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Right on. It seems as if sometimes he thinks too much and doesn't let the game come to him.
His game management has been atrocious at times this season, but if he ever figures it out, he'll move from a very good player to a great one...
Tony needs to work on his game management skills. It's the next area of improvement just like his jumpshooting and free throw shooting was this year, and look what that improvement yielded us. He hit a very important J in the 4th and two clutch free throws. In years past he would have completely crumbled, but he's working on becoming a complete PG instead of just a scorer. Nevertheless, what Tony already brings makes the spurs real tough to beat and in the future if Tony improves even more he'll probably make 1st team all NBA.
Right on. It seems as if sometimes he thinks too much and doesn't let the game come to him.
His game management has been atrocious at times this season, but if he ever figures it out, he'll move from a very good player to a great one...
Spurs' Parker adds intensity in second half
Web Posted: 05/20/2006 01:26 AM CDT
Mike Monroe
Express-News Staff Writer
DALLAS — The Spurs trudged off to their locker room at halftime of Game 6 of their NBA Western Conference semifinal series against the Dallas Mavericks, trailing by six and in need of a spark. So coach Gregg Popovich went to the Spur who was struggling more than any other.
As he has on many occasions in the past, Popovich told point guard Tony Parker to get back to being aggressive.
It took Parker a while to apply Popovich's advice, but in the fourth quarter, Parker made one of the biggest shots of the playoffs and two free throws that iced the game.
After his poorest shooting game of the series, it was great consolation to the player who had led the Spurs in scoring in the regular season.
"Is it fair to say I struggle in the first half?" Parker said, grinning. "Oh, yeah. I was on fire."
Parker had scored 60 points in the previous two games, but in the first half Friday he missed 8 of 10 shots and committed three turnovers.
That's why Popovich put his arm around him at halftime and urged him to be the aggressive player who had become an All-Star this season for the first time.
"I was really proud of him," Popovich said. "I talked to him at halftime about how important it was for him to get into that game into the second half. We needed him to be aggressive, both for himself and for his teammates."
Parker believed he had been aggressive enough in the first half, no matter how ineffective.
"I kept shooting," Parker said. "They just didn't go in."
Parker's struggles continued into the third period, when he missed all three of his shots.
Though Popovich had been using his backup, Nick Van Exel, only at the start of the second quarter and fourth quarter in each of the previous five games of the series, he sat Parker with 1:03 left in the third and put Van Exel into the game.
That turned out to be as good a move as encouraging Parker to regain his aggression.
"I thought Nick was really solid while Tony was struggling," Popovich said. "He came in and didn't turn the ball over; moved the ball and got people in position. He got the ball to Timmy (Duncan) the way we needed to get it done.
"He played good defense, was really solid for us. I thought that was huge."
Van Exel had his best game since Game 1 of the first round against Sacramento. Though he scored only two points and had only one assist and two rebounds, he directed the Spurs' half-court offense well, and when he turned things back over to Parker, with 5:04 remaining in the game, the Spurs had an 80-77 lead.
Just one minute, 39 seconds later, Parker drained a 19-foot jumper that gave the Spurs an 82-81 lead, and they never trailed thereafter.
Parker also made two free throws with five-and-a-half seconds left, sealing the Spurs' 91-86 victory.
"I had to just keep being aggressive and hope it would turn around," Parker said. "It was just one of those nights. Nothing is going your way. I was just coming off from two strong games, but tonight was just not my night tonight."
PGs are unique in that they can go 0-10 and still dominate a game. I say two years from now Tony will have that in his bag of tricks.
I used to be really hard on Parker, particularly because people here verhyped him.
Since becoming more aggressive and accepting a leadership role, my opinion has changed.
My biggest problem was the lack of assist -- playmaking in general.
He steped that up.
I love the tear-drop.
And how can you complain about his scoring and FG%.
He will be more consistent, but who on the Spurs really is besides Duncan?
Parker is getting ready for Terry.
I don't know if this has been posted but I was surprised when I read it.
MARCUS BANKS ATTRACTING ATTENTION
'Apparently, the Wolves will have tough compe ion to sign point
guard Marcus Banks, who also is being pursued by the Lakers and
Spurs.
http://www.hoopsvibe.com/nba_rumors/index182.html
yes do a search it was posted yesterday
the games tp looks healthy
he kills the mavs
the games he looks hurt he does not
I guarantee that Parker bounces back from his bad game 6. He will be aggressive in game 7.
