duncan228
01-19-2010, 01:00 AM
Parker leads Spurs past Hornets (http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/spurs/Parker_leads_Spurs_past_Hornets.html)
Jeff McDonald
NEW ORLEANS About an hour before the Spurs' 97-90 victory Monday at New Orleans, Tony Parker limped through the tunnel toward the court for warm-ups, hobbling on a left foot still painful with plantar fasciitis.
Shuffling through the shadows, he looked like a broken-down 57-year-old man, not the hiccup-quick 27-year-old lightning bolt he sometimes still is.
There are good days and bad days, Parker said.
This would be one of the good ones.
Before the day was done, Parker's foot had loosened up enough for him to score 25 points, and he had spearheaded a gritty triumph at New Orleans Arena the Spurs desperately needed to close a grueling road trip.
Though his foot hurt when he awoke in his hotel room Monday morning, there was zero chance Parker wasn't going to play. After all, his foot hurts every morning. The first four or five steps from bed to bathroom often feel like fire shooting through his heel.
Not until warm-ups does Parker truly know the answer to the question: Will this be a good day or a bad one?
Ultimately, the answer doesn't matter. Either way, he's suiting up.
I can't look at myself in the mirror and say I can't play, Parker said. It's like a nagging injury. I'm not 100 percent, but I can't say I can't play.
When his foot cooperates, Parker still possesses the white-hot afterburners that make him one of the most feared scorers in the NBA. He showed as much Monday, outdueling the great Chris Paul as the Spurs snapped New Orleans' seven-game home winning streak.
With Richard Jefferson having his string of 232 consecutive games stopped by a bad back, Parker knew he needed to be on the floor.
Parker had 16 points in the first half as the Spurs jumped to a 56-41 lead, then fell quiet until his team needed to stop a scoring lull in the fourth. With a pair of Parker-patented finishes, as well as three free throws in the final 2:53, he helped the Spurs stave off a feverish New Orleans rally from 21 points down.
Coming a game after a four-point performance in Saturday's all-around forgettable loss at Memphis, Parker's contributions were welcomed. Even after Monday's outburst, he is averaging 16.8 points, down from last season's career-high of 22.
He's had some games where he hasn't felt it for whatever reason, Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. He needs to be aggressive and take over.
Parker did that Monday, with help. Tim Duncan had 21 points and 14 rebounds. George Hill, nudged into the starting five with Jefferson out, added 16 points and had a big hand in limiting Paul to a rather benign 18 points and nine assists.
Manu Ginobili had 11 points, six rebounds and six assists. Rookie center DeJuan Blair supplied eight points and 13 rebounds.
Yet it was the re-emergence of Parker the All-NBA version that lifted the Spurs to a split on their four-game road trip.
TP is TP, Hill said. He's an exceptional player, hurt or not hurt. We feed off his energy. Where he goes, we go.
Given Parker's daily walking-on-hot-coals limp out of bed, that could prove to be a dicey proposition for the Spurs. There is no advance warning to signify when Parker will have a good day or a bad one. Not even he knows.
He's been wearing a special sock meant to lessen the effects of his condition, much like the one Duncan used while battling the same condition in 2006. Doctors have told him it will take two weeks to see results.
Until then, Parker continues to drag himself out of bed, make the painful trudge to the bathroom mirror and defiantly say, I'm playing.
Some days, he knows, will be bad ones. And some days will be like Monday.
I felt pretty good today, he said.
Jeff McDonald
NEW ORLEANS About an hour before the Spurs' 97-90 victory Monday at New Orleans, Tony Parker limped through the tunnel toward the court for warm-ups, hobbling on a left foot still painful with plantar fasciitis.
Shuffling through the shadows, he looked like a broken-down 57-year-old man, not the hiccup-quick 27-year-old lightning bolt he sometimes still is.
There are good days and bad days, Parker said.
This would be one of the good ones.
Before the day was done, Parker's foot had loosened up enough for him to score 25 points, and he had spearheaded a gritty triumph at New Orleans Arena the Spurs desperately needed to close a grueling road trip.
Though his foot hurt when he awoke in his hotel room Monday morning, there was zero chance Parker wasn't going to play. After all, his foot hurts every morning. The first four or five steps from bed to bathroom often feel like fire shooting through his heel.
Not until warm-ups does Parker truly know the answer to the question: Will this be a good day or a bad one?
Ultimately, the answer doesn't matter. Either way, he's suiting up.
I can't look at myself in the mirror and say I can't play, Parker said. It's like a nagging injury. I'm not 100 percent, but I can't say I can't play.
When his foot cooperates, Parker still possesses the white-hot afterburners that make him one of the most feared scorers in the NBA. He showed as much Monday, outdueling the great Chris Paul as the Spurs snapped New Orleans' seven-game home winning streak.
With Richard Jefferson having his string of 232 consecutive games stopped by a bad back, Parker knew he needed to be on the floor.
Parker had 16 points in the first half as the Spurs jumped to a 56-41 lead, then fell quiet until his team needed to stop a scoring lull in the fourth. With a pair of Parker-patented finishes, as well as three free throws in the final 2:53, he helped the Spurs stave off a feverish New Orleans rally from 21 points down.
Coming a game after a four-point performance in Saturday's all-around forgettable loss at Memphis, Parker's contributions were welcomed. Even after Monday's outburst, he is averaging 16.8 points, down from last season's career-high of 22.
He's had some games where he hasn't felt it for whatever reason, Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. He needs to be aggressive and take over.
Parker did that Monday, with help. Tim Duncan had 21 points and 14 rebounds. George Hill, nudged into the starting five with Jefferson out, added 16 points and had a big hand in limiting Paul to a rather benign 18 points and nine assists.
Manu Ginobili had 11 points, six rebounds and six assists. Rookie center DeJuan Blair supplied eight points and 13 rebounds.
Yet it was the re-emergence of Parker the All-NBA version that lifted the Spurs to a split on their four-game road trip.
TP is TP, Hill said. He's an exceptional player, hurt or not hurt. We feed off his energy. Where he goes, we go.
Given Parker's daily walking-on-hot-coals limp out of bed, that could prove to be a dicey proposition for the Spurs. There is no advance warning to signify when Parker will have a good day or a bad one. Not even he knows.
He's been wearing a special sock meant to lessen the effects of his condition, much like the one Duncan used while battling the same condition in 2006. Doctors have told him it will take two weeks to see results.
Until then, Parker continues to drag himself out of bed, make the painful trudge to the bathroom mirror and defiantly say, I'm playing.
Some days, he knows, will be bad ones. And some days will be like Monday.
I felt pretty good today, he said.