Aldridge splash irrelevant if Tony Parker keeps slipping

[sasaint]

There's going to be tons of match up problems. SG shooting 3's over him or forcing him to play tight. They'll blow around him forcing someone to help and leaving someone else open. Teams will do to the Spurs like they have done.

So, basically you think that Tony won't even be capable of playing defense to the level he has in the past? Wow, it's not like he used his quickness or speed to great advantage on defense at any point in his career. I don't think he is any greater liability now than he ever has been, and we have overcome it.

[ElNono]

True, Patty has decent handles. But I am concerned that forcing him into the role of principal ball handler for long stretches would have an adverse impact on his shooting, which we need more than ever this season. As for McCallum, you are seeing something that I do not. Yes, he is largely an unknown quan y, but what I have seen does not lead me to believe that he is "serviceable" against anybody but the opponents' scrubs in mop-up time. Basically Tony and Manu are the guys who will have to bring the ball up the floor especially against pressure. Patty will need to some, and Kawhi, also, against favorable match ups. But I really want those guys concentrating on what they do best.

All I'm saying about McCallum is that it's ridiculous to make an assessment of his talent over 4-5 games when All-Star talent like LMA had struggles of his own. This team is a melting pot right now, trying to figure itself out and what Pop wants this team to be.

I thought in a couple of games he was aggressive and played relatively well. You know, hints of having a handle on things. In others he flat out sucked.

He could easily end up being a bust, as he could easily end up being a serviceable player. But I think it's premature to count him out in late October.

[Kikoluna]

Thanks for thread. You might be called a torta eater by those who don't see parkers decline though

[Mr.Bottomtooth]

http://espn.go.com/nba/tradeMachine?tradeId=nfp9ppf

?

[SpursforSix]

So, basically you think that Tony won't even be capable of playing defense to the level he has in the past? Wow, it's not like he used his quickness or speed to great advantage on defense at any point in his career. I don't think he is any greater liability now than he ever has been, and we have overcome it.

Slower is slower. He'll be a greater liability.

[Mikeanaro]

Thanks for thread. You might be called a torta eater by those who don't see parkers decline though

You are welcome man.

[sasaint]

Slower is slower. He'll be a greater liability.

The linked article and this thread were really talking about offense, not defense. Even so, your comment about defense sounds good but is really a logical fallacy. Defense is as much (or more) about position, effort and especially "smarts" in a team context, than it is about speed. It is not a simple foot race. But if it were, your argument would be something like: Parker was once capable of reaching 100mph by giving 100% effort; but now he can only reach 80mph with 100% effort. My argument is something like: Parker once was capable of reaching 70mph by exerting 70% effort; but now he has to exert 90% effort to reach 70mph. I believe this is possible, especially if he is expending much less energy on the offensive end as a result of his taking on much less of the offensive load - which is the case. On the other side of my analogy, if he gives the same 70% effort and only reaches 50mph, he will quickly find himself in Pop's doghouse. I do not expect it to happen, but Tony's D could actually improve. Great players find ways to help the team when their primary skill is off and even when it begins to fade. Is Parker a great player? i never thought so, but he has been resilient enough to first survive and then thrive under Pop.

[DJR210]

#TradeTony

The Knicks/Lakers don't have anything we need.. They're the only team's stupid enough to take a terrible contract like Tony's and even that's reaching.

[apalisoc_9]

Not necessarily true. The '14 championship was won with pretty mediocre contribution from TP, tbh.

I might reconsider my take between Messi and Ronaldo if you keep up with these truth bombs..

[Kawhitstorm]

The addition of LMA/West will prevent him from pounding the air out of the ball trying to get into the paint since he can just pitch the ball out to LMA/West if the defense collapses unlike Tiago/Baynes or even hesitant Tim/Diaw. All he has to do is not turn the ball over or force shots which is both doable. As far as his defense, he should have more energy to put some effort on defense with the lessened burden on offense come playoff time.

[james evans]

I think Pop feels he can transform Tony into more of a playmaker... he did the same with Manu. We'll see if it works out.

it's too late for that . If he hasn't wanted to pass the ball in 13 years, bringing in Aldridge isn't gonna change him now.

[look_at_g_shred]

Manu is one of the greatest facilitators of all time. Parkers offense was the only positive he ever brought to the Spurs. He has zero value now that he can't score.

This is the truth.

[james evans]

Exactly. This is what I've been saying all along. His defense is the real worry.

it's not a worry. He just can't play any and refuses to try most of the season.

[Mikeanaro]

This is the truth.

Yes but at least if he accepts to pass the ball, that will be a huge improvement I was watching the game vs PHX the other day and he attempted one of his slow layups, fell to the floor no call and I was like... why you keep doing this?

