Parker dazed following collision
By Mike Monroe
Having survived the first month of the season with Manu Ginobili missing 12 games and Tony Parker out for nine, the Spurs got a fright in the third quarter of Tuesday's game against the Milwaukee Bucks at the AT&T Center when the two All-Star guards collided, with Parker crumpling to the floor.
A televised replay of the collision, with 1:40 remaining in the period, showed Ginobili's knee hitting Parker in the chest as he sprinted to double-team Bucks point guard Luke Ridnour.
Ridnour passed to teammate Richard Jefferson, who missed a 3-point shot. When Spurs forward Ime Udoka rebounded Jefferson's miss, the Spurs called a timeout to attend to Parker, still down on the court and looking dazed.
Parker returned to the game with 8:53 remaining in the fourth quarter.
“(Tony) got beat,” said Ginobili, “and when I saw Luke Ridnour going to the rim, I tried to sprint to do my best to contest, or block the shot. Tony was sprinting, too, and we collided.”
The collision was a lot more frightening for Parker, who didn't see Ginobili coming.
“Nothing hurt me at that point,” Ginobili said, “because I was kind of expecting it. Tony was the one just guarding the ball and then got hit. Usually, that's the one in trouble. But he was OK. He just got hit in the chest.”
Parker scored four points and had two assists after returning.
Hall passes: Spurs coach Gregg Popovich and Bucks coach Scott Skiles will be inducted into the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame in March.
“We're both part of the Hoosier mafia, I guess,” Skiles said. “I texted Pop (after the Hall of Fame announcement), but I don't know if he even gets texts, because I never heard back.
“I told him, ‘I'm getting in for my high school and college careers, and you're getting in for having won four championships.' I told him I'd definitely switch with him.”
Friendly foes: Spurs assistants Brett Brown and Chip Engelland enjoyed a chat with Bucks assistant Kelvin Sampson during warmups.
Sampson spent a couple of months with the Spurs last season after he was relieved of his duties at Indiana University during the season. Spurs coach Gregg Popovich had been well acquainted with Sampson when the two were assistants under George Karl on the Team USA coaching staff at the 2002 FIBA World Championships, and he invited Sampson to join his staff in an ex officio capacity.
“He was sneaking around in my office, pulling stuff apart and looking at plays and peeking at our game plan,” Popovich joked before Tuesday's tipoff.
Popovich said he was confident Sampson would land a job on an NBA staff.
“You never know, because jobs are based on timing and cir stance, but I knew, like everyone else, he was a heck of a coach and had a wealth of knowledge and a great work ethic, to go along with his abundant knowledge,” Popovich said.
I dont think Pop is a text kinda man. Like myself, I believe texts are for the younger generation. Why waste time typing on a tiny phone when you can dial the number and talk. Unless of course your bored. Pop has his wine when he gets bored. Thats all the text he needs to read. Which year is better then the other.
tony needs to stop laying on the ground in foetal position after he gets hurt.
he's tough as to drive to the rim night in, night out against all the big men of this league so he has to stop this bull .
Parker received a blow courtesy of the whirling dervish known as El Contusion
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