Ah yes, the second night of a back-to-back. In previous years, tonight would treat us to a game where the Spurs would show their age and wear down late in the contest. Sloppy plays would occur and fans would thank their lucky stars that there are no back-to-backs in the playoffs.

But since infusing some young legs into the team’s roster (See: Hill, George and Blair, DeJuan), San Antonio has used the second night of these two-day tests to rest older rotation players and give some playing time to fringe players. All while remaining competitive on both nights.

With that in mind, there are two things to expect tonight: Tim Duncan played 40 minutes last night. Don’t be surprised if he plays half that total tonight against the Thunder. The other thing to expect? A large dose of DeJuan Blair. The beast only played seven minutes last night against the Lakers and will face a better matchup with Oklahoma City.

Other things to watch for include Tony Parker’s foot. As Jesse mentioned this morning, Parker announced that he’s playing with plantar fasciitis. How he moves against quick guards like Russell Westbrook and James Harden will be interesting. Will they go after him with this newfound knowledge?

The Spurs have struggled against the Thunder since the team moved to Oklahoma City, going 2-3 this season and last. Assuming San Antonio can exorcise their demons and steal a road win, the Spurs could start to haunt the rest of the Western Conference in 2010.

If you have further questions on the four factors (why did he pinpoint those specific indicators? Are they all equally indicative of victory or are they weighted?), you can read an essay about them by Oliver here.