# Year End Player Assessment: Tony Parker



## KokoTheMonkey (Aug 4, 2003)

The numbers:

*Regular Season*
80 games, 34.2 MPG
16.6 PPG - 3.7 RPG - 6.1 AST - 1.2 STL - 48.2 FG% - 65 FT% - 27.6 3PT%


*Playoffs*
23 games, 37.3 MPG
17.2 PPG - 2.9 RPG - 4.3 AST - 0.7 STL - 45.4 FG% - 63 FT% - 18.8 3PT%



The Awards
None



The Low-Down:


Individually, he started off on a bad note and ended on a bad note. Everything else in between was pretty damn good though. He matured a bit this season in creating for teammates, knowing when and when not to take shots, and playing tougher defense. In the playoffs though, it appeared as if he was digressing in those same areas. While his FG% was fantastic this season, his 3PT% and FT% were career lows, and yet he managed to do even worse in both catergories during the playoffs. This was still the best season of his career though, and there was a time in the middle of the season when he looked like one of the best PG's in the game. He improved his consistency which is one of the main reasons why he enjoyed a career year, but he still has a way to go as far as having the right approach every night. 


Koko's Assessment:

People take a "What have you done for me lately" approach with players on this site and pretty much everywhere, so Parker got a little too much crap for things. Some of it was deserving, but this was still the best season of his career and he still made a noticeable improvement in his overall approach. He's only 23 years old, so he still gets breathing room for some of his stupid mental mistakes, but now that he's making big bucks starting next season, it's time for him to overcome this stuff. I liked how aggressive he was defensively this year, and I liked how he played with confidence for most parts of the season, but he still needs to improve his decision making and needs to understand that the PG's responsibilty isn't just to get the ball up and down the floor. Oh yeah, and he definitely needs to improve that FT%. The 3 point shooting needs to be improved as well, but if anything he needs to get that free throw percentage up 5-10 points. A PG shooting 65% from the line is pretty absurd. I give him an 8/10 for the season. While he could have played much better during the playoffs, he was pretty crucial for us during the regular season, and especially when Duncan and Manu were out. 

Your thoughts?


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## FreeMason Jr. (Jul 12, 2004)

I think Ginobilli was the reason Parker's stats went down. Ginobili basicly took over the roll of point guard during the playoffs. Overall I think Parker had a pretty solid season.


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## Sir Patchwork (Jan 12, 2005)

When he isn't overdribbling, he is a pretty good player. Detroit really brought that out in him, he dribbled way too much in that series. Outside of that though, I think Parker improves his decision making every season. Popovich says he is becoming more and more like Avery Johnson every year, and I agree with that. I don't think Parker has improved much at all on his game in a couple years, but his decision making is getting a lot better. He has become *very* good at knowing when to attack and when to pull out and run the offense. I rarely see him make that particular mistake anymore. He used to do it a lot.


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## Cloud786 (Mar 18, 2005)

8/10 in the regular season.
6.5/10 in the playoffs.


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## KokoTheMonkey (Aug 4, 2003)

What about next season? Do you see Manu carrying over his playoff performance or do you see Parker carrying over last season's regular season performance? Something in between?


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## texan (Jul 10, 2003)

I see Parker putting up 17/6/4 next year in about 30-35 MPG. What I see him improving upon is his mid-range jumper and decision making. He's not going to put up star numbers, especially in this system, so you won't see him mentioned as a top(not elite, but 2nd tier) PG, but he will be.


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## Pimped Out (May 4, 2005)

if he could develop a 3pt shot, his defender could play off him anticipating the drive. if the defender is guarding the three, he should be able to get the lane more often to score or pass to the open man.


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## KokoTheMonkey (Aug 4, 2003)

Pimped Out said:


> if he could develop a 3pt shot, his defender could play off him anticipating the drive. if the defender is guarding the three, he should be able to get the lane more often to score or pass to the open man.


He does need to develop is 3PT shot better, but it wasn't all that bad before this season. The thing that is funny though is that he shot a career worst in 3P% but also shot a career high in FG%.


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## Moe The Bartender (May 7, 2004)

TP could become one of the best PGs in the NBA if he could develop a consistent outside shot, and if he worked more on his assists. However, if the Spurs play mostly a half-court game, his assist totals might never improve that much.


