ducks
06-08-2007, 05:35 PM
Mike Finger: Parker's flash shows maturity
Mike Finger: Parker's flash shows maturity
Web Posted: 06/08/2007 12:59 AM CDT
San Antonio Express-News
Tony Parker lobbed the ball to the front of the rim, plowed into a tumbling Anderson Varejao, hit the floor in a heap, then looked to Tim Duncan to celebrate.
Duncan shook his head. He'd blown the dunk.
"I had no idea," Parker said of the blown third-quarter alley-oop Thursday night at the AT&T Center. "I didn't see it. When I got up, I couldn't believe he missed."
It's the NBA Finals again, so you might think there'd be a joke in there about Parker and June cluelessness, with Speedy Claxton as the punch line.
But Claxton is long gone, and so is the Parker who couldn't finish Finals games in 2003 or hold onto the ball in 2005. This new version finishes layups, hits jumpers, plays defense and makes passes even Francisco Elson can turn into dunks.
So when people say this series will boil down to a superstar showdown between Duncan and LeBron James, is it just hype?
Or more June cluelessness?
The Spurs proved Thursday they have a defensive plan capable of containing James, at least for a night. And if the Cavaliers decide to throw more double-teams at Duncan, they have the defenders to at least make him work.
But as for slowing Parker? The Cavs have no easy solution. No player on the Cleveland roster is quick enough to keep up with him one-on-one, and Parker torched them repeatedly on pick-and-roll plays.
Cavs coach Mike Brown, who knows a thing or two about defensive adjustments, suggested his team didn't follow orders. He said they ran at Parker when they shouldn't have, and that their only hope is to keep him out of the lane.
"If he shoots jump shots and beats us," Brown said, "then so be it."
But that's everyone's game plan against Parker, and it's become increasingly difficult to pull off. Defenders know he wants to attack the basket, and they still can't stop him.
That's why Parker's 12 for 23 should concern the Cavs far more than James' 4 for 16. LeBron will eventually get his. But one of Cleveland's biggest hopes was that Parker wouldn't.
That's been the case in the Finals before. He was awful against the Nets in 2003, enabling Claxton to earn Spurs hero status and a nice free-agent contract. And against the Pistons in 2005, Parker committed almost as many turnovers (22) as he had assists (24).
On Thursday, though, there were no signs of those June woes. Never before had he scored more points (27) or dished out more assists (seven) in a Finals game. He almost certainly won't win the Finals' MVP award, but he might prove to be the biggest difference in the series.
"With his quickness, his ability to finish in the lane," Duncan said, "he gets in there almost at will."
"Our aggressiveness often times begins with him," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said.
Popovich reminded Parker of that during a timeout in the second quarter. With the Cavs having just taken a three-point lead, Popovich realized the best way for the Spurs to get back into the game was to make full use of the weapon Cleveland had no answer for.
"He told me, 'Shoot 25 times if you have to,'" Parker said. "If I'm not aggressive, we can't do nothing."
And what happened after those instructions? Parker drove to the hoop for a basket, put back his own free-throw miss, hit Elson on a fast-break pass even Eva Longoria could have finished, then found Duncan at the basket for another score.
It was a new version of Parker in June. No punch line needed.
Mike Finger: Parker's flash shows maturity
Web Posted: 06/08/2007 12:59 AM CDT
San Antonio Express-News
Tony Parker lobbed the ball to the front of the rim, plowed into a tumbling Anderson Varejao, hit the floor in a heap, then looked to Tim Duncan to celebrate.
Duncan shook his head. He'd blown the dunk.
"I had no idea," Parker said of the blown third-quarter alley-oop Thursday night at the AT&T Center. "I didn't see it. When I got up, I couldn't believe he missed."
It's the NBA Finals again, so you might think there'd be a joke in there about Parker and June cluelessness, with Speedy Claxton as the punch line.
But Claxton is long gone, and so is the Parker who couldn't finish Finals games in 2003 or hold onto the ball in 2005. This new version finishes layups, hits jumpers, plays defense and makes passes even Francisco Elson can turn into dunks.
So when people say this series will boil down to a superstar showdown between Duncan and LeBron James, is it just hype?
Or more June cluelessness?
The Spurs proved Thursday they have a defensive plan capable of containing James, at least for a night. And if the Cavaliers decide to throw more double-teams at Duncan, they have the defenders to at least make him work.
But as for slowing Parker? The Cavs have no easy solution. No player on the Cleveland roster is quick enough to keep up with him one-on-one, and Parker torched them repeatedly on pick-and-roll plays.
Cavs coach Mike Brown, who knows a thing or two about defensive adjustments, suggested his team didn't follow orders. He said they ran at Parker when they shouldn't have, and that their only hope is to keep him out of the lane.
"If he shoots jump shots and beats us," Brown said, "then so be it."
But that's everyone's game plan against Parker, and it's become increasingly difficult to pull off. Defenders know he wants to attack the basket, and they still can't stop him.
That's why Parker's 12 for 23 should concern the Cavs far more than James' 4 for 16. LeBron will eventually get his. But one of Cleveland's biggest hopes was that Parker wouldn't.
That's been the case in the Finals before. He was awful against the Nets in 2003, enabling Claxton to earn Spurs hero status and a nice free-agent contract. And against the Pistons in 2005, Parker committed almost as many turnovers (22) as he had assists (24).
On Thursday, though, there were no signs of those June woes. Never before had he scored more points (27) or dished out more assists (seven) in a Finals game. He almost certainly won't win the Finals' MVP award, but he might prove to be the biggest difference in the series.
"With his quickness, his ability to finish in the lane," Duncan said, "he gets in there almost at will."
"Our aggressiveness often times begins with him," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said.
Popovich reminded Parker of that during a timeout in the second quarter. With the Cavs having just taken a three-point lead, Popovich realized the best way for the Spurs to get back into the game was to make full use of the weapon Cleveland had no answer for.
"He told me, 'Shoot 25 times if you have to,'" Parker said. "If I'm not aggressive, we can't do nothing."
And what happened after those instructions? Parker drove to the hoop for a basket, put back his own free-throw miss, hit Elson on a fast-break pass even Eva Longoria could have finished, then found Duncan at the basket for another score.
It was a new version of Parker in June. No punch line needed.