very good article on tony

[fred33]

SALT LAKE CITY — Tony Parker has a few items to report.
For one, his fiancée was not subjected to anything worse in the stands Saturday than she's already endured in, say, Detroit.

For another, Parker did not take Deron Williams to dinner again and insist he try the crème brûlée.

So how did Williams come down with a stomach flu that caused him to miss Sunday's practice?

"Wasn't me," Parker said, smiling.

Crème brûlée, the dessert choice that once forced Parker to sit out a game in another conference finals, might be the only way the Spurs stop Williams. As Gregg Popovich says, the Jazz point guard is becoming another Amare Stoudemire to the Spurs; they are "holding" Williams to a 30-point average.

But Parker isn't to blame for what the other team's point guard has been doing, just as he isn't to blame for the Spurs' lack of grit in Game 3. And this is a career achievement.

In the past, after a game such as Saturday's, most would be blaming Parker for something.

Parker, if anything, was the reliable Spur on Saturday. He penetrated, found open shooters and remained accurate enough with his revamped jumper to score 25 points.

It's the culmination of talent meshing with experience, as well as the lessons of Chip Engelland, his shooting coach. It's also a difference between the point guards who shared a French meal in San Antonio before Game 1. Whereas Williams came into the league with a heightened sense of pace and a more advanced skill set, Parker has needed to add layer upon layer to get here.

There have been a lot of added layers over the years, and that's another difference between Williams and Parker. Williams is in his first NBA postseason, and Parker will start his 95th playoff game tonight. That's a staggering number for someone who is just two years older than Williams, and that's a reason to think Parker can adjust to how the Jazz defended him Saturday.

Then, Utah opted to go under the screens to stay in front of Parker, and Utah did a better job of collapsing on Parker when he entered the lane. Parker thinks he knows the answer.

"I have to make decisions more quickly," he said.

He's tried to make these decisions throughout his postseason career, and they haven't been easy ones. He threw in 21 points against Gary Payton in his first playoff game, in 2002, and he remembers those days with these words: "I didn't even know what the playoffs were about. I just played free."

In the next series, against the Lakers, he went for 20 points in a half against Derek Fisher. That's also when he found out just how confusing his job would be. Popovich didn't want him to be THAT free.

He would start for the champions the next season, but the crème brûlée moment said a lot about his status. The Spurs, forced to go to Steve Kerr, won in Dallas without Parker and followed the same pattern in the Finals against the Nets. Speedy Claxton became Parker's closer.

The next year, Parker again played free against the Lakers, staking the Spurs to a 2-0 series lead. Then, Phil Jackson simply packed in his defense, and Parker went limp in Los Angeles.

The manic swings have been less dramatic since, and this series tells of further improvement. This time, when the Spurs went on the road with a 2-0 lead, Parker was the one who held up.

His coaches say he's never been more complete, but Parker doesn't celebrate at the news. He thinks he can get better and will peak when he's about 28 years old.

"I still see myself as a work in progress," he said.

If the progress is to continue in this series, Parker will need to match Williams. And don't be surprised if the Spurs take that further tonight. Bruce Bowen made for the perfect defender against Steve Nash, but now, when Bowen hangs on Williams, Williams uses his strength to create space.

Parker might be better at staying in front of Williams, which is how the Spurs played Utah during the regular season. And here's another item Parker has to report.

He says he wants the job.

[gilmor]

I was really impressed with Tony Parker in this Spurs vs Jazz series. He has showed his maturity in handling the momentum of the game very well. His assists and his scoring abilities spoke volumes of his maturity this season. In the second half, Tony was looking for his team-mates more nowadays instead of continuously jacking 2s or attacking the rim, this is definitely different from the Tony Parker in the past.