Parker sets the tone for Spurs and makes quiet case for MVP

Article http://www.nba.com/2012/news/feature...s=iref:nbahpt1
Video http://www.nba.com/video/channels/nb...nto_action.nba
by Fran Blinebury

Why not Tony Parker?

If the purpose of the MVP award is to simply identify the player who is the game's most unstoppable all-around force, then it would make sense to roll another dozen off the assembly line and mail them each spring to LeBron James' Miami address until he finally tires of wearing the crown and walks away.

But in that case, doesn't somebody have a lot of explaining to do to Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant, who both filled that role for many seasons and who were so honored only once each in the prime of their combined nine-championship careers?

If the designation is intended to go to a singular offensive talent who can do score from virtually anywhere past mid-court, then Kevin Durant should already have a carpenter building a set of extra-large shelves in his den to hold all of the shiny hardware that will be arriving over the next decade.

However, Tracy McGrady and Vince Carter stare at empty trophy cases now because the MVP award is about more than YouTube clips and frying a calculator's microchip.

So why not Tony Parker?

"This has been his best year," said Spurs coach Gregg Popovich.

If you simply read the stats, Parker would seem a lesser-caliber candidate than the big guns. Though his 18.5 points per game (23rd in the NBA) is solid, it is not as eye-popping in comparison to Durant's 27.8 (2nd) or James' 27.1 (3rd). Parker is averaging a career-high 7.7 assists, but James and Durant are both averaging 7.9 rebounds.

Never mind the old argument about how far their respective teams might struggle without their leading scorers. The same could be said if you took away the top gun on every club. What is unique about Parker in the evaluation is how much his role has changed this season in San Antonio.

Parker was challenged with a much higher bar of expectation by the Spurs' coaching staff and front office and has cleared it with room to spare. He's done it while Popovich has kept the soon-to-be-36-year-old Tim Duncan's minutes to a career low. He's done it while Manu Ginobili has missed 30 games with a broken bone in one hand a hip flexor injury. He's done it with a starting lineup that has often included rookie in Kawhi Leonard or third-year journeyman Danny Green. He's done it through the relentless pace and all the back-to-back games in this meat grinder of a post-lockout schedule.

The Spurs wouldn't be within a Texas-sized mile of the best record in the Western Conference or best overall mark in the league without the 6-foot-3 Parker embracing the burden of not only being asked to score more -- a lot more -- while having to run the offense, too.

For a player with a career-scoring average of 16.9 points, he has had to pump in at least 23 on 18 different nights. Parker has scored 30 or more seven times and also handed out double-digit assists in a dozen games.

"When he scores, I tell him he needs to pass," Popovich jokes, "and when he assists, I tell him he needs to score."

On a night when Durant and the high-octane Thunder rolled into San Antonio, Popovich got his Parker's ear and told him he would have to shoot. During the first timeout in the first quarter, when he'd seen Parker trying to set up teammates, Popovich barked a reminder. So Parker finished with 42 points in an easy Spurs win -- the same night he passed Avery Johnson to become the Spurs all-time assist leader.

Parker plays with a spark and a glint in his eye. That makes it hard sometimes to remember that Popovich once thought a 19-year-old Parker, who arrived from France in 2001, was too soft. You watch him as the backbone of these Spurs and it's difficult to think that there might have been some sentiment to trade Parker last summer. The growth couldn't be more evident if it was marked off with a pencil on the kitchen wall.

"He's more willing in timeouts to let people know what should be going on out on the court if it's not happening," Popovich said. "On the court, he's more demonstrative and quick to react to score, time on the clock, situation in the game, matchups that might be able to be taken advantage of. There are times when I'll call a play and he'll wave me off because he's got something in mind. He goes and goes at it ala Avery Johnson. He's gotten to that stage where he feels comfortable with what's going on out there."

Part of the reason that Duncan has been able to look so spry (and even explosive) in the past few weeks is that Parker has enabled him to conserve his energy for the stretch run and postseason. Part of the reason that Ginobili has been able to carefully work his way back into game shape is that Parker has been able to light the offensive fuse when it's needed. Much of the reason the Spurs are feeling so much better about their health and their potential for another championship run as the playoffs draw near is everything Parker has done to get them here.

