Boris Diaw, who will become an unrestricted free agent this summer, finished the Spurs' Game 5 victory with five points, nine rebounds, six assists and one steal in 38 minutes of action.

Diaw's savvy passing and unusual skills for a big man have never been in question, but lousy conditioning nearly derailed his NBA career before he found a perfect fit with the Spurs. He's 32 years old and showed throughout the playoffs that he can be an integral part of a winning team, so his next contract should earn him at least as much as this season's $4.7 million annual salary.

LeBron James gave the Spurs credit for putting Boris Diaw in the starting lineup following Game 4 on Thursday.

"Implementing Diaw into the lineup has given them another point guard on the floor," James said. Diaw dropped nine dimes to go with his eight points and nine boards in 36 minutes in Game 4 and has really helped face the floor on offense. He's going to be an unrestricted free agent and has probably earned himself some money over the past two games.

Boris Diaw replaced Tiago Splitter in the starting lineup for Tuesday's Game 3 and had nine points, five rebounds, three assists, a steal, a block and a 3-pointer as the Spurs beat the Heat 111-92 to take a 2-1 lead in the NBA Finals.

Diaw did a little bit of everything tonight and given the results, as well as the fact the Spurs shot a ridiculous 75.8 percent in the first half (an NBA Finals record), you can expect to see Diaw starting again in Thursday's Game 4. The winner of Game 3 in the Finals goes on to win 83 percent of the time, but the Spurs failed to beat the Heat after winning Game 3 in a blowout at home a year ago. If Diaw, Danny Green, Kawhi Leonard, and the Spurs regulars have anything to say about it, the result will be different this time around.

Boris Diaw appears to be in the starting lineup for the Spurs on Tuesday, which would send C Tiago Splitter to the bench.

This move wouldn't be surprising, as Splitter came off the bench for several games against the Thunder. We probably won't know for sure who is starting just until game time, but for now it sounds like Diaw is in and Splitter is out, as the Spurs prepare to face the Heat for Game 3 in Miami. If it sticks, Tim Duncan is your center and Diaw will start at power forward.

Boris Diaw was fantastic off the bench with 26 points during a series-clinching win on Saturday, adding four boards, two assists, one steal and three 3-pointers on 8-of-14 shooting.

The Thunder didn't pay much attention to Diaw, who had wide-open shots throughout the night. Coach Gregg Popovich moving Diaw into the second-half starting lineup in Game 5 was huge and that carried over into tonight. He's far from the most graceful player in the NBA, but his understanding of spacing and helping his teammates has carried him with the Spurs lately.

Boris Diaw started the second half of Thursday's win over the Thunder, finishing with 13 points, six boards, three assists, one steal, one block and two 3-pointers in 28 minutes.

His versatility was on display tonight and coach Gregg Popovich put him in all sorts of different spots on the floor. Diaw doesn't waste many dribbles and he also helps spread the ball around while his defense is better than a lot of people give him credit for. Chances are Diaw will wind up in the starting lineup in Game 6 on Saturday.

Boris Diaw started the second half of Game 5 on Thursday.

Matt Bonner started in place of Tiago Splitter, so coach Gregg Popovich has started three different healthy players next to Tim Duncan in his last three halves. If you're surprised by this, then we hope you're enjoying your first season watching the Spurs.

Boris Diaw wouldn't reveal what the changes would be for Thursday's Game 5 against the Thunder, but alluded that the Spurs may make some tweaks.

Diaw told reporters that he wouldn't be in the starting lineup for Thursday night, but did mention that the Spurs might switch things up a bit in order to stretch the floor. "Ibaka] is a guy that's helping a lot so we got to try to keep him out of the paint," Diaw said. For his part, Diaw's teammate Manu Ginobili was tight-lipped about any lineup changes as well, "Ask him [head coach Gregg Popovich]. I'm not allowed to say anything." It sounds like we'll have to wait until closer to tip-off to see what kind of lineup changes the Spurs make, but anything is possible as Popopvich tries to account for the presence of Serge Ibaka.

Boris Diaw said the Thunder "gave up on the game pretty early" in Wednesday's post-game press conference.

The third quarter was a nightmare for OKC and they gave up easy shots the entire frame. OKC had two blocks in the third, but there were only two additional misses during that span as the Spurs put up 33 points. There were guys very late on rotation and as well as closing on the perimeter, so it wasn't just a matter of game plan. Diaw scored 11 points on just six shots in the win.

Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said that to win San Antonio's first-round series, "Our bench has to give us something."

"I don't count Manu - he's sort of a `fake bench' guy - but three or four other guys, they need to show up," Popovich said. Boris Diaw, Marco Belinelli, Patty Mills and Matt Bonner appear to be the objects of Pop's ire, and it's an unusual predicament considering the Spurs led the NBA with 44.8 bench points per game in the regular season.

Boris Diaw started the second half of Thursday's game vs. the Thunder and had eight points, three boards, two assists and four turnovers in 25 minutes.

Coach Gregg Popovich has put Diaw on Kevin Durant before and maybe that's why he started the second half. Of course, trying to why Pop does certain things with his lineup is the NBA's version of a Rubik's Cube. Diaw only missed one game due to food poisoning in the past three months, but he could still wind up seeing a DNP-CD at some point.

Boris Diaw scored 14 points on 5-of-8 shooting (including two threes) with four rebounds and four assists in 26 minutes on Monday.

Diaw has been playing at a low-end level in 14-team leagues over the past week and that's pretty much his threshold as a desperation add.

Boris Diaw started and played 32 minutes with Tim Duncan in street clothes for some rest, but hit just 2-of-14 shots for five points, three rebounds, five assists and a steal.

He looked like a solid play coming in due to Duncan's absence, but his shot just wasn't falling tonight. He played 16 minutes on Friday, and his playing time could be an issue going forward with Duncan expected to return.

Boris Diaw is starting in place of Tim Duncan on Saturday night.

Duncan is just getting rest and this is only a spot start. Diaw played just 16 minutes on Friday, so fantasy owners can leave him on the wire.

Boris Diaw moved from the starting lineup to the bench on Saturday and hit 3-of-5 shots for eight points, eight rebounds and two assists in 22 minutes.

We've been getting a lot of questions about dropping decent players to pick up Diaw, and tonight's line is a reason why we've been reluctant to recommend doing so. Diaw came into this one hot and still put up some numbers, but the 22 minutes and move to the bench are both a concern. And as long as he plays for the league's best coach, things aren't likely to change.

Boris Diaw hit 5-of-5 shots and two 3-pointers for 16 points, eight rebounds, five assists and a steal in a start in Thursday's win over the Heat.

Diaw is now 12-of-12 from the field in his last two games, and if he continues to start over Tiago Splitter, should be a safe fantasy play for now. He's averaging 15.3 points, 7.7 rebounds, 3.3 assists, 1.0 steals, 1.0 blocks and 1.7 3-pointers over his last three games.

Boris Diaw will replace Tiago Splitter in the Spurs' starting lineup vs. Miami on Thursday.

The Heat tend to give up stats to opposing big men, and Diaw's temporary promotion solidifies him as a nice spot-starter in fantasy leagues. Coach Gregg Popovich was typically coy about the last-second lineup change, telling reporters, "We're tricking the hell out of [the Heat]." The lineup should return to normal vs. Nikola Vucevic and the Magic on Saturday.

Boris Diaw made all seven shots from the field for 16 points against the Cavs on Tuesday with five boards, three assists, one steal, two blocks and two 3-pointers in 25 minutes.

He's not really known for being a great shooter, but Diaw entered tonight with a somewhat impressive season shooting line of 54.2 percent from the field, 40.3 percent from deep and 75.4 percent from the charity stripe. He's a bit of a low-upside player in standard leagues due to coach Gregg Popovich being extremely unpredictable.

Boris Diaw double-doubled with 14 points, 10 rebounds, two assists, one steal and one block while playing 26 minutes in Sunday's six-point win vs. the Mavericks.

Minutes haven't been an issue for Diaw lately but his production tends to fluctuate, so he isn't the strongest option in the Spurs' upcoming three-game week. He's at least worth watching closely, however, as there's a chance Tim Duncan and/or Tiago Splitter will get a day off in the final weeks of the season, especially with three back-to-back sets looming in the second half of March.

Boris Diaw stayed in the starting lineup on Wednesday and had 11 points, five rebounds, two assists, two steals, a block and a 3-pointer on 5-of-14 shooting.

Tiago Splitter was back and scored 15 points, but Tim Duncan got the night off in order to rest. Had both big men played, Diaw likely would have come off the bench. And when both are healthy and Diaw isn't in the starting lineup, he's far more inconsistent than he has been over his last few games. Start him at your own risk going forward.