Who is the best backup pg the Spurs have had in recent history?

[racm]

This thread has turned pretty comical with the CoM tripping over themselves to find ways to further their agenda.

I guess a preseason is needed for everyone.

To be fair, certain Argentinians ARE game-changers... too bad a certain one can't bring up the ball...

[jesterbobman]

Hill is definitely the best player amongst the bunch, the fact that he played with really good 32-35 year old Duncan rather than the ridiculously awesome 27 year old Duncan shouldn't be held against him. Also, the fact that Claxton occasionally outplayed per-pubescent TP, while Hill was backing up Prime TP makes it seem like maybe Claxton was better, but that's not the reality.

Ideally, Corey Joseph can become a Neal/Vaughn hybrid, capable defensively(Weakness of Neal and most of the good shooters we've had at backup PG), some ability to create for others(Doesn't need to be great with Manu as primary bench playmaker, just take a bit of pressure off of him) and enough shooting ability that he can't just be left alone.(Weakness of Vaughn and TJ Ford).

[Obstructed_View]

Steve Kerr was the backup point guard most of that season as Speedy couldn't stay healthy. Speedy had the game of his life in the finals where he hit three or four 15 foot jumpers in a row for the first time in his entire career. He was left completely open because everyone knew he couldn't shoot and he came out with a Serge Ibaka like performance. Yes, he had a good game. No, he's not in the top five in Spurs' backup point guards since the '99 le.

The best backup point guard the Spurs had was probably Anthony Carter if they'd held on to him.

[boutons_deux]

Speedy went to have have a great career, while Tony floundered and disappeared, proving who was superior.

[Spurs Brazil]

I saw that game 6 against the Mavs during the offseason. The whole team was awful in the 1st half. Only Jax made some shots. Even TD was playing bad, his worst game of the series. TP was sick and Speedy did OK in the 1st half but was awful in the 3rd. Jax started the run with 2 triples and Kerr finished the job. Kerr also did a very good job playing D against Nash. Speedy was a non factor in that game.

[Leetonidas]

I guess I kinda forgot about Hill somehow. He's definitely the best backup PG we've had overall. There was a point in time where people were arguing on this board whether to trade Tony and give the reigns to Hill. Glad TP cleared that one up

[Cane]

If I can't go with Manu, I'll go with Parker who came off the bench vs the Suns What a terrible series

[Leetonidas]

I like to forget it ever happened. Getting swept by the Phoenix Suns was the most embarrassing moment of the TD era. I still have nightmares of Dudley and Amundson owning us

[spurspokesman]

^ Kerr bailed out Claxton in Game 6 against the Mavs. That team, outside of Duncan, was all about going with who was hottest. Every other player got bailed out during the run. Holding it against Parker for only outplaying Kidd for half the Finals instead of the entire Finals is pretty tough when he was about 13 years old at the time.

Still Pop's best coaching job ever and top five in NBA history.

And Jax. Not just bailed out parker but our whole team lol. Epic game btw

[spurspokesman]

Man I just watched that 03 comeback on dallas again and got hyped. Kerr and Jackson were fearless. Man I remember nearly breaking my wall and irritating my mother with loud jumping and fist pumping lol.

[spurs_fan_in_exile]

Beno 2005 (prior to the finals) was the last time that I felt particularly good about backup PG, though I think that was at least partially shaded by the expectation that he wouldn't get fat and lazy in the years to come. I was just starting to really believe in TJ when he went down.

[TDMVPDPOY]

2005 beno > tp

he fck up steve nash in 05 it wasnt funni how he was able to pick pocket nash PNR with amare...

[spurraider21]

Speedy in literally one playoff run was awesome, for a few stretches at a time. Overall I think George hill is the easy answer. If you want playoff performance, check out the spurs mavs first round series. Hill had a 29 point game and was the reason we won that game and went on to live the series. Hill was so good that Parker trade rumors were swirling. All spurs fans were utterly shocked when Hill was moved. On the night of the draft and fr a few days I despised kawhi because he cost us hill

[Sean Cagney]

Backup PG is hard to say, Hill I would have to go with although he played more like a 2 at times. He had the most talent though easily.

[Sean Cagney]

I saw that game 6 against the Mavs during the offseason. The whole team was awful in the 1st half. Only Jax made some shots. Even TD was playing bad, his worst game of the series. TP was sick and Speedy did OK in the 1st half but was awful in the 3rd. Jax started the run with 2 triples and Kerr finished the job. Kerr also did a very good job playing D against Nash. Speedy was a non factor in that game.

Ehhhhh he was sick, Jordan had the flu game thats no excuse . I remember Jax hitting those threes to keep them in it, the last one where he ran down the court yelling is my fave, the NO and then the YESSSSS! TD was playing awful, remember at one point Walt Williams had more pts and I was like we are in for a bad one tonight! I did not see that comeback coming on the road, saw a game 7 with anything happening and I was scared to death! ENTER KERR! That game kicked ass.

I like to forget it ever happened. Getting swept by the Phoenix Suns was the most embarrassing moment of the TD era. I still have nightmares of Dudley and Amundson owning us

Yeah I choose to forget that. I remember damn Dragic going like Isiah Thomas on us out there After owning PHX for al those years and beating Dallas in round one I was hoping for alot more. That series was horrible.

[FromWayDowntown]

The funny thing about the retrospective effort to diminish Parker's role in 2003 is that the Spurs came home 3-1 up instead of tied or down 3-1 that year because Tony Parker was absolutely exceptional in Game 3 and played a very strong Game 4 despite a tough shooting night.

Points aren't everything, but in 2003, Parker came up big for the Spurs again and again and again:

- Game 3 of the First Round at Phoenix, goes 12-21 from the floor, scores 29 in a game the Spurs absolutely had to win.

- Game 5 against LA, goes 8-16 from the floor and 5-6 from the line, scoring 21 and playing 36 turnover free minutes in a game the Spurs had to have.

- Game 6 against LA, goes 9-19 from the floor and 7-10 from the line, scoring 27 in what ended up being a rout at Staples to close out the Lakers.

- Game 3 at Dallas, goes 13-23 from the floor and is absolutely unstoppable in screen and roll situations to seize back home court advantage against a 60-win team.

- Game 3 at New Jersey, goes 9-21 from the floor and 4-6 from three, with 6 assists and 1 turnover, putting up 26 in a Game the Spurs needed and won by 5.

It's easy to point at a couple of memorable situations in which Parker wasn't on the floor and claim that Claxton outplayed him, but those claims really have no corroboration with the facts. The truth is that if the Spurs had lost any of the games listed above, the road to the le ends or becomes considerably more difficult. But in each of those crucial situations, Tony Parker -- at age 20 -- came up huge for the Spurs.

They absolutely don't win a le in 2003 without him.

[timvp]

Great post, FromWayDowntown. To think that Parker did what he did at a younger age than Cory Joseph is today is ridiculous. Add on top of that he was the first European point guard ever .... and it takes a very irrational person to think Parker was a disappointment in those playoffs.

Oh, and it's not like he was up against pushovers. Prime Marbury, 29-year-old Steve Nash and 30-year-old Jason Kidd in addition to the three-time defending champion Lakers would be a gauntlet for any point guard in history ... much less a 20-year-old point guard from France.

[callo1]

Claxton did it when it mattered, tbh. There's always something to be said about that... see: Matt Bonner, RJ, Tony Parker, etc...

TP was a beast in the '07 Finals.

How quickly we forget.

[sprrs]

^ Kerr bailed out Claxton in Game 6 against the Mavs.

IIRC, if anyone bailed anyone else out, it was Jackson. Kerr put the finishing touches on that run, but Jackson brought them back from the huge hole they were in.

And if we're looking at game 6, TP was suffering from food poisoning. It's understandable that he had a sub-par game.

[FromWayDowntown]

TP was a beast in the '07 Finals.

How quickly we forget.

TP was a beast for a whole lot of the 2003 Playoffs, too.

[ElNono]

George Hill was, at the most, serviceable at the backup PG spot. He either brought the ball up and handed it to Manu or called up some ed up ISO. If Hill indeed was our best backup PG of the last 10 years or so, that only means we've been incredibly bad in that department.

TP was a beast in the '07 Finals.

I have it as 'okay' considering the compe ion, tbh...

[timvp]

Since we're talking about it ....

In the first four games of the 2003 WCF, here's how TP and Nash stacked up:

Steve Nash
17.3 points
5.5 assists
3.0 turnovers
3.8 rebounds
.444 FG%

Tony Parker
22.8 points
4.3 assists
2.5 turnovers
4.0 rebounds
.473 FG%




Parker owned Nash more than I remembered. Parker at age 20 dismantled a 29-year-old Nash who within the next three years would have two MVPs on his resume.

[ElNono]

Steve Kerr was good enough to guard Nash in that series... He wasn't the 2x MVP yet back then...

BTW, wild stuff:


Not sure we win that one with TP on the floor, tbh...

[FkLA]

Since we're talking about it ....

In the first four games of the 2003 WCF, here's how TP and Nash stacked up:

Steve Nash
17.3 points
5.5 assists
3.0 turnovers
3.8 rebounds
.444 FG%

Tony Parker
22.8 points
4.3 assists
2.5 turnovers
4.0 rebounds
.473 FG%




Parker owned Nash more than I remembered. Parker at age 20 dismantled a 29-year-old Nash who within the next three years would have two MVPs on his resume.

Yeah, the point is Parker is almost as inconsistent now as he was at 20. Its not like he lost that over the years. The following year he disappeared when we got back door swept by the Lakers and just this past season he disappeared for all but two quarters of Game 6 as we got backdoor swept by the Thunder.

[timvp]

Yeah, the point is Parker is almost as inconsistent now as he was at 20.

Since when was that the point?




CoM struggling to begin the preseason . . .