"It's always a process, especially for somebody who's not a natural point, somebody who is more of a scoring point and who has come to learn, kind of halfway." Popovich said. "We always talked about a spectrum where John Stockton's over here and we didn't want Tony to be the exact opposite, just scoring. We wanted him to come halfway to Stockton and understand the passing part and all the other things that he's acquired over the years. He's done a good job."

Good enough to ask the MVP question: Why not Tony Parker?

A really quiet case. He won't even get noteworthy consideration. It's going to be Lebron James, even though he's got Wade and Bosh on his team.

There's no money in giving a Spurs PG the MVP.

parker listed in ESPN top 5 MVP consideration. That is the best it is going to get post the dominant years of TD.

http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/page/...bamvp-rankings

2nd Team All-NBA would be cool.

Those cocksuckers with votes will vote Big City Appeal Guys or All-Americans as First Team.

Good writing, but Tell me why the only thing that stood out was listing Tony at 6'3".....Smh lol

He deserves it as much as anybody. Especially with Manu injured a bulk of the season. Tony Parker has given us something to cheer for and believe in!

Parker has no shot at the MVP trophy (obviously going to be either Lebron or Durant) but being top 5 would be nice and would certainly translate into an All-NBA 2nd team (or even 1st) selection. It will also improve his HoF chances (although he's extremely likely to get in just for being French and one of the top international players ever).

When I see Paul and Kobe ranked ahead of him I'm just going :lol :rollin :lmao

Tp getting overlooked but not by spurs fans.

Do fans get a single collective vote?

Good article, is Tony really 6'3 though? I thought he was a bit closer to 6'1.

Parker is 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)

he should be mvp

^^^ I tend to agree. :hat

I think Tony deserves to be in All-NBA 1st team, although they will give it to KB, Wade, Paul or Westbrook. But he will definitely get into 2nd team.

Also, I feel Tim quietly deserves a 3rd team. Look around the whole NBA for this, only Howard, Bynum and maybe Love are better than Tim. Other bigs might have better points and/or rebounds, but I would not trade Tim for any of them even without considering the legacy thing.

If anything, the media in SA should push for Tim.

I'll take another finals MVP over a regular season MVP any day of the week.

it doesn't help that he has played 400 less minutes than james and 500 less than durant.

He should be mention for MVP

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Chris

I'll take another finals MVP over a regular season MVP any day of the week.

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Me too! But it's not like we are asking Tony and Tim to play extra hard to get some accolades.

Since regular season is almost over, and we're talking about giving out prizes to recognize our players. It's more of media's and fans' job now. Why not push for it?

.....until he plays Mike Conley

2 games late in the season spanking LA on national TV should help his case quite a bit.

Kobe will get 1st team because of his scoring, but the fact that LA played well without him tampers that a bit. After that I don't see who can say with a straight face that Paul, Wade or Westbrook are better than Tony this year, or more important to their team's success.

they make that article and in their MVP ladder TP is not even in the Top 10

Quote:

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Originally Posted by will_spurs

Parker has no shot at the MVP trophy (obviously going to be either Lebron or Durant) but being top 5 would be nice and would certainly translate into an All-NBA 2nd team (or even 1st) selection. It will also improve his HoF chances (although he's extremely likely to get in just for being French and one of the top international players ever).

When I see Paul and Kobe ranked ahead of him I'm just going :lol :rollin :lmao

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He has 3 rings, a finals MVP, and is an integral part of the team with the longest best winning percentage in NBA history.... No way he's not getting in the hof

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Originally Posted by Fireball

they make that article and in their MVP ladder TP is not even in the Top 10

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That's because there's one team of college students for "feel good stories for small market teams nobody cares about" and another for "touting players from big markets and/or who make the highlight reel at least once a week".

Quote:

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Originally Posted by lakaluva

Parker won't even get one MVP vote... so shut the Fuck up you stupid ass nerds.

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When I was a young boy, my mother sat me down and read me a book. Eventually, I started trying this concept out for myself.They encouraged me. It came naturally for me, as it does for most people with any semblance of intelligence. I read Hardy Boys books all the time and even tried to read The Hunt for Red October at age eight, despite not fully understanding what the word defect meant.

