timvp
11-13-2004, 02:28 AM
Parker resembles 'Tony of old'
Mike Monroe
Spurs majority owner Peter Holt decided, two days before the team's first game, that the Tony Parker who averaged 13.1 points and 5.1 assists through his first three seasons in the NBA was worth a $66 million contract extension.
Trouble was, the Tony Parker who had showed up for the Spurs' first four games hardly had been worth an NBA minimum contract.
The Spurs point guard had made only 32.8 percent of his shots, only 18.2 percent of his 3-point attempts.
Worse yet, indecision had begun to creep into his game, heretofore predicated on resolute certainty.
Friday night the "old" Tony Parker emerged in the Spurs' 93-84 victory over the Miami Heat at the SBC Center.
Parker made 8 of 16 shots, scored a season-high 18 points and had four assists. He turned the ball over only once and he logged 38 minutes, including the final 8:12.
"He just came out and played tonight," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. "He didn't worry about how good he had to play or anything like that. He just played. He looked like (the) Tony of old. He just competed."
Popovich had worried so much about Parker's imposing an unfair performance standard on himself that he recently sat him down for a heart-to-heart talk.
"I think he's definitely trying too hard to prove he's worth his contract," Popovich said before the game. "Because of that and because of his age I think he tends to get down on himself during games if things don't go well for him, rather than just play the game.
"He's way too hard on himself. He's just got to let it go and go play. I already know he's a heck of a player. He doesn't have to prove anything to anybody.
"It's become obvious the last two or three games what his problem is."
Parker didn't deny having put undue pressure on himself through the first four games, post-contract.
The talk with Popovich assured him there was no reason to try to do more than he had in previous seasons.
The good news: Parker believes he is past the self-imposed pressure portion of the season.
"I'm happy it happens now rather than the playoffs," he said. "Early in the season I can adjust. I'm still young and still got a lot of stuff to learn. I can take this as an example and try not to make the same mistakes.
"Tonight I played with no pressure and felt more comfortable and let the game come to me. I made hard cuts and tried to bring some energy."
The only disappointment for Parker was learning before the game that Heat point guard Dwyane Wade would not suit up because of a sprained right ankle sustained in a Thursday night loss to the Dallas Mavericks.
"Definitely, I was a little disappointed," Parker said. "I was ready for that matchup, especially since he was playing great so far. But that's OK. It's just going to be next time."
Parker said his own game should start benefiting from the emergence of Manu Ginobili as a true force.
"For me, it's great," Parker said. "I love trying to push the ball, and I know Manu is going to run with me and try to get some easy baskets.
"We've got a lot of unselfish guys, so we try to push the ball and find the open guys and that just makes the game more easy for us."
http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/basketball/nba/spurs/stories/MYSA111304.7D.BKNspurs.parker.4fb16baf.html
Mike Monroe
Spurs majority owner Peter Holt decided, two days before the team's first game, that the Tony Parker who averaged 13.1 points and 5.1 assists through his first three seasons in the NBA was worth a $66 million contract extension.
Trouble was, the Tony Parker who had showed up for the Spurs' first four games hardly had been worth an NBA minimum contract.
The Spurs point guard had made only 32.8 percent of his shots, only 18.2 percent of his 3-point attempts.
Worse yet, indecision had begun to creep into his game, heretofore predicated on resolute certainty.
Friday night the "old" Tony Parker emerged in the Spurs' 93-84 victory over the Miami Heat at the SBC Center.
Parker made 8 of 16 shots, scored a season-high 18 points and had four assists. He turned the ball over only once and he logged 38 minutes, including the final 8:12.
"He just came out and played tonight," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. "He didn't worry about how good he had to play or anything like that. He just played. He looked like (the) Tony of old. He just competed."
Popovich had worried so much about Parker's imposing an unfair performance standard on himself that he recently sat him down for a heart-to-heart talk.
"I think he's definitely trying too hard to prove he's worth his contract," Popovich said before the game. "Because of that and because of his age I think he tends to get down on himself during games if things don't go well for him, rather than just play the game.
"He's way too hard on himself. He's just got to let it go and go play. I already know he's a heck of a player. He doesn't have to prove anything to anybody.
"It's become obvious the last two or three games what his problem is."
Parker didn't deny having put undue pressure on himself through the first four games, post-contract.
The talk with Popovich assured him there was no reason to try to do more than he had in previous seasons.
The good news: Parker believes he is past the self-imposed pressure portion of the season.
"I'm happy it happens now rather than the playoffs," he said. "Early in the season I can adjust. I'm still young and still got a lot of stuff to learn. I can take this as an example and try not to make the same mistakes.
"Tonight I played with no pressure and felt more comfortable and let the game come to me. I made hard cuts and tried to bring some energy."
The only disappointment for Parker was learning before the game that Heat point guard Dwyane Wade would not suit up because of a sprained right ankle sustained in a Thursday night loss to the Dallas Mavericks.
"Definitely, I was a little disappointed," Parker said. "I was ready for that matchup, especially since he was playing great so far. But that's OK. It's just going to be next time."
Parker said his own game should start benefiting from the emergence of Manu Ginobili as a true force.
"For me, it's great," Parker said. "I love trying to push the ball, and I know Manu is going to run with me and try to get some easy baskets.
"We've got a lot of unselfish guys, so we try to push the ball and find the open guys and that just makes the game more easy for us."
http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/basketball/nba/spurs/stories/MYSA111304.7D.BKNspurs.parker.4fb16baf.html