Thoughts on Parker

[Perry Mason]

I'm curious what some of the vets here think of Tony's obvious struggles. Is it more than fatigue?

Last night was a winnable game; Spurs had their two superstars on the court, Parker and Timmy. Last year Parker would likely have gone off at the end of the game, notwithstanding the scrub supporting cast, and would have run the motion offense with persistent speed and precision.

So what has happened? Parker looked inept out there, and the offense plodded like an embodiment of Matt Bonner. It seems as if the last 2 years of his growth into a near-superstar are being lost. His defensive execution has also suffered, but that has been true of the whole team.


PS - Why is Ayres so bad? He barely contests on the pick-in-roll, which is the whole reason Pop has him out there due to his theoretical mobility and athleticism.

[Brazil]

Parker is struggling and it was "expected". Dude is gassed, he will have some good stretches here and there but overall he is paying the price of a long season and a long summer with FNT. Not gonna improve unless he can rest.

No excuses just a constatation.

He played terrific with NT, he didn't loose his basketball between October and now. I don't see anything else other than fatigue.

Considering this factor and all the injuries of the team, he is just keeping what he has for the O end imho this is why he is particularly ugly on D this year.

[Sigz]

He's done.

[024]

Parker is not a superstar. He can't carry a team by himself. He never could and never had the potential to do so. He already exceeded his potential by becoming an all NBA player (as opposed to just a regular all star). Parker is a great player who worked hard to exceed his potential of being an above average player. But to expect anything more from him would be foolish.

For Popovich to keep the roster relatively the same as last year is perplexing. This team didn't work last year, even with a surprisingly large amount of luck. At the very best, the Spurs would stay at the same level. But the league is always improving (see Durant) and staying the same means getting worse. At the very worst, the Spurs' age and injuries catch up to them, which is currently happening. The fact that this team is struggling is the fault of the management, not the fault of Parker.

[Phenomanul]

Parker is not a superstar. He can't carry a team by himself. He never could and never had the potential to do so. He already exceeded his potential by becoming an all NBA player (as opposed to just a regular all star). Parker is a great player who worked hard to exceed his potential of being an above average player. But to expect anything more from him would be foolish.

For Popovich to keep the roster relatively the same as last year is perplexing. This team didn't work last year, even with a surprisingly large amount of luck. At the very best, the Spurs would stay at the same level. But the league is always improving (see Durant) and staying the same means getting worse. At the very worst, the Spurs' age and injuries catch up to them, which is currently happening. The fact that this team is struggling is the fault of the management, not the fault of Parker.

Parker just led France to the Euro Championship...

I agree with Brazil, Parker simply needs to be rested. Unfortunately, with the short roster he may not be given that chance [particularly if he ends up attending the All-Star Game festivities]...

[Bruno]

He is tired and the shin injury has bothered him for a few weeks.

Parker has said numerous time that his goal this season was to be at 100% for the playoffs. I'm fine with him having that good but not great regular season as long as he is able to step up for the playoffs. If he isn't able to raise his level during the postseason, Spurs will have a big issue and Parker will deserved to be call out.

Wait and see...

[EVAY]

I agree with Brazil that Parker is using up his energy on O this year, and the extent to which his racing around during our offensive sets means he is gonna have less energy on the other end. Part of his problem on D is our poor pick and roll defense, which includes both Parker and whichever of our bigs is guarding the other guys' screen setter. But a large part of his problem in general is his fatigue level.

He not only played with his national team to a championship this off-season, he did it after going through a 7 NBA finals games.

Both of these things play into the greater impact that any injury, however slight, has on his ability to 'finish' for us as he did so often last year. Last year he was the MVP of our team for sure, and he was in fact the go-to guy at the end of close games. And his leadership took us to the finals. Then, when he hurt his hamstring in the what - third game? (can't remember exactly), he did okay for a game or two after that because they had more than one day in between games. But by the time the fifth game was over you could see that hamstring really bothering him, and it definitely affected his lift during the last two games.

He runs so fast and so far in order to run the offensive sets that the Spurs have, any time he is overly fatigued it is gonna show. The fatigue also makes it harder for him to avoid injuries and harder for him to play through the injuries once he gets him. His latest shin bruise and shooting-hand finger jams are cases in point.
He always wants to keep laying through the injuries, but I honestly think if they would sit him for two weeks he and the team would ultimately be better off.