[DenialTwist]

Ouch. This will probably be the Tony Parker "narrative" all season. I've already heard on several nba podcasts from commentators saying that they don't trust Parker's health, production and decline. Even two of the Spurs beat writers said they don't think the Spurs will make the WCF. They both predicted it would be OKC partly because of the Spurs backcourt and Parker's unpredictability.

[DarrinS]

TP = weakest link

[eric365]

Not necessarily true. The '14 championship was won with pretty mediocre contribution from TP, tbh.

You probably didn't watch Game 7 vs the mavs
Or the first games vs the Blazers just after they were on fire in the 1st round
Or during the finals when Miami defended a lot on Tony except the last 2 games


That said the spurs obviously can win at this point without a good Tony Parker or even without him at all
We just have to make a trade for a decent PG to stars with Mills taking 20 mpg

With Aldrige, Duncan and West, you can give up Diaw to get a decent PG before the trade deadline

[DarrinS]

You probably didn't watch Game 7 vs the mavs
Or the first games vs the Blazers just after they were on fire in the 1st round
Or during the finals when Miami defended a lot on Tony except the last 2 games


That said the spurs obviously can win at this point without a good Tony Parker or even without him at all
We just have to make a trade for a decent PG to stars with Mills taking 20 mpg

With Aldrige, Duncan and West, you can give up Diaw to get a decent PG before the trade deadline

Lol, Diaw was arguably more valuable than TP in that 2014 run.

[Chinook]

The Knicks/Lakers don't have anything we need.. They're the only team's stupid enough to take a terrible contract like Tony's and even that's reaching.

Tony and Boban for Calderon and O'Quinn. Would get the Spurs a PG who's already pretty much the player Tony's trying to develop into and gets an upgrade at the fifth-big spot who could eventually start next to LMA. Spurs also get under the tax. Knicks get star power while giving up essentially nothing. And they keep their cap space pretty much intact for next off-season.

[SpursforSix]

The linked article and this thread were really talking about offense, not defense. Even so, your comment about defense sounds good but is really a logical fallacy. Defense is as much (or more) about position, effort and especially "smarts" in a team context, than it is about speed. It is not a simple foot race. But if it were, your argument would be something like: Parker was once capable of reaching 100mph by giving 100% effort; but now he can only reach 80mph with 100% effort. My argument is something like: Parker once was capable of reaching 70mph by exerting 70% effort; but now he has to exert 90% effort to reach 70mph. I believe this is possible, especially if he is expending much less energy on the offensive end as a result of his taking on much less of the offensive load - which is the case. On the other side of my analogy, if he gives the same 70% effort and only reaches 50mph, he will quickly find himself in Pop's doghouse. I do not expect it to happen, but Tony's D could actually improve. Great players find ways to help the team when their primary skill is off and even when it begins to fade. Is Parker a great player? i never thought so, but he has been resilient enough to first survive and then thrive under Pop.

[DJR210]

Would get the Spurs a PG who's already pretty much the player Tony's trying to develop into

[Mr.Bottomtooth]

How much regression from Tony would it really take for PATFO to make some kind of move? If he's still ting the bed close to how he did against the Clippers around January, does the team really continue to give him 25-30 minutes? It's really hard to tell when PATFO will draw the line, because they've never dumped a player who's meant so much to the franchise's history.

[Chinook]

It's not really a joke. Jose can assist at a high rate and space the floor. He's not a guy you can run an offense through, but he can facilitate it for better players. Obviously, you'd want Tony to get some defensive toughness in his game to help him body up two-guards (and allow Green and Kawhi to guard PGs), but offensively, Calderon is a great template for Parker to follow.

[DAF86]

You probably didn't watch Game 7 vs the mavs
Or the first games vs the Blazers just after they were on fire in the 1st round
Or during the finals when Miami defended a lot on Tony except the last 2 games


That said the spurs obviously can win at this point without a good Tony Parker or even without him at all
We just have to make a trade for a decent PG to stars with Mills taking 20 mpg

With Aldrige, Duncan and West, you can give up Diaw to get a decent PG before the trade deadline

Yeah, I watched all of those things but that doesn't take away the fact that his playoffs were pretty mediocre, tbh.

[DJR210]

It's not really a joke. Jose can assist at a high rate and space the floor. He's not a guy you can run an offense through, but he can facilitate it for better players. Obviously, you'd want Tony to get some defensive toughness in his game to help him body up two-guards (and allow Green and Kawhi to guard PGs), but offensively, Calderon is a great template for Parker to follow.

I know, that why I 'ed

Who would have thought this 3 years ago