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## XxMia_9xX (Oct 5, 2002)

parker was very good in the regular season and over-all in the play-offs. he had his moments though when people go "what the hell?" 

anyway i was watching the news today and my sis kept talking so i couldn't hear, but they showed parker. does anyone know what's new about him? my sis said it's about the olympics, but that wouldn't make sense because it's in london or england right? the 2012's? so does anyone know what that whole thing was about?


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## KokoTheMonkey (Aug 4, 2003)

XxMia_9xX said:


> parker was very good in the regular season and over-all in the play-offs. he had his moments though when people go "what the hell?"
> 
> anyway i was watching the news today and my sis kept talking so i couldn't hear, but they showed parker. does anyone know what's new about him? my sis said it's about the olympics, but that wouldn't make sense because it's in london or england right? the 2012's? so does anyone know what that whole thing was about?



Well, Paris was one of the finalists for the 2012 Olympics, and obviously they lost out to London. But, I think the real news about him is that he made a racially insensitive comment about why London got the Olympics. Maybe it's in the Express News, so I'll go check it out.


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## KokoTheMonkey (Aug 4, 2003)

Here's is controversial comment right here: 



> "It's been three times now that Paris has been refused -- 1992, 2008 and 2012. I find that bizarre," Parker said. "We did everything we had to do. ... It proves that the committee is Anglo-Saxon. They prefer the English."


http://www.woai.com/spurs/story.aspx?content_id=9F60EC3B-A569-42DE-A5AA-2CEF0BA1FFE9


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## sheefo13 (Jul 13, 2002)

Yeah.


But back to what Parker did during the season. This is coming from another team's perspective. The thing I notice during the season with the Spurs is if Parker can start out quick, this team usually wins. He is like a wick to fireworks to tell you the truth. If he could pass the ball more instead of being inconsistent with his assist numbers, he can be an all-star. 

Also, this team is really lucky to have a point guard like Tony. The point guard position is the key to getting to the playoffs is how I see it. During the season, even if he was inconsistent, he played really well. The thing with him is that he wants to carry the team too much when there are 2 other guys who are actually capable of doing it. 

See, I am doing my assesment off of what I see against the Twolves and on TNT when I get the chance to see the Spurs play. So it might be a little off, but thats really what I have picked up against him.


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## Nikos (Jun 5, 2002)

Going by the stats Parker had his best regular season, and a very good one in relation to most PG's in the league. But in the playoffs he simply wasn't very efficient. That fact was covered up by his scattered excellent scoring games and fourth quarter finishes against Denver, Phoenix, Seattle. He found ways to make a difference in some of those big games, but could have been better overall in all the other games in between. Of course he still had some of his typical "Parker" games where he takes a bunch of shots but doesn't convert or score at a high percentage, nor create for his teamattes well.

You could almost make an argument that Horry had a stronger playoffs because of his efficiency and consistency. However, Parker was obviously option 2B in the Spurs offense, and for that alone was more valuable on that end. But he has to find a way to either get to the line more and hit his FTs, or hit the three point shot more consistently. Otherwise he won't reach his full potential on this team and in this league.


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## TheRoc5 (Mar 1, 2005)

tony parker was a top 10 pg in the season, he was quick fast took over gms, he won gms by shots he got the ball to duncan he was just fantastic. he could still work on his jumper and free throws wich would make him prob top 5 pg in the nba.
then the playoffs came he started off alright he had good gms against denver and a real great one where he took over in overtime. and seattle the first two gms he was the star, not anyone could stop him. then thats when it all started. he started going to the basket as hard and started coming off a little slower. gm 5 and 6 came and he did better.
the phnx series i was most proud of him, he had good stats a couple of real great gms and guarded nash real well. 
the finals is where he was to efficent, billups had his number but still parker did a good job on d sparked some energy when needed and had a a couple of 15ptgms and a 21 pt gm. still parker could have been alot better.


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## nextghitman (Jul 17, 2005)

Tony Parker will be a very good talent in the NBA in the next few years. He is good now, but he isnt very consistent. Even though he is a score-first-PG, he still needs to improve on getting the ball to other people in certain situations. He isnt very good at clutch time, as we saw in the playoffs, where he choked a little against Detroit. But he has the potential to be an all-star in a few years and can hopefully be a Spur for a long long time.