So, after all these years, I attempted to read this thread. More importantly, I attempted to comprehend what I read.

It appears to me, that every poster recognizes two things: Tony Parker will get no consideration for MVP and Tony Parker should get consideration for MVP.

At no point, has anyone suggested Tony Parker will win the MVP.

As evidenced by your comment, you lack the ability comprehend what you read. I do understand that this is common for many Lakers fans and is often a natural result of being a homosexual.

Hopefully, the next time you are being pounded from behind, or you masturbate to the thought of Magic blessing you with HIV, you will remember one thing.

We fucking kicked your ass last night.

Sincerely,

Slutter McGee

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Slutter McGee

When I was a young boy, my mother sat me down and read me a book. Eventually, I started trying this concept out for myself.They encouraged me. It came naturally for me, as it does for most people with any semblance of intelligence. I read Hardy Boys books all the time and even tried to read The Hunt for Red October at age eight, despite not fully understanding what the word defect meant.

So, after all these years, I attempted to read this thread. More importantly, I attempted to comprehend what I read.

It appears to me, that every poster recognizes two things: Tony Parker will get no consideration for MVP and Tony Parker should get consideration for MVP.

At no point, has anyone suggested Tony Parker will win the MVP.

As evidenced by your comment, you lack the ability comprehend what you read. I do understand that this is common for many Lakers fans and is often a natural result of being a homosexual.

Hopefully, the next time you are being pounded from behind, or you masturbate to the thought of Magic blessing you with HIV, you will remember one thing.

We fucking kicked your ass last night.

Sincerely,

Slutter McGee

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:lmao

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Slutter McGee

When I was a young boy, my mother sat me down and read me a book. Eventually, I started trying this concept out for myself.They encouraged me. It came naturally for me, as it does for most people with any semblance of intelligence. I read Hardy Boys books all the time and even tried to read The Hunt for Red October at age eight, despite not fully understanding what the word defect meant.

So, after all these years, I attempted to read this thread. More importantly, I attempted to comprehend what I read.

It appears to me, that every poster recognizes two things: Tony Parker will get no consideration for MVP and Tony Parker should get consideration for MVP.

At no point, has anyone suggested Tony Parker will win the MVP.

As evidenced by your comment, you lack the ability comprehend what you read. I do understand that this is common for many Lakers fans and is often a natural result of being a homosexual.

Hopefully, the next time you are being pounded from behind, or you masturbate to the thought of Magic blessing you with HIV, you will remember one thing.

We fucking kicked your ass last night.

Sincerely,

Slutter McGee

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Outstanding. Uncharted win territory has been discovered.

Forget this one how about getting Tony another NBA Finals MVP award?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by lakaluva

Parker won't even get one MVP vote... so shut the Fuck up you stupid ass nerds.

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Butthurt much?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by lakaluva

Parker won't even get one MVP vote... so shut the Fuck up you stupid ass nerds.

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:lmao


Yeah, your asshole is a tad bit sore right now. We don't believe in using any type of lube whatsoever when we decide to ass-rape idiot-Fakers and their sheep-bandwagoners. Sorry about that.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Slutter McGee

We fucking kicked your ass last night.

Sincerely,

Slutter McGee

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Absolute, irrefutable, fargin' genius...tiger blood winning...

Parker has been awesome this year, especially in the fast break situation. In year past, he would have just rush towards the basket and try to score. He has calmed down so much this year. He slow down his dribbling and let the play develop for either himself or his teammate.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by TMTTRIO

Forget this one how about getting Tony another NBA Finals MVP award?

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I'm down wid it. :hat

In response to the article, no, Parker has almost zero chance of winning MVP.

Parker is wholly emblematic of the Spurs. He does a quiet, yet fantastic job of excelling at his craft in a league that's predicated on chest thumpers and attention whores.

Too often, the NBA rewards the latter. The former simply win. Parker will have to be content with knowing that he is, in no small part, responsible for engineering an amazing season for the most unassuming team in sports.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Slutter McGee

We fucking kicked your ass last night.

Sincerely,

Slutter McGee

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If there was an award for best post of the year, this would be getting a nomination & be the frontrunner