San Antonio Spurs veteran Manu Ginobili is looking forward to having another successful season in San Antonio but warns that the team may not come out of the gates in a loaded Western Conference on a hot streak.

Why? Simply because two of the team's most important players, Kawhi Leonard and Tony Parker will be missing early on due to injury recovery.

Both players will miss the entire preseason, and won't get the opportunity to form some chemistry with the team, but Ginobili tells ESPN that they will eventually get on track.

We are not going to start full throttle. We're not going to start as ready to compete as in previous years. But we'll figure it out.

Expectations are still high after completing a first time back-to-back 60 win season, but there is no promise it will be as good this time with Parker expecting to return near the Thanksgiving holiday, and Leonard's quadricep injury healing slower than expected. In fact, the Spurs staff will be conservative about how quickly Parker is thrown into the fire, which leaves the position open for the rest of the guards to manage.

In a way, it kind of helps to get the other players more involved, more confident, having more shots. But we know [this is] not the team we're going to be. So it helps in some ways. But we need to play with Kawhi because he's our go-to guy. He's the one that carries the load offensively.

The door of opportunity is left open for forward Rudy Gay who can help bring a spark to the offense. Gay claims he is pain-free after his successful rehab from an Achilles injury, but he may also have restrictions in his role the coaching staff can trust that he's truly back to form.

Dealing with injuries is a part of the game of basketball, and it needs to be managed well throughout the long season to get to the ultimate prize. This season will require much more patience than last year and Patty Mills knows it.

This is a marathon. Everyone understands that. So, no expectations

Most importantly Ginobili feels the team needs Gay sooner rather than later, but the process will have to take care of itself.

For sure, it's not I'm saying we should hurry things up. We all wish to be healthy all the time, and it doesn't happen like that. So, not having Kawhi and Tony, it's important, or Rudy. Rudy is practicing. He's almost ready. But he's still cautious, and he's been out for seven months. So he's going to take his time, too.