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I don't like hearing this..
Ailing Parker pours in 28
Jeff McDonald
INDIANAPOLIS — Spurs guard Tony Parker spent his All-Star break in a manner in which he had become completely unaccustomed.
He flew out to Malibu, Calif., to spend four days with his actress wife, eschewing all physical activity more strenuous than lifting the remote. Instead of playing in the NBA's midseason classic, as he had three of the previous four years, Parker watched the first five minutes on TV, then headed out to Valentine Day's dinner.
“I had a great time off,” Parker said Wednesday after the Spurs resumed their rodeo trip with a 90-87 victory at Indiana. “Four days in the NBA feels like a month.”
By that equation, Parker might have been better off with eight days rest. If it wasn't various ankle sprains bothering him throughout the season's first half, it was the plantar fasciitis in his left foot. A new injury, a strained left hip flexor, kept Parker out of the Spurs' final game before the break.
Re-energized, if not completely rehabilitated, Parker scored 28 points to help the Spurs fend off the Pacers at Conseco Fieldhouse.
Equaling the second-best scoring night of the season, Parker shrugged off the flaring pain in his hip to lift the Spurs past their first-game-after-the-All-Star-break blues, pushing them 10 games over .500 (31-21).
“Tony was tired,” coach Gregg Popovich said. “I'm not sure what he did in L.A., but it didn't involve a Stairmaster or a court or anything like that. He needed the rest, because of his hip.”
For several stretches, Parker — who finished 11 of 20 and made two 3-pointers — was the only Spur who seemed able to put the ball in the basket. The Spurs shot 35.4 percent, marking the first time this season they won while shooting worse than 40.
Manu Ginobili contributed 18 points and three huge fourth-quarter plays, while Tim Duncan, the only Spur to actually spend All-Star Sunday playing basketball, compensated for one of the worst shooting nights of his life (4 of 23) by collecting 26 rebounds.
That total would have been a career high for Duncan, if not for the 27 he grabbed in a Jan. 27 win over Atlanta, a game in which he shot 5 of 20.
“I went Mo Malone on 'em,” Duncan joked.
Popovich opened with his 17th unique starting lineup, and one he said he plans to keep for the time being: Matt Bonner for Antonio McDyess at center, Keith Bogans for Richard Jefferson at small forward. The tweak didn't have quite the desired effect.
Indiana (18-35) raced to a 10-point lead, which the Spurs erased with a 20-4 run to take a 14-point edge of their own. The Pacers erased that with a 23-3 spurt in the second half and led 75-69 with 9:44 to play.
The game was knotted at 82 with 3:03 remaining when Jefferson nailed a tie-breaking 3-pointer. From there, Ginobili took over, completing a basket-and-a-foul over 7-foot-2 Roy Hibbert, then burying a 20-footer to put the Spurs up 90-84.
With Indiana behind by three in the final 30 seconds and needing the ball, Ginobili kept a George Hill miss alive for Duncan to swat to midcourt, draining what was left of the clock.
“It was a battle, the whole game,” Parker said.
For Parker, the entire season has been one. Having not played since Feb. 8, he figured the extended layoff would heal him. Instead, the hip began to bother him in the second half.
“He doesn't look 100 percent, but he made plays at the right time,” Duncan said. “I think he's missing a gear, but he's still getting by people.”
With no more Malibu vacations scheduled until after the season, this will be Parker's life, night in and night out.
“I can't do every movement; I can't go full speed,” Parker said. “But I'm a vet. I know how to get by.”
I don't like hearing this..
It may be a bit late in the season to change this, but what does Bogans provide that Hairston can't? I wish we'd given both Hairston and Mahinmi more time. Especially considering how things turned out without them.
I haven't been a Pop hater, usually benefit of the doubt and all that. But What. The . Bogans and Bonner? Seriously? Bonner, I can understand the rationale a little bit: he spreads the floor, has been making solid rotations etc etc.
Bogans isn't Bowen. Finish reading the entire name on the goddamn depth chart before you set the starting lineups.
Oh, and yes. Good to see TP score well. Hopefully he can get healthy or at least not worsen.
I haven't been a Pop hater, usually benefit of the doubt and all that. But What. The . Bogans and Bonner? Seriously? Bonner, I can understand the rationale a little bit: he spreads the floor, has been making solid rotations etc etc.
Bogans isn't Bowen. Finish reading the entire name on the goddamn depth chart before you set the starting lineups.
Oh, and yes. Good to see TP score well. Hopefully he can get healthy or at least not worsen.
.............. I just said this in another thread!
bonner + bogans = holocaust
Indiana Pacers 87, San Antonio Spurs 90
by Andrew A. McNeill
48 Minutes of
As fluid and sexy as basketball sometimes is, it’s not that way all the time. Many times it’s a game of miscommunication and error.
Wednesday night at Conseco Fieldhouse was one of those times.
San Antonio shot just 35% from the floor and 29% from behind the three-point line, yet still beat the Indiana Pacers 90-87.
Keep reading →
Right after I posted it I checked out another thread and saw something that had been posted earlier:
Looks like a lot of us need to have a group meeting with Pop.
It seems like Bogans is starting be default in order to move Jefferson to the bench--and I don't necessarily think that's to punish Jefferson as much as to relieve him of some pressure. I don't think it's good that Pop's still tweaking the lineup at this juncture, but I don't blame him so much for this one...
lol Bogans. Everyone knows that this guy sucks
Bonner and Bogans should not start together IMO. One or the other.
If either.
yeah. if jefferson really does benefit or feel more comfortable off the bench then fine start the bulldog bogans but whyyyy is dyess being moved for bonner. dyess is starting to play well and he needs to stay out there with the starting unit especially since he is most likely going to be the one closing games with that same starting unit down the stretch.
Bogans shouldn't be playing, let alone starting..
Come man, Bogans has to play. It's not like there's a younger, more athletic, defensive minded player who could be taking his minutes.
The thinking maybe that if Dyess starts, then the 2nd unit bigs would be Blair and Bonner--which would put too much pressure on a rookie 6'7" center to rebound (since Bonner is an outside 4)...whereas if Bonner starts, Duncan's size and rebounding could offset Bonner's poor rebounding, and Duncan's interior offense would benefit from the outside shooting of Bonner...and the 2nd unit bigs would have size and rebounding...
Or maybe Dyess is on the trading block? ;-)
you're way the out on that limb
Good job Tony!!
Parker used to have quotes like Pop told me to be faster so I went faster. Now at the ripe old age of 27 he sounds like he thinks he's as old as the rest of the Spurs.
As soon as you start saying stuff like I know how to get by, your career is on the downside. Was nice to have Parker the superstar for awhile.
look at the game, look at the stats and stop saying bull clichés.
Parker the last ten games is more than OK, even if you probably would like him to decline yet.
This is a problem.“I can't do every movement; I can't go full speed,” Parker said.
“I can't do every movement; I can't go full speed,” Parker said.
I hope Eva understands.
Tony played great last night, all things considered. It just hurts to see him hobbled like that. Unfortunately, we're not going anywhere if he doesn't completely heal.
He's on the decline.
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