"Throughout those first tumultuous months in San Antonio, when it seemed as if Richard Jefferson might never find his way, his new Spurs teammates sought to soothe him the best they could. The second season in coach Gregg Popovich's system, they told him, is always easier than the first.

As midseason passed with Jefferson still scuffling, even that ceased to provide solace. By then, he wasn't sure there would be a tomorrow, much less a next season.

"There have been times when Pop has wanted to shoot me and bury me someplace," Jefferson said. "I was just hoping I was going to be around for a second year, the way I was playing."

Jefferson's first Spurs postseason, which opens Sunday in Dallas, could provide a fitting stage for his resurrection.

It was the Spurs' five-game ouster against the Mavericks last year that precipitated Jefferson's arrival from Milwaukee, in a June trade meant to allow them to fight fire with fire against the likes of high-octane Dallas."