proverbial towel.

The San Antonio Spurs won their first of four NBA titles in 1999 over the New York Knicks in a lockout-shortened season. That led to ex-NBA coach Phil Jackson claim the Spurs' title deserved an asterisk since it came in an truncated season. Since then, that label is always mentioned when looking back at the Spurs' first title and draws the ire of Spurs fans whenever it is thrown in their face.

Fast forward to this season and the Spurs are looking strong, and are on the verge of sweeping the Utah Jazz in their first-round series as their march to a fifth championship continues in another shortened season affected by this summer's lockout.

And should the Spurs win it all this season, the asterisk talk will more than likely be brought up yet again.

However, the Miami Heat are also looking like a legit champion and could be the final team standing in June and they to might be given the unfortunate label should they win it all.

But in LeBron James' opinion, a short season doesn't take away from any title, and says the Spurs' '99 title should not be lessened because of the short season.

“I don’t discredit the effort San Antonio had when they won it in ’99 after the lockout,” LeBron said. “We all know Gregg Popovich is an unbelievable coach and Tim Duncan is an unbelievable player. It shouldn’t matter. They won multiple (titles) after that so are we going to say that first one wasn’t good enough? I don’t think that’s true at all.”

There are many individuals San Antonio Spurs fans love to hate. The list includes Mavs' Jason Terry and owner Mark Cuban, ex-NBA coach Phil Jackson, Kobe Bryant and many others but also included in that list is NBA referee Joey Crawford.

Crawford joined that list in 2007 in a game against the Dallas Mavericks for ejecting Tim Duncan for simply laughing while on the bench and by challenging TD to a fist-fight.

Crawford would eventually be suspended for his actions and the Spurs and Duncan would go on to win their fourth NBA title.

Fast forward to today and Crawford still draws the ire of Spurs fans but as he looks back at that incident, Joey considers that among his chief regrets in his long career as an NBA ref.

What is the antonym of loudness? The answer is silence.

If loudness was the Energy Solutions Arena in Salt Lake City, Utah on Saturday evening, then Tony Parker and the San Antonio Spurs were the antonym in the building as they silenced the Jazz with a 102-90 victory to put Utah on the brink of elimination.

Tim Duncan (17 points) simmered down the noise in the arena early by starting the game with his own 6-0 run. The Jazz responded by making some new defensive adjustments for Parker. The Jazz first put forward Gordon Hayward on Parker, and also forced Parker to take outside jump shots. Devin Harris, who had been a non-factor in the series, came out with full aggression as he scored 12 points in the first quarter. The Spurs led 30-28 after one.

In the second quarter, the Jazz got some scoring off the bench as Alec Burks (11 points) and Derrick Favors (15 points) helped Utah take the lead in the second quarter, by slowing down the tempo. The Spurs played sloppy in the first half as they went into halftime with eight turnovers. Matt Bonner would score his only points of the game with a buzzer beating three pointer to send the Spurs into halftime, with a slim 52-50 lead.

On this episode of the WOAI-Project Spurs' Spurs Roundtable, Michael De Leon, Jeff Garcia, and Paul Garcia take a look at the San Antonio Spurs-Utah Jazz first-round playoff series after two games.

From the stellar play of Tony Parker, the move to put Boris Diaw in the starting lineup to areas the Spurs need to focus on, and much more, the panel breaks it all down as Game 3 gets set to kick off tonight in Utah.

All this and much more on this episode of the WOAI-Project Spurs' Spurs Roundtable.

What do you have to say Spurs fans after two games in this series?

Game one and two are over. The San Antonio Spurs won both games by double-digits as the Utah Jazz have yet to make this contest look like an actual playoff series. Now the playoff series moves to Salt Lake City, where the Jazz held a 25-8 record in Energy Solutions Arena. The fans will be motivated to cheer on their home team, but the question remains if the Jazz themselves have the fight to make this a series, and avoid going down 3-0 to the Spurs.

Just because the Jazz have a great home record, don’t think the Spurs will be too intimidated. This complete Spurs team, the one on a 12-game winning streak, has yet to lose a road game when playing at full strength. As I wrote in my season review, the Spurs were 12-9 after losing in Dallas in overtime on January 29. From then on, they finished the season 38-7. As far as the road goes, the Spurs ended the year with a 22-11 road record. After January 29, the Spurs would only lose three road games through the rest of the season. They lost in Portland on a night that head coach Gregg Popovich elected to rest the entire “Big Three” of Tony Parker, Tim Duncan, and Manu Ginobili. They lost once more in Dallas on the first game Stephen Jackson made his debut in a Spurs uniform, but it’s important to note that Boris Diaw and Patty Mills hadn’t been added to the team, and the Spurs lost late in the season in Utah, when once again coach Popovich decided to rest the “Big Three.”

So essentially, not only do the Jazz have to try to slow down Parker and the Spurs’ offensive attack, but they also have to stop an undefeated road team in the process.