ducks
05-31-2007, 08:49 AM
Precise Parker in control for Spurs
Web Posted: 05/31/2007 01:07 AM CDT
Mike Monroe
Express-News
In Spurs coach Gregg Popovich's basketball lexicon, there is no compliment quite like being called "the head of the snake."
Such players as Steve Nash, Jason Kidd, Kobe Bryant and, of course, Tim Duncan, have earned such distinction from Popovich in the past.
All-Star point guard Tony Parker almost made the reptilian reference roster in Wednesday's Spurs victory over the Utah Jazz at AT&T Center, sending them to the NBA Finals.
It was Parker's offensive aggression in the first quarter that got the Spurs rolling and resulted in domination that Jazz coach Jerry Sloan said sapped his team's will to compete.
Parker finished the game with 21 points, five assists and five rebounds, outscoring Utah's young point guard, Deron Williams, for the first time in the series.
Popovich credited Parker for getting the Spurs off to such a dominating start and stopped just one word short of calling Parker the head of the Spurs' snake.
"Tony was very focused to start the game and was very aggressive offensively, both for himself and finding other people," Popovich said. "He pushed the pace after makes as much as misses, and everybody followed suit.
"We really tried to do that at the beginning of the game, and he was the head of that."
Williams played on a sprained ankle he suffered late in the Spurs' 91-79 victory in Game 4 in Utah on Monday night. He had worn a protective boot most of the past two days.
Parker insisted his early aggression had nothing to do with taking advantage of Williams' infirmity.
"I didn't even know that he was hurt," Parker said.
Rather, taking the ball to the basket, both to create his own shots and to set up teammates, was part of a bigger plan to puncture Utah's defense.
"I had a lot of success the first two games going to the basket at home, and so I was just trying to be in the same mentality and be in attack mode for myself and for my teammates."
The aggression with which Parker and his teammates played was remarkably precise. After Manu Ginobili lost the ball out of bounds with 4:07 left in the second quarter, the Spurs played to the 5:07 mark of the fourth period before committing another turnover. They turned the ball over only seven times in the game, tying a franchise record for fewest turnovers in a playoff game.
"We knew that turnovers were huge, the same as defensive rebounds," Ginobili said. "Those were two aspects we really took care of. But we executed very well. Tony was really aggressive to make things happen and kicking the ball really well.
"Besides that, we shot 70-something (percent) in the first quarter. That helps."
The Spurs weren't quite that accurate — they made 13 of 20 shots in the first period, 65 percent — but Ginobili's point was no less valid.
Parker hugged Williams after the final buzzer and offered some encouraging words. Afterward, he reflected on his series-long battle with Williams, whose stature among the league's point guards took a giant leap during the series.
"It was a great battle," Parker said. "Deron played with a lot of confidence. He played unbelievable in this series. Everything was going: his outside shot, penetration, finding guys. That team is going to be good for a long time."
Web Posted: 05/31/2007 01:07 AM CDT
Mike Monroe
Express-News
In Spurs coach Gregg Popovich's basketball lexicon, there is no compliment quite like being called "the head of the snake."
Such players as Steve Nash, Jason Kidd, Kobe Bryant and, of course, Tim Duncan, have earned such distinction from Popovich in the past.
All-Star point guard Tony Parker almost made the reptilian reference roster in Wednesday's Spurs victory over the Utah Jazz at AT&T Center, sending them to the NBA Finals.
It was Parker's offensive aggression in the first quarter that got the Spurs rolling and resulted in domination that Jazz coach Jerry Sloan said sapped his team's will to compete.
Parker finished the game with 21 points, five assists and five rebounds, outscoring Utah's young point guard, Deron Williams, for the first time in the series.
Popovich credited Parker for getting the Spurs off to such a dominating start and stopped just one word short of calling Parker the head of the Spurs' snake.
"Tony was very focused to start the game and was very aggressive offensively, both for himself and finding other people," Popovich said. "He pushed the pace after makes as much as misses, and everybody followed suit.
"We really tried to do that at the beginning of the game, and he was the head of that."
Williams played on a sprained ankle he suffered late in the Spurs' 91-79 victory in Game 4 in Utah on Monday night. He had worn a protective boot most of the past two days.
Parker insisted his early aggression had nothing to do with taking advantage of Williams' infirmity.
"I didn't even know that he was hurt," Parker said.
Rather, taking the ball to the basket, both to create his own shots and to set up teammates, was part of a bigger plan to puncture Utah's defense.
"I had a lot of success the first two games going to the basket at home, and so I was just trying to be in the same mentality and be in attack mode for myself and for my teammates."
The aggression with which Parker and his teammates played was remarkably precise. After Manu Ginobili lost the ball out of bounds with 4:07 left in the second quarter, the Spurs played to the 5:07 mark of the fourth period before committing another turnover. They turned the ball over only seven times in the game, tying a franchise record for fewest turnovers in a playoff game.
"We knew that turnovers were huge, the same as defensive rebounds," Ginobili said. "Those were two aspects we really took care of. But we executed very well. Tony was really aggressive to make things happen and kicking the ball really well.
"Besides that, we shot 70-something (percent) in the first quarter. That helps."
The Spurs weren't quite that accurate — they made 13 of 20 shots in the first period, 65 percent — but Ginobili's point was no less valid.
Parker hugged Williams after the final buzzer and offered some encouraging words. Afterward, he reflected on his series-long battle with Williams, whose stature among the league's point guards took a giant leap during the series.
"It was a great battle," Parker said. "Deron played with a lot of confidence. He played unbelievable in this series. Everything was going: his outside shot, penetration, finding guys. That team is going to be good for a long time."