Spurs are obviously better without Parker.

[Cry Havoc]

Crown him prematurely? Do you realize what you said? Dude has been in the Spurs organization for 8 years man, he's a Finals MVP, etc, etc. What's premature about admitting he's an amazing point guard and one of the best in the league?

To me, the problem here lies in perception. It's the same with an NFL quarterback, because he's the leader, he gets the glory and the blame.

Tony Parker has been nothing but great for the Spurs, we should all be able to agree on that. He's helped us win 3 championships. However, the "pure point guard" advocates are slow to accept him because he's a score-first pg. Now, the complaints are even stronger because we actually do have multiple weapons and Tony has the tendency to keep the ball and drive it for the score or the kickout.

Let's all agree that while the new guys have to learn the system, Tony still has to learn the new guys. Tony has been used to a certain style of play for the last few years. That's years. For him to just change it up at the drop of a hat is very difficult, if not impossible. Maybe the drive an kick isn't the best option. Maybe the pick and roll with Timmy might work better with RJ. Maybe instead of Tony running off the back door screens, Tony should be the one setting the screen for George. It goes on and on.

I disagree with the statement that Tony had a bad game against Milwaukee. He ran the offense and created for other people. He didn't look like he was forcing the issue, which accounts for his low scoring total. However, he was a pass-first pg that night, with 6 points and 6 assists. The Spurs won and he ran the offense. Regardless of his personal production, at the end of the day, the win is what's important.

While it's true that RJ struggles when Tony is on the court, I don't think that it's any cause for concern. Like I said, Tony is still learning and Pop will figure out a way to utilize both of these "first-option" guys while on the floor together.

Again, it's still early, and even in wins we would be benefited from remembering that it will take some time before we are firing on all cylinders. Which, by the way, should be a scary thought for the rest of the league.

When Duncan has a bad game, it's "Oh, he's hurt" or "We didn't need him" or "he's saving it for the playoffs."

When Parker has a bad game, it's "Trade Tony." "Parker sucks", etc.

He might be the most unappreciated guard in the NBA. At least by his own fans. There are about 27-28 NBA teams that would KILL for Tony to be running point for them right now.

[romain.star]

When Duncan has a bad game, it's "Oh, he's hurt" or "We didn't need him" or "he's saving it for the playoffs."

When Parker has a bad game, it's "Trade Tony." "Parker sucks", etc.

He might be the most unappreciated guard in the NBA. At least by his own fans. There are about 27-28 NBA teams that would KILL for Tony to be running point for them right now.

29 NBA teams would kill 4 him

[timaios]

You are telling Tony is not at 100% but he still tries his best every game. Last I checked, he said he was fine and the training staff let him play. Injuries are therefore not an excuse. What about that Bucks performance? Everyone thought Parker would do well against Jennings but he played awful basketball, and chucked up bad shots. He lit up the Warriors who have almost no legs for 30 points and played well today. Credit has to be given for that. I would not be suprised to see Parker fail against the Houston defense next game because the Bucks played good defense on Parker and the Rockets also play good defense. Until he can put in 3 consecutive solid games and shows signs he could carry the team consistently, there is still going to be criticism whether he has 3 rings or not. Only because he is the team's best offensive player and contenders cannot have leading players who play like Jordan one night and Stevenson on another. I am not even talking about the Warriors game in general, I am sure he dominated against the piss poor Warriors. Until he plays like he does against the Warriors against a solid defensive team, don't crown him prematurely.

Obviously you never practiced basketball in your life.
I played basketball, so I will explain to you.
A basketball player needs RHYTHM, especially fast PG like Parker.
So, he is 100% healthy but his body needs to get used to the NBA compe ion.
Pop played him very little minutes in preseason, so he started the regular season not totally prepared.
Then the injury, a game back, injury again. NO RHYTHM...
Tony Parker needs to play 5-6 games in a row and then his body will find the rhythm of the compe ion.
If he plays awful in 6 games, then you can start to ask if there is anything wrong with him.
And i don't even talk about all the new guys... All that needs time.

Parker is a good passer (i think last year he was the 14th best passer in the league), but he's not Steve Nash or Jason Kidd. Some people here ask to much. Nash was 2 times MVP and Kidd (or Paul) was a borderline MVP.
When he's not passing the ball, it's not because of his ego but because:
1 - Pop wants him to attack attack attack.
2 - Passing is not one of his best skill.

