Tony off the bench...

[ajh18]

Props to Tony Parker coming off the bench. He's not quite the energizer that Manu is, but considering he's just coming off an injury, 18 & 4 and tonight 16 & 8 is pretty damn good. I'm proud of him for accepting this role and making it work. Plus, he really managed to carry some weak lineups at points in this game. Just thought his performance deserved some discussion given that it was overshadowed in many ways by other peoples'.

[slick'81]

its working so far keep it up tp

[Mixability]

theres just something about putting on a spurs jersey that no one goes "iverson" and complains about a reduced role. its nice to have people who care about the destination, not how good they look during the trip.

[Xevious]

It's also nice to see Hill showing some signs in game 2. He obviously isn't 100%. But if he keeps improving, with Parker coming in to back him up, I like the Spurs' chances.

[timtonymanu]

and people said coming off the bench would mess up his ego...

[kace]

theres just something about putting on a spurs jersey that no one goes "iverson" and complains about a reduced role. its nice to have people who care about the destination, not how good they look during the trip.

33 minutes and 16 shots taken (2nd of the team after tim), i can't see a reduced role there.

anyway, 8 assists and 0 TO is good. Good game from the "big 4" tonight.

[Mixability]

33 minutes and 16 shots taken, i can't see a reduced role there.

anyway, 8 assists and 0 TO is good. Good game from the "big 4" tonight.

figuratively, not literally.

he couldve went the "im an allstar, not a bench player" route... right?

[DesignatedT]

the tony parker hate just 2 weeks ago was insane. glad to see everyone back ridin his jock.

[MaNuMaNiAc]

the tony parker hate just 2 weeks ago was insane. glad to see everyone back ridin his jock.

it was bound to happen, like every other time. Haters will be haters until they just run out of things to bitch about. Tony was great today, all things considered. He's playing a role he's not used to, while getting back from a long injury absence. Dude is shutting haters up, and he's doing it convincingly. Props where props are due! :tu

[HankChinaski]

Yeah, I find it strange the back and forth people do in here. One moment they are "I'll eat your dick and love it !!!!!" Then it goes dark and ugly and they are yelling for "I'm going to get a donkey to rape you!"

[HarlemHeat37]

He still looks slower than usual, but he played a very good game tonight..I thought he overdribbled a few times, but he was making some nice passes all night, including 2 huge 3s to Manu and Hill..he also made one of the biggest shots of the night when the Mavs were making a run and the Spurs desperately needed a big shot..

He says he feels fine, so it's probably just a rhythm thing..hopefully TP only gets better from here..it's nice to think that even though he looked pretty good in these 1st 2 games, he could potentially play a lot better if he's feeling fine and just needs rhythm..

[Avitus1]

I thought that this would be bad for him but it's working out great for him.

[ducks]

I thought he overdribbled
when spurs had the big lead but pop wanted him to kill the clock

[FkLA]

Gotta give Longoria credit for 1.coming off the bench and 2.playing solid basketball so far...you cant hate on what hes done tbh. Still think hill is our future at pg and longoria should be a trade chip for frontcourt help though.

[TD 21]

People forget, even when Parker is a half step slower than usual, he's still plenty fast enough to beat most players in the league off the dribble, get into the paint and wreak havoc.

Just read an unsettling Harvey article. He says Parker is not happy coming off the bench (obvious), but also said he's concerned about his future with the Spurs and hinted that the Spurs maybe considering moving him. Hopefully it was just speculative because of the high payroll and the growth of Hill's game.

They better not be stupid enough to even consider this, or they can forget about winning another title in the Duncan era. This team is probably two pieces away (and health, of course) from legitimately being able to win another championship and one of those pieces sounds like it could be on the way.

[50 cent]

Just being at the game, I thought Tony was key. He really made some big shots when Dallas seemed to be building momentum.

[NewJerSpur]

It wouldn't be unfathomable to see Tony's name pop-up in trade talks in the future....he's an attractive piece that a team might feel they can build around or they could use to put them over the top and would likely yield a nice bounty. He wouldn't be the first big name the team looked at possibly dealing. That said, he's a Spur right now and a great piece to this team.....hopefully he'll give us the boost we need to make a deep run.

[raspsa]

I had questioned whether Tony would be able to handle coming off the bench and I'm glad to have been proven wrong. He is just the sparkplug to provide the team its second wind and build on what the starters have achieved.

[Waps1980]

Tony seems happy as long as he get his minutes, that and being on court during the money time and that's fair enough too.
Didn't see the game today but was there any inroads to an RJ TP connection?

[8FOR!3]

Props to TP for not having an ego. I like the way he played last night, brought a sense of urgency every time he got on the court.

[Mark in Austin]

He also deserves credit for answering all the insipid "how can you be okay with coming off the bench?" questions perfectly - leaving no room for people to use his words to stir up conflict.

:tu

[Halberto]

His plantar fasciitis is clearly bothering him... Im just glad hes got that deadly jumper 20 feet out. Thanks Chip Engelland!

[RiverwalkParade]

His trade vaule is skyrocketing!

In all seriousness though, love to see him off the bench 6-7 minutes into the quarter when the other team is starting to fatigue. IMO, much more effective than Hill would be off the bench and Manu has made this team better when he's a starter.

thank you TP, you will be missed.

[Pauleta14]

If we pass the 1st round, TP will have found his rythm bck and destroy the suns...

The way he contributes not being (obviously) at 100% really surprises me!

