Rumors, moves, injuries and newsmakers...

Manu leading the way in San Antonio; Paul gets better of Williams; Bynum still has a ways to go; Ratliff to join Pistons?; Mutombo a big contributor in Rockets' 14th straight win; Thomas not seeing much action with Spurs; and more...

OH MANU! 
The great thing about the Spurs is that at any one time each of their three star players--Tim Duncan, Tony Parker or Manu Ginobili--can take over and lead the team. At the present time, Ginobili is the one playing out of his mind.

The Argentinean swingman has eclipsed the 40-point mark twice in his last six games and on the year is averaging career-bests with 20.5 points, 5.0 rebounds and 4.7 assists per game. He is actually leading the team in scoring with Duncan just behind him at 20.1 points per game.

The 30-year-old has spent much of his five-plus seasons in the NBA as a sixth-man, including this year. However, coach Gregg Popovich has been starting him lately and the results speak for themselves. The Spurs face the Bucks on Saturday night.

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HORNETS 
New Orleans point guard Chris Paul out-dueled Utah's Deron Williams on Friday to lead the Hornets to a 110-98 win over the Jazz. Paul dominated with 24 points, 16 assists and five steals. Williams countered with 22 points, 10 assists and an uncharacteristic four turnovers. The two will always be linked together after being drafted back-to-back in the 2005 draft with Williams going third-overall to Utah and Paul, fourth-overall to New Orleans. Milwaukee selected Andrew Bogut with the first pick in that draft, while Atlanta took Marvin Williams with the second selection.

KINGS 
According to the Sacramento Bee, guard Tyronn Lue was set to be bought out by the Kings on Friday. The veteran point man was obtained by Sacramento in the recent deal that saw Mike Bibby land in Atlanta. Lue will now try and hook on with a contender for the stretch run. The 30-year-old is averaging 6.8 points and 1.8 assists this season.

LAKERS 
Young Lakers center Andrew Bynum continues to work diligently to rehabilitate his injured knee reports the Los Angeles Times. The 21-year-old has missed 23 games with the injury, but on the bright side is into his second week jogging in a therapeutic pool and is believed to be eyeing a return in late March or early April. With Bynum on the shelf, the Lakers have been going with a frontcourt that includes Pau Gasol at center, Lamar Odom at power forward and Luke Walton at small forward. When the big man returns to man the middle, Gasol will shift to power forward and Odom to small forward, creating one of the biggest and most intimidating frontcourts in the league.

PACERS 
Danny Granger's ill-advised shot to the head of Bulls forward Andres Nocioni on Wednesday resulted in the Pacers swingman being suspended for Friday's tilt with the Raptors. The absence of Granger, coupled with injuries to starters Jamaal Tinsley (knee) and Jermaine O'Neal should have presented the Pacers with plenty of trouble. However, the team came together with Granger's replacement Kareem Rush scoring 23 points and adding nine rebounds in Indiana's surprising 122-111 win over Toronto. Mike Dunleavy had a game-high 36 points for the Pacers.

PISTONS 
According to multiple reports, the Pistons are set to sign Theo Ratliff after he was bought out by the Timberwolves on Friday. The 34-year-old has missed 45 games with a knee injury thus far in 2007-08. However, he has been feeling better of late and should provide Detroit a capable reserve behind Antonio McDyess at center. In other Pistons news, the team may be without Chauncey Billups on Saturday after the point guard reportedly left the team with permission to deal with a personal issue. If he is unable to play, Rodney Stuckey should get the start.

ROCKETS 
Yao Ming may be gone for the year with a stress fracture in his left foot, but that doesn't mean Houston is ready to throw in the towel just yet. On Friday, veteran Dikembe Mutombo filled in admirably for the All-Star Chinese center. The NBA's oldest man at 41 had four points, 13 rebounds and four blocks in Houston's easy 116-95 win over Memphis. The victory was the 14th in a row for a Rockets team most pundits had written off after learning of Ming's devastating injury.

SPURS 
In two games with the Spurs, new acquisition Kurt Thomas has played a total of only 17 minutes, including just four minutes in Thursday's win over the Mavericks. San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich continues to start Fabricio Oberto at power forward. Perhaps Popovich and Spurs GM R.C. Buford were never on the same page with this player move? Thomas was averaging 7.3 points and 8.6 rebounds with the Sonics before the trade.

SUNS 
After failing to land sharp-shooter Brent Barry, Phoenix has turned to Plan B, reportedly agreeing to a deal with Gordon Giricek. The Croatian guard, who was bought out by the Sixers on Friday, has had a tough season to date, averaging only 3.9 points and 1.3 rebounds per game. Over his career, Giricek has averaged 9.6 points and 2.5 rebounds per game. If he does indeed join the Suns, he should provide the team another solid perimeter shooter.

SUPERSONICS 
Robert Swift's injury nightmare in Seattle continues with word that he has reportedly agreed to undergo season-ending surgery to repair a torn lateral meniscus in his right knee. Swift has played only eight games in 2007-08 after playing no games in 2006-07 due to a torn ACL in the same knee. The 12th pick by the Sonics in the 2004 draft will now have to sit and watch Johan Petro continue to start at center.

WARRIORS 
Golden State center Andris Biedrins is hoping to be back with the Warriors as soon as possible after last week's emergency appendectomy. He is probably at least another week away from being able to get back in uniform. In his absence, veteran Chris Webber has seen some playing time at center. However, his slow, plodding style doesn't mesh well with the run-and-gun Warriors. Without a true big man, coach Donn Nelson has been playing some small-ball, starting guards Baron Davis and Monta Ellis with a pair of wing players in Stephen Jackson and Brandan Wright. The unit is rounded out by power forward Al Harrington.