In the future...

[Brodels]

Good win tonight. The Spurs needed to take care of business at home and they got it done. Manu and Nazr were amazing.

But if Duncan and Parker play like that in the upcoming rounds (if the Spurs can win one more game), the Spurs simply aren't going to win. Manu is a great, great player, but it's asking too much of him to carry this team for 42 minutes per game.

Duncan looks pretty healthy. Sometimes he makes great plays. But he isn't the consistent force that he used to be. It's no longer practically a sure score when he gets the ball in the post one-on-one. I know he's coming off an injury, but the Spurs need more.

With Parker, it's harder to explain. At least with a player like Brent Barry you already know that their play will decline in the playoffs. But Parker can have huge games and then come up empty. Consistency has been called for over the course of the past two years, and it looked like he may have started to turn the corner this past season. But his performance tonight is remiscent of his inability to adjust last year in the Lakers series. He needs to make a difference somehow. If he can't score, he needs to get his teammates easy baskets.

The Spurs are in the driver's seat in this series. They got a good win tonight. But the current level of play, especially from the stars not named Manu, isn't going to get it done in future rounds.

[Dre_7]

Duncan looks pretty healthy. Sometimes he makes great plays. But he isn't the consistent force that he used to be. It's no longer practically a sure score when he gets the ball in the post one-on-one. I know he's coming off an injury, but the Spurs need more.

And the same thing could be said about Shaq right now.

[SPARKY]

TP must be sick/injured. He seemed to lack his normal explosiveness.

[Nikos]

I agree Brodels.

I don't get Duncan's deal? Parker I could understand his erratic play, even though it hurts to see it happen. Both need to play like they are capable of. Manu will still contribute in his bad games. But when your two biggest options as far as FGA and obviously your best player isn't in a rythm, its tough to get too excited about the upcoming games.

They simply have to play better.

[Spurminator]

He's clearly afraid of getting hit in the paint. He missed several layups early where it looked like he expected to get fouled, and it shook him for the rest of the game.

[MaNuMaNiAc]

TP must be sick/injured. He seemed to lack his normal explosiveness.
I beg to differ, his explosiveness was there, he just couldn't hit those layups

[Brodels]

I beg to differ, his explosiveness was there, he just couldn't hit those layups

I didn't see a lack of explosiveness, either. Parker can be a great scorer for games at a time. I know that everyone struggles sometimes, but what bothers me is that he's not very useful if he's not scoring the ball. His playmaking ability and defensive skills are still quite average.

I really like Tony and I think he needs to play well for the Spurs to win a title. It's just hard for me to understand how he can struggle so badly after playing so well and how he can look totally invisible out there when he's not scoring points.

If he could ever become consistent, he'd be great. Right now, he's just very good.

[Spurminator]

Parker tends to start fresh with each new series... I don't expect him to show a lot of improvement this series, because I think it will always be in the back of his mind that James/Evans/Fortson/Collison are waiting to knock him down in the paint, but assuming we advance (knock on wood) I don't think he'll face the same problems against the next opponent. He should have an easier time getting to the basket without punishment.