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Absolutely correct there Ducks.
Like I said though if the Spurs are playing AWESOME basketball when Tony is going to come back you have to consider it.
with or without parker this team will always turn it on...now they are fighting for playoff positioning, say whatever you want about ghill or this team without parker....they are playing better without him and that is fact. spurs won 7/8 games in there last 8 games.
now if parker or ginoboli can be used in a trade to bring in a legit big to play alongside duncan would be nice.....
parker should be playin backup pg, not ghill....
Absolutely correct there Ducks.
Like I said though if the Spurs are playing AWESOME basketball when Tony is going to come back you have to consider it.
I seriously doubt Tony's ego can handle coming off the bench.. seriously.
bench RDJ then. RDJ's ego has been pruned to bareness so I don't think he'll have a problem playing off the bench. also RDJ would be more efficient and comfortable playing off the bench along with Manu who plays team basketball.
I think Pop's initial plan, once Tony went down, was to keep the rotation and roles they'd come to settle on as intact as possible. So he figured promoting Manu to the starting 5 would allow for better continuity long-term because once Tony returned, you'd flip Manu and Tony, the bench would most likely pick up right where it left off, and between Tony's history of returning from injury and the starting 5 he'd be playing with ... it'd lead one to believe it wouldn't take as long to get up to speed.
But they've smartly gone to RJ, told him they needed him to start and that he's going to play 38min., and I believe they'll stick with it until Tony returns; instead of just switching Manu and Tony, I'm guessing they'll switch the battery of Manu and RJ for Tony (which would restore the bench and keep RJ in relatively the same flow).
Had Mason not gone in the tank this or last year and Pop not lost faith in him ... starting Mason with Hill probably would've been the best option; they had their success last year. But he did, Pop doesn't and that ship's sailed . . .
Yeah, RJ plays best with Manu on the court. Manu's playmaking and ability to wreak havoc on defenses opens the court for RJ. So if Manu starts, so should RJ. If Manu comes off the bench, so should RJ. I really like the idea to bring TP off the bench if he can deal with it. A fresh Parker going up against tired starters or bench players would be worth it.
Two wins over bad teams may be a bit early for this sort of discussion, let's see how it looks against the better teams.
Tony IS a team guy, but he does seem a little more concerned with status than Tim or Manu. IF we take him off the bench when he comes back he may not be too happy, it could complicate any early negotiations for an extension.
I am, however, a big TP fan and the best case scenario is a healthy TP at the 1 and Hill at the 2. We were playing pretty well (finally) before Parker got hurt, too. A healthy Tony, Manu and Tim and we will still be a VERY tough out in the playoffs.
Yeah, TP and GHill work well together so no problem with the 2 of them starting as well. i just like it that you could mix up the starting 5 once in a while to confuse the opposition.. being unpredeictable can come in handy.
what happens if we get to the playoffs and we up like jameer nelson coming back in the finals last year he wasnt affective at all yet he was playing but not starting
By the time TP comes back, this team will have a certain rotation and a certain rhythm, regardless of what their actual record is without him. Parker will have neither the stamina or the playoff intensity right out of the gate to be a starter. I would think the best thing would be to keep the status quo and play him 20-24 mins a game in a Vinny Johnson "Microwave" role.
He doesn't have to worry much about setting people up or pacing himself, just get the ball and score. That's what he likes to do anyway. Play him with Bonner and Hill, a couple of good corner three point shooters, add Blair who he can P&R with, and there you go.
I'm not worried about the team too much offensively. I'm more worried about the effect Tony would have on the starters defensively. I think we've got a chance to be a pretty decent defensive club with this current rotation.
Some of you are acting like Tony Parker has never played in the playoffs or played with this team before..
Chemistry won't be an issue at all, these guys aren't new to each other anymore, we're in March..
As I said in the other thread, Parker was playing a lot better before the hand injury, and the Spurs had 3 good wins in a row vs. Phoenix and New Orleans..
the thing is RJ and Parker can't play on the floor together, at least in the offense the Spurs play, which is more of a half-court offense.
it's problematic because neither of them are good at spacing the floor since they don't have respectable range. both of them in there creates all sorts of spacing problems. being a three-point threat has been a theme for the Spurs going back to there 1st championship. it's what's made the offense work and i don't see that changing. i predict if Parker comes back and the starting line-up is TP, Manu, RJ on the perimiter, then we'll see chemsitry problems again.
so i guess my answer is he should come off the bench. hard to believe but i'm saying that but the chemistry has been great with Hill/Manu/RJ and it's not surprising. there's enough space to operate when all three are out there and they fit in terms of what they bring to the table of offense. there's a reason this offense is clicking so well and so fast and the offense when TP was in there hadn't even play well halfway into the season. in my opinion it had little to do with an "adjustment period" and more to do with conflicting skill sets that neither TP or RJ can help.
all i know is this: either TP or RJ is gone after this season.
+1
That Hill/RJ/Manu combo really brings out the best in all 3 and I get a really confident feeling when they are out there. I don't know if I'd mess with it even if Parker was 100%, much less playing at half-speed and hobbled up.
Spurs are defenitely going to have some interesting decisions this off season regarding Parker.
I don't think it's going to be about chemistry but more about him not being 100% when he returns.
I'd have no problems with him returning but coming off the bench for a while.
He will come of the bench anyway, kinda like Jameer Nelson last year.
Why do u call tony parker TL? Or am I missing something and TL is someone else?
Tony Longoria
I think he thinks its a slap in the face kind of like spurs fans calling Lamar Odom "Lamar Kardashian" which is a real slap in the face.
tony parker sucks on D
tony parker is a shoot first point guard
when tony plays everybody just stands around and let tony do his work.
in other words blair and dice wont score a lot of points and suck.
id rather have ginobli to be the playmaker
pg- hill
sg- ginobli
sf-
Pf- duncan
C- dice
we should continue to ride with this line up. so we could 'gel' till playoff time.
Bring tony of the bench!
tony sucks on D, and he will ruin the chemistry PERIOD!
The team was on a 5 wins streak when Parker got injured...
Tony had a positive +/- in these 5 games and a ulated +39.
I doubt the team playing better has anything to do with Parker being out.
But it might be a good idea to bring Parker off the bench.
Edit:
Since the injury we played:
- the Cavs without Lebron
- NYK
- Minnesota
- LAC
Tough schedule indeed
Tony Parker should get a nickname, how about Iverson Lite?
Second unit strong, is the first thing that comes in my mind. Asuming Manu keep coming from the bench not sure how protagonism and instant plays should works.
I'd take a llok to see what happen.
Fastrunner?
Longoria's toy?
Agreed...this will probably be the case, though I don't know if it will be best. My biggest worry is that Pop will keep starting RJ beside Parker. That would be a disaster.
The margin for error becomes razor thin once the Spurs enter the playoffs. They cannot afford to lose games while Parker gets back in game shape/reestablishes his rhythm(the fact that is on his shooting/primary ball handling hand is what concerns me the most). If the current starting unit is still playing well, I think they need to stay together so they are not digging out of 10-15 point holes at the end of the first quarter.
But hey...it's probably a moot point anyway. The Spurs will need a miracle just to get out of the first round.
Who cares, as long as they are winning?
Three things for this thread:
1. This is a valid idea as long as you start RJ. Watching this team play since TP went out, they're playing their best D of the year and actually look cohesive.
2. Tony's ego would probably never allow it.
3. You knew that ducks would be here getting butthurt about the idea.
What are you talking about? He won't care. Coming off the bench isn't bad because 1) He still gets paid good money 2) He will still finish games, which means Jefferson stays on the bench cuz they just don't play good together 3) He has less strain on his body, which means he can play in INTL in the Summer.
It's a win/win situation.
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