The shin bruise obviously impacts his ability to run as fast as normal or to get the lift he needs for his shots, but he keeps doing it and I don't think it is useful. In fact, I think it is counter-productive for all the reasons people notice here. He is still SUPPOSED to be the go-to guy at the end of games like he was last year…problem is that he can't pull off the role when he is even minimally banged up in his legs or shooting hand, as we have seen lately.

[MultiTroll]

He is tired and the shin injury has bothered him for a few weeks.

Parker has said numerous time that his goal this season was to be at 100% for the playoffs. I'm fine with him having that good but not great regular season as long as he is able to step up for the playoffs. If he isn't able to raise his level during the postseason, Spurs will have a big issue and Parker will deserved to be call out.

Wait and see...
Leads the team in minutes per game.
Rest? :pop:

[Brazil]

Leads the team in minutes per game.
Rest? :pop:

even if he is leading team in minutes, he is not even in the top 40 of minutes played per game in the nba.
Difficult for Pop to play him less especially with all the injuries, Pop is whatever you think he is but there is nobody better than him to manage minutes of his players.

Problem is not mpg but time to rest without playing at all. I'd rather see Spurs shut him down for a while before and after ASG for instance but how do you manage a rotation without manu, parker, green, leonard, splitter ? Duncan is another one we should all be concerned, with lack of O and holes in D, grand pa' is trying to carry O and D the best he can but at what price ?

this season sucks health wise, let's hope we can have everybody on board somewhere in March and build from there. With the league full of bad teams or in tanking mode maybe we could still be positionned to get home court for first round of POs at that moment.

[superjames1992]

6-16, 4 assists, 2 turnovers. :(

[TheGoldStandard]

Won't look good until April

[Baam]

even if he is leading team in minutes, he is not even in the top 40 of minutes played per game in the nba.
Difficult for Pop to play him less especially with all the injuries, Pop is whatever you think he is but there is nobody better than him to manage minutes of his players.

Problem is not mpg but time to rest without playing at all. I'd rather see Spurs shut him down for a while before and after ASG for instance but how do you manage a rotation without manu, parker, green, leonard, splitter ? Duncan is another one we should all be concerned, with lack of O and holes in D, grand pa' is trying to carry O and D the best he can but at what price ?

this season sucks health wise, let's hope we can have everybody on board somewhere in March and build from there. With the league full of bad teams or in tanking mode maybe we could still be positionned to get home court for first round of POs at that moment.

Pop has said that he doesn't think that TP is tired for the record...

[Brazil]

Pop has said that he doesn't think that TP is tired for the record...

pop is managing communication as he wants, don't know why he said that, maybe a way to tell TP stfu and play or a way to say you choose to play NT bb this summer so you take it... but it is pretty obvious that 15 months of playing elite basketball is gonna tire you up.

[ElNono]

If he's taking it easy, I think he needs to start picking it up soon... it's not as much about "it's not worth it now because we're missing guys", it's mostly because the ramping up has to be progressive.

Because he's young though, he has the benefit of the doubt. Nothing else really matter is Tony can't be the guy he's been the last couple of seasons. This is his team now, if he's not 100%, we don't have a shot.

[Brazil]

If he's taking it easy, I think he needs to start picking it up soon... it's not as much about "it's not worth it now because we're missing guys", it's mostly because the ramping up has to be progressive.

Because he's young though, he has the benefit of the doubt. Nothing else really matter is Tony can't be the guy he's been the last couple of seasons. This is his team now, if he's not 100%, we don't have a shot.

don't think he is taking easy, just think he has no legs right now... I don't believe in the coasting...

[dbestpro]

TP needs to rest, but too many rotational players are injured to allow for him to rest. My take is a little different. I don't think he is as physically tired as he is mentally tired. Thus, why sometimes he can go off, and other times he just makes bad decisions. He does not trust anyone other than himself and TD when he on the floor. Too often, it looks like 2 on 5. Passing to the open man is becoming a lost art on the Spurs.

[hooperflash]

When we were down four, he needed to force the issue and get to the paint . Instead, he felt he could knock down some 18-foot jumpers even when he was gassed . I hope he's learning for future games.

