Reply With Quote
Trouble was, the Tony Parker who had showed up for the Spurs' first four games hardly had been worth an NBA minimum contract.
Parker resembles 'Tony of old'
Mike Monroe
Spurs majority owner Peter Holt decided, two days before the team's first game, that the Tony Parker who averaged 13.1 points and 5.1 assists through his first three seasons in the NBA was worth a $66 million contract extension.
Trouble was, the Tony Parker who had showed up for the Spurs' first four games hardly had been worth an NBA minimum contract.
The Spurs point guard had made only 32.8 percent of his shots, only 18.2 percent of his 3-point attempts.
Worse yet, indecision had begun to creep into his game, heretofore predicated on resolute certainty.
Friday night the "old" Tony Parker emerged in the Spurs' 93-84 victory over the Miami Heat at the SBC Center.
Parker made 8 of 16 shots, scored a season-high 18 points and had four assists. He turned the ball over only once and he logged 38 minutes, including the final 8:12.
"He just came out and played tonight," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. "He didn't worry about how good he had to play or anything like that. He just played. He looked like (the) Tony of old. He just competed."
Popovich had worried so much about Parker's imposing an unfair performance standard on himself that he recently sat him down for a heart-to-heart talk.
"I think he's definitely trying too hard to prove he's worth his contract," Popovich said before the game. "Because of that and because of his age I think he tends to get down on himself during games if things don't go well for him, rather than just play the game.
"He's way too hard on himself. He's just got to let it go and go play. I already know he's a heck of a player. He doesn't have to prove anything to anybody.
"It's become obvious the last two or three games what his problem is."
Parker didn't deny having put undue pressure on himself through the first four games, post-contract.
The talk with Popovich assured him there was no reason to try to do more than he had in previous seasons.
The good news: Parker believes he is past the self-imposed pressure portion of the season.
"I'm happy it happens now rather than the playoffs," he said. "Early in the season I can adjust. I'm still young and still got a lot of stuff to learn. I can take this as an example and try not to make the same mistakes.
"Tonight I played with no pressure and felt more comfortable and let the game come to me. I made hard cuts and tried to bring some energy."
The only disappointment for Parker was learning before the game that Heat point guard Dwyane Wade would not suit up because of a sprained right ankle sustained in a Thursday night loss to the Dallas Mavericks.
"Definitely, I was a little disappointed," Parker said. "I was ready for that matchup, especially since he was playing great so far. But that's OK. It's just going to be next time."
Parker said his own game should start benefiting from the emergence of Manu Ginobili as a true force.
"For me, it's great," Parker said. "I love trying to push the ball, and I know Manu is going to run with me and try to get some easy baskets.
"We've got a lot of unselfish guys, so we try to push the ball and find the open guys and that just makes the game more easy for us."
http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/b....4fb16baf.html
Trouble was, the Tony Parker who had showed up for the Spurs' first four games hardly had been worth an NBA minimum contract.
WTF??Parker made 8 of 16 shots, scored a season-high 18 points and had four assists. He turned the ball over only once and he logged 38 minutes, including the final 8:12.
He scored 21 points against Seattle.
^^ Hmmm, True that
Mike Monroe is better than this. Maybe he's putting too much pressure on himself.
The last thing Parker needs for his development is Puro San Antonio starting to hang that contract around his neck.
It took him how many shots?
Try 23 shots to do so. Not very efficient.
But yeah, the kid will be a force, I liked how he attacked the rim yesterday before going to his jumper. They looked straight but short or long. Hopefully, he'll find his mark more as the season goes on. The important part is that the team is winning.
Gotta like that.
Free Tony Parker....let him run and watch him soar....attack mode is when he is at his finest.
Tony played smart bball and was more intense in defense that I can recall so far in the season. He was IN the game; consequently his % went up as expected.
Great for Tony!!
Quote:
Originally Posted by ZStomp
WTF??
He scored 21 points against Seattle.
It took him how many shots?
Try 23 shots to do so. Not very efficient.
The point isn't how many shots he took. It's that Monroe got his facts wrong. Very unusual.
Yeah Marcus, because critisizing what a player makes is wrong right??
You sign for the big money, you earn it.
You dont, you hear about it. Similar to your girlfriend Malik who has regressed back to suckass Rose again.
Who said anything about how many shots it took him?
Exactly. Thanks Kori.
There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)
Posting Permissions