If Parker tries to be Steve Nash, he will have 10 turnovers by game ! I am not sure the spurs fans will be happy with that.

[kbrury]

oh god can't believe what I'm seeing out of some spurs fans.

[kbrury]

parker likes to pad his stats, how a PG doesn't average 12+ ast playing with Duncan is laughable


imagine id Nash played with Duncan, Nash would have 15 ast a game




hopefully the Raptors are one of those teams

(Bosh/Parker trade)

lol Padding stats

lol Nash

lol T Parker 3 Championships

lol Finals MVP

lol more assists means better player

[ElNono]

I don't think Pop would play Tony if Tony is hurt or injured.

[aquiet20&10]

Anybody on this website who thinks the Spurs are better without Tony Parker, also probably thinks Spurstalk is a on-line shopping site for old western antiques.

[aquiet20&10]

IMO the ball 80% of the time in tony's hand make us worse than we could be as team.

[spursfan1000]

^^What he said...and he also needs to learn how to pass.

He knows how to pass, he just needs to do it.

[Cry Havoc]

parker likes to pad his stats, how a PG doesn't average 12+ ast playing with Duncan is laughable


imagine id Nash played with Duncan, Nash would have 15 ast a game




hopefully the Raptors are one of those teams

(Bosh/Parker trade)

[jag]

parker likes to pad his stats, how a PG doesn't average 12+ ast playing with Duncan is laughable


imagine id Nash played with Duncan, Nash would have 15 ast a game




hopefully the Raptors are one of those teams

(Bosh/Parker trade)

Do you take your own posts seriously?

[SpursWench21]

Parker had a solid game last night, but he needs just a biiiiit more conditioning IMO and look even better. I think his passing is coming along and his scoring will hopefully keep improving. He really need to get his jump shooting under control (although it seems he hasnt shot much this year from the field). Also...gotta make those FT's tony..

[SpursWench21]

oops, what i mean about his passing is that i think hes beginning to get more comfortable with the newbies on the team and is slowly but surely finding guys open more often for good looks

[sabar]

I seriously don't get it. It has to racism, or jealousy, or perhaps the fact that before Tony the Spurs haven't had a HoF caliber guard since Gervin, so maybe our fans just don't really know what the one of the top guards in the league is supposed to look like and it scares them.

You would think a fan-base that had Beno, Vaughn, van Exel, and Mighty Mouse at the point would be slightly more appreciative of what they have.

[sabar]

(Bosh/Parker trade)

Yep, this team needs more bigs that play no defense. Then we can cruise through the season with a bunch of SGs playing PG.

[Chieflion]

Obviously you never practiced basketball in your life.
I played basketball, so I will explain to you.
A basketball player needs RHYTHM, especially fast PG like Parker.
So, he is 100% healthy but his body needs to get used to the NBA compe ion.
Pop played him very little minutes in preseason, so he started the regular season not totally prepared.
Then the injury, a game back, injury again. NO RHYTHM...
Tony Parker needs to play 5-6 games in a row and then his body will find the rhythm of the compe ion.
If he plays awful in 6 games, then you can start to ask if there is anything wrong with him.
And i don't even talk about all the new guys... All that needs time.

Parker is a good passer (i think last year he was the 14th best passer in the league), but he's not Steve Nash or Jason Kidd. Some people here ask to much. Nash was 2 times MVP and Kidd (or Paul) was a borderline MVP.
When he's not passing the ball, it's not because of his ego but because:
1 - Pop wants him to attack attack attack.
2 - Passing is not one of his best skill.

If Parker tries to be Steve Nash, he will have 10 turnovers by game ! I am not sure the spurs fans will be happy with that.

LOL, rhythm, so for a guy who said he was healthy and got rhythm through practice has no rhythm, gotcha.

[ShoogarBear]

What I love is the argument that Parker doesn't get enough assists, so the Spurs should replace him with . . . George Hill.

[Chieflion]

Crown him prematurely? Do you realize what you said? Dude has been in the Spurs organization for 8 years man, he's a Finals MVP, etc, etc. What's premature about admitting he's an amazing point guard and one of the best in the league?

