JUUOT
09-20-2005, 08:44 AM
As promised here is the translation from lequipe and their take on Tony.
19/09/2005
Basket - Euro (H) : Tony Parker au pied du mur
Where is flash? If he is not hiding when comes time to justify to the press, Tony parker has yet to be seen at the euro championship. The French point guard hardly derailed in the first 3 games “for the first time of (his) career”, playing on a false rhythm and putting horrible stats (4,7 points à 21%, 1,3 passe décisive, 2 balles perdues), keeping his coach confidence (27mn a game). After each game the coach took his defense even if parker contrary to what he promised was not ready on D-Day
»I did not think it would be as bad »
« Do not credit parker with more than he is, which is 23, « said the French coach after the loss against Slovenia. “Today, he wants to help, but he can’t. It hurts him ». Injured at knee and leg he is « frustrated of not being able to help my teammates ». He is paying for an active summer, preventing him from fully resting after more than 100 games with Spurs. By themselves each of his decisions is hard to criticize. The medias? The French basket needed for a long time a model. Endorsements? He is half American so you can not blame him even considering his salary. Musical activities ? it is hard to prevent a hypersollicited boy to escape.
But this last point is particularly important. He is not playing guitare fro fun. H eis preparing an album and funding a label. Everything, right now. “maybe, I am doing to many things, even outside of basket, I will have to better structure it”. He believed he was unbreakable, and he persuaded the others he was even the french coach. He has been unbreakable for a long time having nearly no serious injuries before this summer, he realizes now that he is “not a machine” as he was affirming after his first nba title in 2003. Yet, “POP and my parents warned me. :rolleyes They knew it would be hard to play the euro if not being ready physically”. Before the beginning of the tournament he accepted the critics of doing too much. Logicaaly, he ran straight into the wall. Being slaped hard.
”I have to think”
Stuck in the situation and his team with him, he is at a turning point of his career. He will have to make choices. Without capacity to oppose spurs and the investment they have in him, he is leaving his future with the national team in the air. Maybe he hasn’t made his mind yet since they still have to play against Serbia. “I have to think about it, I don’t want to do acompetition where I am not my self. But to say it is my last competition is not true. A member of the French basket association “it is not because French nba players are millionaires that they will reinvent the world”.
Before knowing Parker’s future, there is still a game to play. If a healthy parker can explode any defense anytime, the French team often developed a better basket when rigaudeau (half court offense) or diaw(run and gun offense ala phoenix) were in charge of the team. A French team better without parker? It s hard to accept even if it was in part true in Belgrade. For years to come a TP 100% healthy is still the key to win a title, but not in 2005.
Xavier COLOMBANI, à Belgrade.
Translation, JUUOT for spurstalk
19/09/2005
Basket - Euro (H) : Tony Parker au pied du mur
Where is flash? If he is not hiding when comes time to justify to the press, Tony parker has yet to be seen at the euro championship. The French point guard hardly derailed in the first 3 games “for the first time of (his) career”, playing on a false rhythm and putting horrible stats (4,7 points à 21%, 1,3 passe décisive, 2 balles perdues), keeping his coach confidence (27mn a game). After each game the coach took his defense even if parker contrary to what he promised was not ready on D-Day
»I did not think it would be as bad »
« Do not credit parker with more than he is, which is 23, « said the French coach after the loss against Slovenia. “Today, he wants to help, but he can’t. It hurts him ». Injured at knee and leg he is « frustrated of not being able to help my teammates ». He is paying for an active summer, preventing him from fully resting after more than 100 games with Spurs. By themselves each of his decisions is hard to criticize. The medias? The French basket needed for a long time a model. Endorsements? He is half American so you can not blame him even considering his salary. Musical activities ? it is hard to prevent a hypersollicited boy to escape.
But this last point is particularly important. He is not playing guitare fro fun. H eis preparing an album and funding a label. Everything, right now. “maybe, I am doing to many things, even outside of basket, I will have to better structure it”. He believed he was unbreakable, and he persuaded the others he was even the french coach. He has been unbreakable for a long time having nearly no serious injuries before this summer, he realizes now that he is “not a machine” as he was affirming after his first nba title in 2003. Yet, “POP and my parents warned me. :rolleyes They knew it would be hard to play the euro if not being ready physically”. Before the beginning of the tournament he accepted the critics of doing too much. Logicaaly, he ran straight into the wall. Being slaped hard.
”I have to think”
Stuck in the situation and his team with him, he is at a turning point of his career. He will have to make choices. Without capacity to oppose spurs and the investment they have in him, he is leaving his future with the national team in the air. Maybe he hasn’t made his mind yet since they still have to play against Serbia. “I have to think about it, I don’t want to do acompetition where I am not my self. But to say it is my last competition is not true. A member of the French basket association “it is not because French nba players are millionaires that they will reinvent the world”.
Before knowing Parker’s future, there is still a game to play. If a healthy parker can explode any defense anytime, the French team often developed a better basket when rigaudeau (half court offense) or diaw(run and gun offense ala phoenix) were in charge of the team. A French team better without parker? It s hard to accept even if it was in part true in Belgrade. For years to come a TP 100% healthy is still the key to win a title, but not in 2005.
Xavier COLOMBANI, à Belgrade.
Translation, JUUOT for spurstalk