[lefty]

He has been "tired" for a while

[Johnny RIngo]

He prioritized international ball over the Spurs and now he wants rest. How about actually earning your paycheck and resting in the appropriate time(offseason)

[Godbama]

Parker just led France to the Euro Championship...

Oh boy! :rolleyes

[apalisoc_9]

I don't want to get banned.

[Brazil]

now he wants rest

link ?

[Brazil]

I don't want to get banned.

let me help you out....


Parker sucks, fatigue is not an excuse to refuse to pass the ball to Leonard. Fucker is jealous and wants all the glory, :lmao enrique fucking selfish wanker

you're welcome

[Johnny RIngo]

train wreck of a season for Tony.

http://cdn2.sbnation.com/assets/3931087/parkerft.gif

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-YfcsCnpFwUs/UunSuOfB2zI/AAAAAAAABoU/hK-v6kUGk70/s1600/11.gif

[r0drig0lac]

http://cdn2.sbnation.com/assets/3931087/parkerft.gif

[Chomag]

I have seen some bad air-balls at the FT line but that's got to be the worst free-throw attempt that I have ever seen in the NBA. WTF happened did he mean to do that? It doesn't look like it slipped or anything.

(edit)ahh, ok. After researching it seems that a ref blew a whistle while he was in mid stroke, that explains it :lol

[EVAY]

I have seen some bad air-balls at the FT line but that's got to be the worst free-throw attempt that I have ever seen in the NBA. WTF happened did he mean to do that? It doesn't look like it slipped or anything.

(edit)ahh, ok. After researching it seems that a ref blew a whistle while he was in mid stroke, that explains it :lol

Odd that the ref's whistle blowing gets ignored by the Parker haters on the board, isn't it?

[DMC]

Parker is not a superstar. He can't carry a team by himself. He never could and never had the potential to do so. He already exceeded his potential by becoming an all NBA player (as opposed to just a regular all star). Parker is a great player who worked hard to exceed his potential of being an above average player. But to expect anything more from him would be foolish.

For Popovich to keep the roster relatively the same as last year is perplexing. This team didn't work last year, even with a surprisingly large amount of luck. At the very best, the Spurs would stay at the same level. But the league is always improving (see Durant) and staying the same means getting worse. At the very worst, the Spurs' age and injuries catch up to them, which is currently happening. The fact that this team is struggling is the fault of the management, not the fault of Parker.

Most of that is incoherent double-speak.

1. You cannot exceed your potential
2. "never could" is the same as "never had the potential" since "could" and "potential" is the same thing.
3. All star and All NBA are not even remotely related. One is not a step above or below the other. One is a popularity contest, the other is about effectiveness (except in a couple instances).
4. The team made the Finals last year. How is that equal to "did not work"?
5. Durant hasn't improved.
6. Age and injury always catch up to you, no matter which team or roster you have.
7. The struggles are part and parcel of the injuries, and that's been the case all season. You have to consider injuries that aren't severe enough to bench a player, like Tim's knees or Manu's hammy.

[TD 21]

He's more or less had the season I expected. I knew him playing playing at the level he did the past two seasons was out of the question and I still think no amount of minute managing or games off (within' reason, since they're not giving him a month off) will prevent him from inevitably breaking down in the playoffs.

I hate to say it, but the reality is this: They pissed away their championship last season and him playing a good portion of the summer internationally, combined with the front office's incompetence, pissed away whatever chance they would have had this season.

[ducks]

he was in the top 5 mvp voting last year having a ok season but not like last year
hopefully he can get to the top 5 mvp leading in playoffs
spurs also the last month have looked worse to different lineups

[therealtruth]

Actually injuries let's you show people you're an MVP. Look at what Durant is doing w/o Westbrook.

[ego]

In SAN ANTONIO SPURS NEWS :


While that might hurt Tiago Splitter’s chances of returning from his shoulder injury Saturday against Sacramento, the rest has done wonders for Parker, who revealed Friday that he’s been dealing with soreness in his abdominal/groin/hip region for the past two weeks.


Under normal circumstances, that might have forced Parker, having already missed several games this season with a shin contusion, to the sideline. But with Splitter, Danny Green, Kawhi Leonard and Manu Ginobili all dealing with long-term injuries of their own, Parker has been forced to persevere.
The good news for the newly-minted All-Star: An MRI on Friday revealed no problems, allowing him to suit up against the Kings.
“I need the rest,” Parker said. “My body is going to fall (apart). There’s still inflammation, but it is not like a sports hernia, a big thing. So that was good news this morning.”


Perhaps now you know why TP is not always fine !

[weeks]

can we afford to sit him until the clippers??
i mean, seriously. let's just say fuck it for two weeks or so and let him get better
we eat our losses and bank on making it up after we get healthy and try to catch our stride going into the playoffs

[EVAY]

can we afford to sit him until the clippers??
i mean, seriously. let's just say fuck it for two weeks or so and let him get better
we eat our losses and bank on making it up after we get healthy and try to catch our stride going into the playoffs

makes sense to me…cuz let's face it, he's not doing us much good right now.

Some people in here would prefer to say he's faking injuries or something, but the fact of the matter is that he plays hurt - not injured, but hurt - even when he shouldn't.

If folks can remember back to when Tim had that chest bruise early in the season and it took weeks for him to get his shot back after that, that's what it is like for Parker now, imo.

Haters will hate, but I would just prefer that they shut him down for a couple of weeks.

[Kabals]

makes sense to me…cuz let's face it, he's not doing us much good right now.

Doesn't make sense at all with Green / Kawhi / Manu injured. We are already struggling to compensate their production, if you rest Parker you have absolutely no one to make up for his production and we will even lose against bad team (2 point win against sac ...) If anything, rest him against the good team since we never win but we can't afford to lose against bad team.

[superbigtime]

Tony needs the rest.

[gnsf0946]

In SAN ANTONIO SPURS NEWS :



Perhaps now you know why TP is not always fine !

injured for 2 weeks, what's the reason for not playing good the last 3 months?

[Johnny RIngo]

injured for 2 weeks, what's the reason for not playing good the last 3 months?

Exactly. Parker's been shit all year. This recent injury doesn't explain why he went from playing like an All-NBA guard last season to a mediocre PG in 2014. I hope Frenchie enjoys his Euro trophy because he jeopardized any chance the Spurs have of winning a title this year.

[siraulo23]

he looked like last year's tp against the pelicans, pulling cross overs and his usual array of moves and shots around the basket

[silverblackfan]

he looked like last year's tp against the pelicans, pulling cross overs and his usual array of moves and shots around the basket
Yeah, Parker pretty much willed the team to a victory, especially in the 3rd quarter. It was encouraging to see him lighting up the pelicans at will.

[EVAY]

One of the things that I always notice about Parker is that he plays so much more focused and better if/when he gets mad about something. And last night he got mad with the reffing, and then took off.

I also noticed last night that he was drawing a play on the sideline, showing Bonner what he wanted him to do because he had tried to tell him and Bonner kept looking blank. So Tony picked up a white board and was drawing on it.

I mention that because that was the sort of thing he did so much of last season and hadn't done at all this season…really taking the team on his back coaching on the floor, challenging players and truly leading them. This is the first time I have seen it all season this year. Hope he keeps it up.

[TJastal]

One of the things that I always notice about Parker is that he plays so much more focused and better if/when he gets mad about something. And last night he got mad with the reffing, and then took off.

I also noticed last night that he was drawing a play on the sideline, showing Bonner what he wanted him to do because he had tried to tell him and Bonner kept looking blank. So Tony picked up a white board and was drawing on it.

I mention that because that was the sort of thing he did so much of last season and hadn't done at all this season…really taking the team on his back coaching on the floor, challenging players and truly leading them. This is the first time I have seen it all season this year. Hope he keeps it up.

I'd rather he save his anger for the playoffs, tbh.

[ThaBigFundamental21]

Personally I think Parker should rest a week or two. It's pretty damn obvious he isn't the same Parker from last year. Odds are if he keeps playing he is going to get "hurt" in a big way. Let Mills get some burn. The schedule is fairly easy right now. We have a couple tough games. But if a ring is the true focus, it's time the staff makes the Championship the true focus.