[MateoNeygro]

theres just something about putting on a spurs jersey that no one goes "iverson" and complains about a reduced role. its nice to have people who care about the destination, not how good they look during the trip.

I think it has a lot to do with the Spurs reputation. For the most part they don't bring in knuckleheads. TP isn't a selfish player and I think he's proven that with his return. I think when you have Tim to take the lead the others just fall in line.

[Brazil]

He still looks slower than usual, but he played a very good game tonight..I thought he overdribbled a few times, but he was making some nice passes all night, including 2 huge 3s to Manu and Hill..he also made one of the biggest shots of the night when the Mavs were making a run and the Spurs desperately needed a big shot..

He says he feels fine, so it's probably just a rhythm thing..hopefully TP only gets better from here..it's nice to think that even though he looked pretty good in these 1st 2 games, he could potentially play a lot better if he's feeling fine and just needs rhythm..

That shot was a clutch one.

I loved the 8 assists and I thought he globally did a good job defensively.

The most significant part of his contribution was letting afloat some really
bad lineups, he played stretches with bonner mason and blair.

Finally he played well with RJ. Globally very good game for TP.

[Dr Cox]

big props to tony....

keep it up!

there was a point last night durring a run where he hit a big midrange jumper that shut the crowd up..we need that from him

[benefactor]

People forget, even when Parker is a half step slower than usual, he's still plenty fast enough to beat most players in the league off the dribble, get into the paint and wreak havoc.

Just read an unsettling Harvey article. He says Parker is not happy coming off the bench (obvious), but also said he's concerned about his future with the Spurs and hinted that the Spurs maybe considering moving him. Hopefully it was just speculative because of the high payroll and the growth of Hill's game.

They better not be stupid enough to even consider this, or they can forget about winning another title in the Duncan era. This team is probably two pieces away (and health, of course) from legitimately being able to win another championship and one of those pieces sounds like it could be on the way.
Don't listen to Harvey or McDonald. They make shit up all the time.

[mathbzh]

I think it has a lot to do with the Spurs reputation. For the most part they don't bring in knuckleheads. TP isn't a selfish player and I think he's proven that with his return. I think when you have Tim to take the lead the others just fall in line.

Having Tim probably help. But here the merit goes to Manu. Once an All Star and a member of the "big 3" has accepted to come off the bench, it makes it easier from everybody else. It is not anymore about pride but about what is the best for the team.

[picc84]

Parker comes off the bench and he's free to dribble around for 20 seconds and jack up whatever he wants to, with Gino and Duncan off the court, while Hill plays with those two and waits for the kickout for an open shot. He's the definition of instant offense off the bench. Great ploy by Pop.

[Ghjkll]

Props to Tony, he is a pro and is willing to do whatever it takes to win. We have a 3 time all-star, all-nba and former finals MVP coming off the bench. It´s time for the TP haters to stop talkin shit about him... And he is not even 100 % right now, the best is yet to come... Watch out...

[bigzak25]

pop did the right thing bringing tp off the bench.
i had doubts that he would actually do it, but i must now applaud him.

well done coach! :toast

[manu the best]

tony understands that coming of the bench helps the team .. this is just another example of a team that just wants to win .. no ego at all .. G0 SPURS GO ..

[gilmor]

Having Tim probably help. But here the merit goes to Manu. Once an All Star and a member of the "big 3" has accepted to come off the bench, it makes it easier from everybody else. It is not anymore about pride but about what is the best for the team.

You guys got it all wrong..

It's all started with Robinson deferring to Duncan as the main offense weapon. And then the trend is being set about the 'no ego' thingie

[Tito_Trinidad]

You guys got it all wrong..

It's all started with Robinson deferring to Duncan as the main offense weapon. And then the trend is being set about the 'no ego' thingie

wrong. That trend was set by Kobe when he said Im better than Michael Jordan. :lol

[TD 21]

Don't listen to Harvey or McDonald. They make shit up all the time.

McDonald is an idiot. It's like he's only been watching this team for a handful of years. Did you hear his questioning in the post game interviews? Acting like Duncan hasn't had a performance like that in years, like he was shocked he could still play. This guy was all over Parker's jock in the second half of last season and Ginobili's this season, but never on Duncan's in the first half of both seasons, when he carried the team on his back.

I don't get this guy. Maybe it's because Duncan is the least media friendly of the three that he's not all that high on him or because he's an elementary fan more enthralled with the highlight reel acts of the other two. In his preview for the series, he gave the Mavs the PF edge (he listed Duncan as a PF). Anybody who'd take a one dimensional choker over an all around clutch player in a playoff series is an idiot.

[MaNu4Tres]

McDonald is an idiot. It's like he's only been watching this team for a handful of years. Did you hear his questioning in the post game interviews? Acting like Duncan hasn't had a performance like that in years, like he was shocked he could still play. This guy was all over Parker's jock in the second half of last season and Ginobili's this season, but never on Duncan's in the first half of both seasons, when he carried the team on his back.

I don't get this guy. Maybe it's because Duncan is the least media friendly of the three that he's not all that high on him or because he's an elementary fan more enthralled with the highlight reel acts of the other two. In his preview for the series, he gave the Mavs the PF edge (he listed Duncan as a PF). Anybody who'd take a one dimensional choker over an all around clutch player in a playoff series is an idiot.

Well said :tu

[SPURSCHAMP]

6th man of po's and next season???:lobt2: