Parker or Ginobili: Who Takes the Bigger Next Step?

[TMTTRIO]

Well Manu said before the game last night that this is really the first time he's felt comfortable so hopefully he will have a great year and so will Parker.

[Ghost Writer]

Brodels, if Parker wants to go from being a hyped-up young PG to an upper crust player in this leahue, he has to do more than run around and shoot.

In today's NBA, can you name me one starting PG that isn't asked to score?

Saying the Spurs need Parker to score is obvious. When you have Bowen as your starter, you need everyone to fill it up.

The Spurs would be more successful if he was a more well-rounded PG.

People bestow all this praise on Parker like he's a top 5 PG. I'm still not sure if he is top 10. Maybe top 15.

Until he can show me that he can be a leader, drop 6+ assists per game and consistently be a factor in multiple games in a row, he's still an up-and-comer to me.


P.S.

And Rasho is better than you think at catching a ball in transition and laying it in. We're just so used to see him clumsily flubbing around in the half court.

[Ghost Writer]

Where is Brodels?

Parker is not an All-Star yet, people.

He needs to be a more complete PG.

[Brodels]

Where is Brodels?

Parker is not an All-Star yet, people.

He needs to be a more complete PG.

I didn't say that he was. If you bothered to stick around then you would realize that I've been harder on Parker than any other person in this forum over the past month. I don't think he's an all-star either, and he certainly isn't top five right now.

That having been said, you need to look less at what makes traditional point guards great and more at what the Spurs need from the position. Sure, Parker needs to improve his playmaking ability. But he needs to be a score-first point guard. They need him to score points more than anything else.

Fact: The Spurs have several quality playmakers in Barry, Manu, Duncan, and Beno.

Fact: The Spurs don't have a consistent second scorer and have only one player of consistently putting up 20 points throughout the course of a season.

The Spurs can survive with Barry, Manu, Duncan, and Beno as the playmakers. They need someone to score points this season, and Parker is the best choice.

[Marcus Bryant]

I will be pissed if that b1tch Kidd comes here ina deal. Let him suffer on NJ's IL.

Why? After all, the Spurs don't have any real talent outside of Duncan, right?

[spurster]

My answer is: both at the same time.

With TD taking up so much attention, you might be able to focus a little more on either Manu or TP, but certainly not both. If a team perceives one of these two players to be more of a threat, then that leaves the court more open for the other player.

[RobinsontoDuncan]

hmmm.... im the only one who said manu would be better, i need to get some props....

[Nikos]

hmmm.... im the only one who said manu would be better, i need to get some props....

For what, the season just started.

Team needs both of them to play well.

[exstatic]

Manu. He's just a more mature player. He already had a game that just needed adaptation to the NBA. Tony's just barely found his. I think eventually, Tony will be the more "star power" player. I know this sound like a broken record, but he's ing 22. Manu was already 25 when he hit the league.

[Ginobilly]

I think Manu should be. Manu is getting old and Tony and Pop should let him have his day in the sun.

[Ghost Writer]

Brodels, Manu is already a better playmaker than Parker and is emerging as a consistent second scorer.

Parker?

More of the same inconsistency.

If Kidd came to the Spurs, you would expect him to be a score-first PG?

Um, no.

Parker is not a good playmaker, regardless of what you think his primary responsibility is on this team.

[Jimcs50]

Manu will be a superstar...TP will be a well traveled pro.

[Marcus Bryant]

If Pop would unleash Parker then he would be that playmaker. Just like 4Down, the motion O results in Parker giving up the ball and the decisionmaking rather often.

Pop just needs to let go. He was able to do that with AJ. There's no reason why he can't now with TP.

[Ghost Writer]

I'm not sure if it's that simple.

I never saw Parker do a lot of playmaking for France.

I just don't think that playmaking is high on PArker's skill set.

That's why Pop was attracted to Kidd.

P.S.

I would like to see the Spurs run more and Parker be given more liberty to create for himself and others. You're right in that the offense is not conducive to free wheeling, but we do see Barry and Ginobili cutting and passing more than Parker.

[Marcus Bryant]

Sure, Parker is not a Kidd. Kidd didn't want to play in SA long term. Parker does. Deal with it.

[Ghost Writer]

Um, what?

My contention is that even if Pop took the training wheels off, Parker is simply not a great distributor.

There's been no evidence of him racking up assists on any team at any level.

This is not to say that he doesn't have it in him, but we have not seen this.

[spursfaninla]

I dont' think the spurs need a pass-first pg to win it all. Parker, as an adequate passing pg, is fine because of the other positives he brings to the table; his excellent ability to break down an offense with his quickness, clutch play, excellent transition play, adquate 3 pt shooting and decent perimeter d.

If his jumper starts to show up, which according to the summer work he did should happen, his impact will be felt even moreso.

We pass just fine; look at our assist numbers as a team. Our pf% is good, also a mark of a team taking good shots. I am not worried, I think this is a non-issue.

His recent up and down play is unlikely to be chronic; everyone has good and bad games, and our 4 game sample is utterly small. Chill people.

The question about parker this year is when will his scoring consistently go to the next level (18ppg+).

[Marcus Bryant]

There's been no evidence of him racking up assists on any team at any level.

Were you paying attention last season? He certainly put together a number of games with high assist totals.

[bigzak25]

parker can score that consistently in the run n gun offense. in our offense, no. the wheels fell off of our playoff hopes last year when parker was not allowed to run. whether that was by his choice, pop's choice, or the lakers defense, i do not know. combination?

[Marcus Bryant]

How exactly is Parker supposed to rack up assists when the Spurs are running a motion O?

[Jimcs50]

I dont' think the spurs need a pass-first pg to win it all. Parker, as an adequate passing pg, is fine because of the other positives he brings to the table; his excellent ability to break down an offense with his quickness, clutch play, excellent transition play, adquate 3 pt shooting and decent perimeter d.

If his jumper starts to show up, which according to the summer work he did should happen, his impact will be felt even moreso.

We pass just fine; look at our assist numbers as a team. Our pf% is good, also a mark of a team taking good shots. I am not worried, I think this is a non-issue.

His recent up and down play is unlikely to be chronic; everyone has good and bad games, and our 4 game sample is utterly small. Chill people.

The question about parker this year is when will his scoring consistently go to the next level (18ppg+).

Maybe we can win it all with Parker not being a pass first PG, but he sure as needs to shoot better than 33% for the Spurs to win it all. If your shot is not going down, start passing more, stop jacking it up.

He can not even make a layup. Last night Barry hit him with a Sports Center highlight pass, but Parker blew the reverse layup and Barry was robbed of an assist and some primetime exposure.

[Jimcs50]

How exactly is Parker supposed to rack up assists when the Spurs are running a motion O?

I bet Nash or Kidd could average double digits assists in our offense.

[Marcus Bryant]

Sure, because Pop wouldn't tell them to give up the rock early in every ing possession.

[Jimcs50]

Sure, because Pop wouldn't tell them to give up the rock early in every ing possession.

So you think this is a Pop problem, not a Parker problem?

[Marcus Bryant]

Ultimately it is a Pop problem. I don't think it's TP's call to bring the ball up and immediately give it up all the time.