[barbacoataco]

Parker is way underrated on this board. The guy turns in huge games all the time. I don't know why his whole career he's been disrespected. Just because he isn't 't good enough to single handedly lead a team to a ring? Who was? Shaq needed Kobe, lebron needed wade, etc etc. OK Duncan did in 2003, but still. Parker is a great player. It is true that he can be slowed with the right defender. But so can a lot of the other "great" players like CP3 and Carmelo. Really only lebron and Durant are unstoppable right now.

[Pauleta14]

Wow UNBELIEVABLE the things I read on this board...

TP gets more respect from the rest of the league than from his own fans!!!

The guy has been putting the team on his shoulders the whole november with clutch plays, is playing through injuries and fatigue and still manage to put elite numbers at +50% shooting and you guys still shit on him...

Spurstalk is getting worse and worse...

[Chomag]

Actually injuries let's you show people you're an MVP. Look at what Durant is doing w/o Westbrook.

I agree with this. Im not going to take anything from TP as he is a very good player and is a huge factor for the Spurs, but he is not MVP materiel. A great player usually steps thier game up when thier team is down. Especially when a key player goes down they know how much more their production is needed to carry the team. Great players don't make excuses they just play harder.

[Chomag]

Parker is way underrated on this board. The guy turns in huge games all the time. I don't know why his whole career he's been disrespected. Just because he isn't 't good enough to single handedly lead a team to a ring? Who was? Shaq needed Kobe, lebron needed wade, etc etc. OK Duncan did in 2003, but still. Parker is a great player. It is true that he can be slowed with the right defender. But so can a lot of the other "great" players like CP3 and Carmelo. Really only lebron and Durant are unstoppable right now.

He kind of has done it on himself with his playoff disappearances when he was needed most.(people tend to remember those things) Like I said though he is a very good player and has allways been a huge factor for this team. He just lacks that 1 last extra gear I think that Top players have.

[Johnny RIngo]

Wow UNBELIEVABLE the things I read on this board...

TP gets more respect from the rest of the league than from his own fans!!!

The guy has been putting the team on his shoulders the whole november with clutch plays, is playing through injuries and fatigue and still manage to put elite numbers at +50% shooting and you guys still shit on him...

Spurstalk is getting worse and worse...

TP put the team on his shoulders? You must not have watched the Spurs this season.

And it's not surprising TP gets this kind of hate. He choked in the Finals. Then he followed that up with playing for France when he should have been resting. He comes back to the Spurs playing half-ass basketball all year, whining about being exhausted. Then he gets rewarded with an all-star spot when he's been worse than Duncan and Manu.

[gilmor]

TP put the team on his shoulders? You must not have watched the Spurs this season.

And it's not surprising TP gets this kind of hate. He choked in the Finals. Then he followed that up with playing for France when he should have been resting. He comes back to the Spurs playing half-ass basketball all year, whining about being exhausted. Then he gets rewarded with an all-star spot when he's been worse than Duncan and Manu.

What's wrong with playing for France?

It's an honor to represent your country and win something..

[Johnny RIngo]

What's wrong with playing for France?

It's an honor to represent your country and win something..

Even more honorable to earn your paycheck tbqh. Shouldn't be resting on company time

[lefty]

train wreck of a season for Tony.

http://cdn2.sbnation.com/assets/3931087/parkerft.gif

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-YfcsCnpFwUs/UunSuOfB2zI/AAAAAAAABoU/hK-v6kUGk70/s1600/11.gif

[timaios]

TP put the team on his shoulders? You must not have watched the Spurs this season.

And it's not surprising TP gets this kind of hate. He choked in the Finals. Then he followed that up with playing for France when he should have been resting. He comes back to the Spurs playing half-ass basketball all year, whining about being exhausted. Then he gets rewarded with an all-star spot when he's been worse than Duncan and Manu.

You are the biggest whiner in there!
Everyday you whine, whine, and whine again about Parker.
Poor little baby.

[therealtruth]

He kind of has done it on himself with his playoff disappearances when he was needed most.(people tend to remember those things) Like I said though he is a very good player and has allways been a huge factor for this team. He just lacks that 1 last extra gear I think that Top players have.

Exactly. It's not always about whether your team wins. It's about how you go out. If you lose with a 4/17 performance when you're supposed to be the best player it draws the attention to yourself.