To me, the problem here lies in perception. It's the same with an NFL quarterback, because he's the leader, he gets the glory and the blame.

Tony Parker has been nothing but great for the Spurs, we should all be able to agree on that. He's helped us win 3 championships. However, the "pure point guard" advocates are slow to accept him because he's a score-first pg. Now, the complaints are even stronger because we actually do have multiple weapons and Tony has the tendency to keep the ball and drive it for the score or the kickout.

Let's all agree that while the new guys have to learn the system, Tony still has to learn the new guys. Tony has been used to a certain style of play for the last few years. That's years. For him to just change it up at the drop of a hat is very difficult, if not impossible. Maybe the drive an kick isn't the best option. Maybe the pick and roll with Timmy might work better with RJ. Maybe instead of Tony running off the back door screens, Tony should be the one setting the screen for George. It goes on and on.

I disagree with the statement that Tony had a bad game against Milwaukee. He ran the offense and created for other people. He didn't look like he was forcing the issue, which accounts for his low scoring total. However, he was a pass-first pg that night, with 6 points and 6 assists. The Spurs won and he ran the offense. Regardless of his personal production, at the end of the day, the win is what's important.

While it's true that RJ struggles when Tony is on the court, I don't think that it's any cause for concern. Like I said, Tony is still learning and Pop will figure out a way to utilize both of these "first-option" guys while on the floor together.

Again, it's still early, and even in wins we would be benefited from remembering that it will take some time before we are firing on all cylinders. Which, by the way, should be a scary thought for the rest of the league.

It is a new season and I believe everyone has a fresh start. He was an amazing point guard last season so don't live in the past cause he is not playing to those lofty standards, he is going into his prime so most of us have higher expectations of him. I did not mention Jefferson in my post so lets not talk about him. Many people talk about Parker not being selfish because he got 7 assists in the Warriors game. Just one game. First of all, assists do not measure how much a player is passing. It measures the amount of times a player passed that created a direct basket that showed on the scoreboard, in which case, it is 7. A player can pass exactly 7 times and get 7 assists. Not saying that is what Parker did. Assists are the most vague stat because of the statistician's point of view. Thanks to the offensive firepower that the Spurs have, those 7 assists came easier than maybe a player on the Bucks getting 7 assists. With a point guard who can set up offenses better, it results in open looks and consequently, higher field goal percentage usually. Well, in which case, the Spurs field goal percentage has been horrendous in many games this season for a team with such offensive firepower.

[timaios]

LOL, rhythm, so for a guy who said he was healthy and got rhythm through practice has no rhythm, gotcha.

Are you comparing practice to NBA compe ion ? Seriously ?

When you play basket, you know that. Practice is slow compared to compe ion.
And the injuries...
When you come back from an injury, often you are good the 1st game (full of energy) and not so good the 2nd game because you are tired, your body needs to learn again the rhythm of the compe ion.
The more you play, the more your body gets used to the compe ion...

I know my english is awful but it's not so difficult to understand. I think.

[Chieflion]

Are you comparing practice to NBA compe ion ? Seriously ?

When you play basket, you know that. Practice is slow compared to compe ion.
And the injuries...
When you come back from an injury, often you are good the 1st game (full of energy) and not so good the 2nd game because you are tired, your body needs to learn again the rhythm of the compe ion.
The more you play, the more your body gets used to the compe ion...

I know my english is awful but it's not so difficult to understand. I think.

No one is arguing that. For a vet like Tony, you would think he would know how important it is to get himself back into shape before he plays or get his minutes limited. I don't think he looked tired in the Bucks game. Not at all. I am comparing practice to NBA compe ion because the guys he practiced with is NBA material. Plus, practices does two things, improve consistency or skills and stamina.

[Interrohater]

It is a new season and I believe everyone has a fresh start. He was an amazing point guard last season so don't live in the past cause he is not playing to those lofty standards, he is going into his prime so most of us have higher expectations of him. I did not mention Jefferson in my post so lets not talk about him. Many people talk about Parker not being selfish because he got 7 assists in the Warriors game. Just one game. First of all, assists do not measure how much a player is passing. It measures the amount of times a player passed that created a direct basket that showed on the scoreboard, in which case, it is 7. A player can pass exactly 7 times and get 7 assists. Not saying that is what Parker did. Assists are the most vague stat because of the statistician's point of view. Thanks to the offensive firepower that the Spurs have, those 7 assists came easier than maybe a player on the Bucks getting 7 assists. With a point guard who can set up offenses better, it results in open looks and consequently, higher field goal percentage usually. Well, in which case, the Spurs field goal percentage has been horrendous in many games this season for a team with such offensive firepower.

Ok, first of all (why did you say first of all if that's the only point you made?), I don't understand your post at all. Was there a point to it or are you just playing devils advocate?

Secondly, you said that it would be easier to get assists because of our firepower, then you say that our field goal percentage has been horrendous this season. So, either Tony is better at passing than you want to admit, or....I'm not sure I understand your argument.

Fine, assists are a vague stat, but then so are points. For if a player was not receiving a great pass inside, then he may not have scored. Therefore, points per game is actually subject to assists made or offensive flow. So points are vague as well. So are blocks, maybe we should start counting the times that Timmy deters a player from trying to lay it up.

You can't just make things trivial in order to support your own arguments. Jason Kidd gets 9.2 assists per game, so he sucks because that stat means nothing, he may have only passed the ball 9.2 times.

Assists do matter, because they don't reflect how many times he passed the ball to an open teammate that missed the shot and numbers go up for good players. If a guy is a rebound king, he's going to have high rebounding numbers, assist king, then high assist numbers. If Parker has a great night, there's no reason to take that away from him, the stats show what they show.

I agree that Parker is selfish, but to me, he's selfish for the right reasons. He will learn and he will adjust.

[Interrohater]

Plus, practices does two things, improve consistency or skills and stamina.

Hmm....kind of silly to pretend that you know exactly what practice accomplishes, isn't it? What if it accomplishes three things? What if it only accomplishes one?

I'm sure practice accomplishes more than just those two things.

[Chieflion]

Ok, first of all (why did you say first of all if that's the only point you made?), I don't understand your post at all. Was there a point to it or are you just playing devils advocate?

Secondly, you said that it would be easier to get assists because of our firepower, then you say that our field goal percentage has been horrendous this season. So, either Tony is better at passing than you want to admit, or....I'm not sure I understand your argument.

Fine, assists are a vague stat, but then so are points. For if a player was not receiving a great pass inside, then he may not have scored. Therefore, points per game is actually subject to assists made or offensive flow. So points are vague as well. So are blocks, maybe we should start counting the times that Timmy deters a player from trying to lay it up.

You can't just make things trivial in order to support your own arguments. Jason Kidd gets 9.2 assists per game, so he sucks because that stat means nothing, he may have only passed the ball 9.2 times.

Assists do matter, because they don't reflect how many times he passed the ball to an open teammate that missed the shot and numbers go up for good players. If a guy is a rebound king, he's going to have high rebounding numbers, assist king, then high assist numbers. If Parker has a great night, there's no reason to take that away from him, the stats show what they show.

I agree that Parker is selfish, but to me, he's selfish for the right reasons. He will learn and he will adjust.

Look, Tony may be a good passer but he hasn't shown it. Someone has to bring up his bad points because Tony is not god. Some of you people act like he has no flaws at all and that is wrong. I said it should be easy for Tony to get assists because of our firepower but the field goal percentage sucks this season and Tony is not getting any assists, so what is wrong with that? Even his 7 assists has to be gotten because of the high pace the Warriors were playing. As a point guard, Parker's job is to control the pace, not let Monta Ellis' Warriors control it. I always thought assists were the most vague stat and there was nothing wrong with that. Don't bring Jason Kidd into this argument because he is a different player than Tony.

[Chieflion]

Hmm....kind of silly to pretend that you know exactly what practice accomplishes, isn't it? What if it accomplishes three things? What if it only accomplishes one?

I'm sure practice accomplishes more than just those two things.

Practice accomplishes at least two of those things I want to see, it is useless to talk about the other stuff because it is irrelevant to the argument at this point.

[spursfan09]

I think there is a lot of jealousy towards Tony Parker. Or maybe even racism. I think if you truly hate him as much as it seems like, you should take a break from the Spurs. Spurs aren't going to be w/o Tony anytime soon...