"A small crowd of students gathered outside the nondescript community college gym in midtown Manhattan on Friday, straining for a glimpse of the NBA team that had invaded their school.

Beyond the closed double doors, Spurs guard Manu Ginobili was going through a full-team, full-contact practice that would determine his availability for tonight's game in New Jersey.

After about an hour, Ginobili emerged with the answer to one question, immediately giving rise to a host of others. Yes, he would play against the Nets, making his return from a broken left hand after a 39-day absence.

But.

"I don't have great expectations for the first couple of games," Ginobili said. "I just want to contribute, help a little bit. Just try to fit in again."

Tonight at the Prudential Center, Ginobili rejoins a team on a roll. The Spurs went 15-7 in the 22 games he missed since his Jan. 2 injury in Minnesota, and own the NBA's longest current winning streak at six games.

The Spurs (18-9) have ridden a wave of team chemistry to the top of the Southwest

Division, one spot below Oklahoma City in the Western

Conference. Players and coaches alike recognize the team might have to push pause on all of that to reintegrate the 34-year-old Ginobili into the rotation.

"Maybe it screws us up for a while, maybe it doesn't," coach Gregg Popovich said.

But.

It has to be done. The alternative — not reintegrating Ginobili — is too absurd even for words."