Reply With Quote
Separated at birth.
Spurs must guard against inconsistency
Parker, Ginoboli still need to get under control
COMMENTARY
By Sean Deveney
http://msnbc.msn.com/id/6782734/
Updated: 6:45 p.m. ET Jan. 3, 2005
Folks in San Antonio have been looking all over for signs of Rasho Nesterovic's game, from the peak of the Tower of the Americas to the basement of the Alamo. Free-agent signee Brent Barry, an alleged sharpshooter, has struggled badly and dealt with a one-month stretch in which he made only four of 34 3-pointers. The interest of the Spurs in power forward Karl Malone (and vice versa) seems to fluctuate daily.
Holes? The Spurs have them, just like every other team. But they also have the best chance at a championship. That's because what this bunch of Spurs accomplishes has nothing to do with Rasho's rebounding, Barry's bombs or Malone's "hunting" trips. This season's team will go just as last year's went -- as far as Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili can take it.
Start with Tim Duncan, and you have a chance at a championship. He scores efficiently, he passes, and he is having his finest defensive season. But whether the Spurs can translate that chance into reality depends on Parker and Ginobili, who have gotten steadily better as the season has gone on and have helped the Spurs to a 25-6 start. "What we do now, when it is early in the season, that's OK," Parker says. "But we have been around and in the big situations, and we know that is what matters most."
Parker should know. He was a make-or-break guy for the Spurs last year. He rode a wave of hype after two Spurs wins in the Western Conference semifinals against the Lakers, playing with such quickness that Gary Payton seemed to be wearing concrete sneakers. Then came four losses in which Parker was terrible (31.0 percent shooting, 4.0 turnovers per game) and Ginobili was only marginally effective off the bench. That cemented the reputation of the Parker-Ginobili backcourt -- talented, flashy, but wildly inconsistent.
Bring in Malone, wake up Rasho, re-introduce Barry to the net -- none of that will bring the Spurs a le. San Antonio's backcourt of the future must become the backcourt of the present by becoming reliable. The Spurs have committed to both guards, signing Parker to a six-year, $66 million extension last offseason and giving Ginobili six years and $52 million. Now, Parker and Ginobili must pay dividends.
The early returns have been encouraging. Ginobili is playing with confidence. He has picked up the shooting slack from Barry by hitting 39.4 percent of his 3s and has been typically pesky on defense with 1.9 steals per game. Parker has improved his shooting after a slow start and had his best game of the season (14-of-20 shooting, 29 points) in a key win over the Suns last week. He's also playing the best defense of his career.
Ginobili and Parker still make iffy decisions -- each averages 2.6 turnovers. But they're pushing the Spurs' tempo and getting easy baskets in transition. They've helped boost the Spurs to 97.3 points per game, 5.8 more than last year.
"We are going to be aggressive, and sometimes you make a mistake," Ginobili says. "That's how Tony and I play."
The pair also has developed chemistry. "Playing with Manu," Parker says, "it is like playing with my brother. We have a sense about each other -- about where we are going to be on the floor. We just have to keep that going all year."
Preferably into May and June. Duncan is the league's most consistent player. Opponents will double-team him, but his height and passing skill make it easy for him to move the ball to the perimeter guys. Those perimeter players have the potential to be among the best in the league -- they just need to borrow a little of Duncan's consistency.
"If our outside guys are going, we feel we can win a championship," backup forward Malik Rose says. "With Tim inside, you know what you're going to get. But we need the guys outside to make their shots and play smart. That's going to be the difference."
Separated at birth.
Separated at birth.
Ginoboli... dude, get the name right!
Yeah that's why I put it in bold. At least he got it right throughout the column.I remember he spelled it wrong last season too.
Ginobili does more harm than good.
haha, basement of the Alamo
that article is right on, great read!
Ginobili does more harm than good.
SeguSpur
Huh?
Damn you are funny Sequ.
You can look at it 2 ways:
Statistic-wise: If you take a look at the efficiency rankings, you will notice your statement about Ginobili making more harm than good is plain stupid.
Intangibles-wise: There is no statistic way to show this, but I'm sure most people in this forum will agree with me that Manu brings plenty of "good" to this team in this category.
Either way, you are obviously wrong. What really bugs me is way you would make such a post. Not that we are used to any insightful remarks from you, but this one... just cannot be cemented in any way.
I think everyone on this team shares responsibility for being more consistent. All are hot and cold at times and lately that applies to Duncan especially.
SequSpur does more harm than good.
Sir Charles spells it GeenoBLEEE
Trade the bas . We can get real talent if we trade his ass. NJ just got VC.
PS: He is "harmful" to the team. He is a cancer.
There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)
Posting Permissions