My bad!
i don't like using injuries as an excuse. I saw Isiah Thomas score 20 in the 4th quarter of a finals game on a severly sprained ankle and a severe limp.
I saw Sean Elliott play at a very high level with one Kidney.
I am glad it is monday
plenty of rest for both teams
get healed up to BATTLE
That kinda makes sense with the number of smaller guard rotations in the league and the fact that Manu seems permanently stuck around an average of 30 minutes a game. I think it's clear that the Spurs will need to upgrade the backup point spot this offseason. Beno's tenure with the Spurs might be coming to an end.
thomas was how old then?
sean played how long before then? was he a point guard?
I do not like injuries as an excuse or a fact either
but one big part of tp's game is his speed
he is working on his jumper
wants to work on his three point shooting in offseason
Isiah scored 25 points in the 3rd Q of G6 in the 1988 NBA Finals.
He was only out for 35 seconds after spraining the ankle. He finished the night with a jammed left pinkie, a poked eye, a scratched face, a ballooned ankle, 43 points, 8 assists, 6 steals, and enough respect to last a lifetime.
http://www.nba.com/history/isiahheroic_moments.html
Tony was horrible last night. So bad I was considering changing my screen name if the Spurs had lost
However, he did look a bit slow out there so I'm hoping that the 2 days off will do him some good. He averaged 30 some points the past two games and I have no doubt he can give us 30 again.
My biggest gripe with Parker last night was that he didn't seem to run the offense well when his shots weren't falling. There were two plays in a row last night where Parker had two awesome back to back assists where he penetrated, drew in the defense and passed to Finley and next to Duncan that helped the Spurs gain momemtum. I just wished he had done more of that instead of settle for some of those crazy 3 point shots he did.
Lucky for Tony, Harris was just as bad yesterday so they sort of offset each other. Game 7 is Do or Die, hopefully everyone on the Spurs from Parker to Beno brings it
TP has been very consistent this year and is the BEST penetrating guard in basketball. He is young and goes into "stupid mode" every so often, but it is Pop's job to shake him up, which he does, and correct his mental lapses.
I see TP as a franchise player, NO ONE can guard him one on one. Yes, I think he has a bright future with the Spurs. As a human, he is en led to bad games, Manu, Timmy both have them.
Parker was being used defensively last night, he did play bad and made some very quesitonable decisions with teh ball, but he did nothing "Bad" last night that stands out if you take a look at the entire series.
He still took the same early stupid jump shots, still dominated the ball at times, but he was being used in a defensive role last night for sure. I do not think he is that injured.
Pop monitored Parker's minutes and towards the end of the game I felt it was clear Pop was using him with defense in mind.
I think it worked. He did a pretty good job when he'd get back with all his energy. I was even expecting a classic parker steal-dunk combo. Maybe next game
GO SPURS all the haters
Spurschick, I agree. Tony looked dead from the beginning, walking the ball across mid-court and dumping a pass on someone rather than probing and attacking.
That used to be a pretty reliable indicator in the early minutes of his entire game, but this year he could be in that mode but still hit jumpers. He was totally bad last night until he scored those crunch time points.
After 18 years my memory is a little off. Isiah maybe my favorite player ever. He's a horrible GM and Coach though.
Yap Kori, 20 ppg but in How many shots?
In all the series Tony is:
117 Points in 110 Shots: 1.06 PPS (18.3 APG), when Duncan with 10 more have 185: 1,54 PPS (68 more), Manu with 31 less attempts have 9 Points more: PPS (126 Total Points)
But he have Only 2.8 Assists too, less than the half of the regular season
He´s 40% from the field, but in my mint he´s played better than his horribles stats, the 82-81 basquet was so great and his Clutch FT too, but in the second Q, with TD in fouls troubles, we needed some help from Tony, and he dissapear. Thanks god that Finley is in the team, because that help came from him.
stop complaining about tony i said he has won more games for us than any other spur this season
He is the most tenacious player I have ever seen. And yes, that includes MJ...
Parker comes up MONSTER at home.
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