Tony Parker - Down Season

[Sigz]

Why is TP having such a shitty season?

BAD turnovers

Averaging 6 points less than he did last year

Bad point guarding....



Is the guy just tired, injured, or just plainly having a poor season?

[Kori Ellis]

Still getting his lift/speed back from injury. Still adjusting to not have to do everything on the floor (like last year). But, despite his poor shooting tonight, he ran the offense extremely well.

[Spurs Brazil]

The good thing is he's getting better over the last 5-6 games, little by little but getting better.

I think he'll be OK in a couple of weeks

[ducks]

tp was trying to figure out his role with this team

[ducks]

tp is averaging less points because rj is here
last year manu and duncan missed alot of games
therefore he had to score more therefore his average was higher

[toki9]

Is having a Tiger problem of his own?

[Budkin]

I can tell TP is improving over the last several games... that's all I really care about. He obviously has the skill and talent. Once he's able to run the show we're going to start kicking ass.

[cd98]

Parker was trying to be a pass-first point guard the first part of the season. That's not his game. He's not Steve Nash or John Stockton. The last few games he's been looking for his shot more and playing better. I don't think there are any injury issues.

Also, he's the point guard and dominates the ball the most, so you expect some turnovers, especially when you consider he is playing with several different players this year that bring skills that no other Spurs have had during Parker's tenure.

If Tony has any issues to be concerned about, it's his defense. I'm more concerned with Ginoboli, though he had an excellent game tonight with 13 points and 8 assists and looking agile.

[Agloco]

Parker was trying to be a pass-first point guard the first part of the season. That's not his game. He's not Steve Nash or John Stockton. The last few games he's been looking for his shot more and playing better. I don't think there are any injury issues.

Also, he's the point guard and dominates the ball the most, so you expect some turnovers, especially when you consider he is playing with several different players this year that bring skills that no other Spurs have had during Parker's tenure.

If Tony has any issues to be concerned about, it's his defense. I'm more concerned with Ginoboli, though he had an excellent game tonight with 13 points and 8 assists and looking agile.

This.

Both have looked pedestrian this season, but Manu has looked absolutely horrendous since his 5 game layoff earlier in the season. Then we had to endure another 6 games worth of Pop's one liners: He's working his way into shape.....yeddah, yeddah.

Parkers D is non existent, and there still hasn't been a Manu sighting. This doesn't bode well for the Spurs at all.

And no, decent games against sub .500 teams don't count. I'll be plenty nervous until both show up for a game against a winning team, much less a contender.

[L.I.T]

This.

Both have looked pedestrian this season, but Manu has looked absolutely horrendous since his 5 game layoff earlier in the season. Then we had to endure another 6 games worth of Pop's one liners: He's working his way into shape.....yeddah, yeddah.

Parkers D is non existent, and there still hasn't been a Manu sighting. This doesn't bode well for the Spurs at all.

And no, decent games against sub .500 teams don't count. I'll be plenty nervous until both show up for a game against a winning team, much less a contender.

I thought Manu was looking better in the Bucks game. He seemed to have some good lift when he went for a few rebounds and his jump shot was looking steadier (he had that nice leaner off the backboard in the second half). His on-ball defense was just ok, but he had that nice off-ball steal when he read the passer. Signs for hope.

[Bukefal]

Parker needs to get back 100%, but he did have 8 assists and 16 points. Isnt that bad, he is getting back. Plus he had 1 TO if im not mistaking.

[Ice009]

Parker needs to get back 100%, but he did have 8 assists and 16 points. Isnt that bad, he is getting back. Plus he had 1 TO if im not mistaking.

This was a decent game from TP.

Tonight he played a little bit like the real TP. He is getting back there slowly.

[TJastal]

TP has been erratic all year, but last few games have been better, esp with keeping turnovers down.

Recently, its now been George Hill who's in a rut.

[silverblackfan]

TP has been erratic all year, but last few games have been better, esp with keeping turnovers down.

Recently, its now been George Hill who's in a rut.

TP was active on man defense last night, which is really what I wanted to see. I know the guy can score, but putting in the energy on the defensive end is needed. He knows he does not have to score like last year with all the offense on the team, so lets hope he uses that extra energy on defense.

[exstatic]

tp is averaging less points because rj is here
last year manu and duncan missed alot of games
therefore he had to score more therefore his average was higher

And somehow this accounts for careless ball handling and passing, and an asst/TO ratio of less than 2.0? If he doesn't have the scoring load to carry anymore he should also have more energy for defense, shouldn't he?

[ducks]

he should yes but pop might have told him to relax more on d so he had more engery to score
so he is still figuring out his role on this team
pop needs to remind him he does not have to score as much so he can play more d

[ducks]

oh and some of those screens he runs through the bigs have to switch and they have not

[Mark in Austin]

When a player's primary advantage is speed/quickness (both offensively and defensively), it takes a while to recover 100% from an ankle injury and be the same player / perform at the same level as before the injury.

1+1 = 2.

[wut]

I'm not worried about Parker; it's not like he's really lost anything...he's trying to help the team adjust to each other.

Parker has generally ran the same offense since he joined the team....yet this season the Spurs have vastly improved the amount of targets offensively. The Spurs really only had Duncan, Parker, Manu + 3 point shooters. They haven't had the talent at either the 3 or 5 spot to run pick/post plays since Sean and David...so it's a major adjustment for Tony.

[anonoftheinternets]

actually its a big change for tony, and its definitely a new challenge. We still have to see if he can step up to the plate. But I have complete confidence in Tony even if it takes till April for the spurs to really get going. Manu is adjusting to being "less aggressive" in the regular season as well, and learning how to pace himself. This is by far the toughest challenges for these stars since they are going against the grain.

[superbigtime]

Parker is going to be okay and has continued to improve and look better. His turnovers are of concern and so is his D. But I am more concerned about Manu. He is more error prone and I have not seen him show the ability to take over a game or be an end of game go to guy any more. Tim or whoever is hot at the moment will be the guy. Manu is now just an average NBA player. I hope that turns around but it is going to be a long process which will depend on him avoiding injuries.