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## TheRoc5 (Mar 1, 2005)

nextghitman said:


> Tony Parker will be a very good talent in the NBA in the next few years. He is good now, but he isnt very consistent. Even though he is a score-first-PG, he still needs to improve on getting the ball to other people in certain situations. He isnt very good at clutch time, as we saw in the playoffs, where he choked a little against Detroit. But he has the potential to be an all-star in a few years and can hopefully be a Spur for a long long time.


i think he can be an allstar next yr, o and nice to have you here


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## DaBobZ (Sep 22, 2003)

Agreed Rox
Nice to meet you nextghitman 

Now about TP... I guess I've said it in the past and you guys repeated yourselves as well so I'll just say he can only improve his shooting since he's a hard worker and can only get better with time... like a great wine. 
Still last time he made the euro champs in 03 coincided with the start of his decline (04' playoffs excluded) from both the charity stripe and downtown. 
He told the French head coach that he wants to pratice on his shot big time but this is not nba distance and it didn't work out back in 03'. Last year wasn't he supposed to work hard on his shooting during summer ? I'm sure he did actually.
So I don't know what the hell is wrong with his shot but something like 60+% of it must be due to his lack of confidence in his strike. And FT shooting is all mental if you ask me.
Now TP had a career year and the Spurs system doesn't allow him to have great assists #s so he did fine with 6 dishes a game. He'll never be a great playmaker but he his not bad on the break and this year unlike the years before he did very few stupid mistakes, his shot was off in game 7 but he had one turnover and played gread D when on the floor. He didn't do that against the Lakers last year (games 3 to 6) neither did he against the Nets in 03 in game 7. His decision making is one thing alongside his defense and penetration that has improved every year since he entered the league.
This year also proved that he is a solid 2nd option eventough ironicly it proved that he his the 3rd offensive option on this team :eek8: that's Spurs ball !!!!
He had a 60+ games streak scoring 10+ points... Not bad shooting his worst career % in FTs and 3PTs.


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## DaBobZ (Sep 22, 2003)

Of course I meant game 6 against the Nets...


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## nextghitman (Jul 17, 2005)

DaBobZ said:


> Agreed Rox
> Nice to meet you nextghitman
> 
> Now about TP... I guess I've said it in the past and you guys repeated yourselves as well so I'll just say he can only improve his shooting since he's a hard worker and can only get better with time... like a great wine.
> ...


its nice to meet you too. 
and i agree with wat you said about Parker, but you explained it in much more detail than wat i said!!


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## texan (Jul 10, 2003)

The only thing really lacking in Tony Parker's game is his outside shooting. If he were a consistent threat from the perimeter, he would be a virtually unstoppable offensive force. That being said, I never expect him to be an elite shooter, or even a good one. I expect that his shooting will improve with time, but he will never be more than an average outside shooter. 

However, even with his sometimes horrendous shooting, he played his best basketball this year. He played some really tough D, took it to the hole, and played well within the system. He capitalized on the fast break opportunities he got, and overall I was very pleased with his play. I expect him to continue to steadily improve, but I don't expect a sudden jump to greatness for TP.


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## KokoTheMonkey (Aug 4, 2003)

Do you guys think that Parker's field goal percentage went up because he couldn't knock down the three? Maybe overall that actually helped out his offensive efficiency.


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## DaBobZ (Sep 22, 2003)

KokoTheMonkey said:


> Do you guys think that Parker's field goal percentage went up because he couldn't knock down the three? Maybe overall that actually helped out his offensive efficiency.


Good question Koko... I think you made a point
Sure he took very few three pointers this season as his decision making over his shots has gotten better... So taking less stupid threes might have incresed his shooting % if that is what you mean... still IMO he was shooting great off the dribble threes in his first two seasons... Remember the Sonics series in his rookie year? Game 3 against at NJ in the 03' finals?
He seems to take less of those and more out of rhythm stuck on his feet 3s... obviously he sucks at those.
I really though he could end up beeing a decent shooter (better than JKidd) now I'm wondering if he can't be worse than him... hopefully I'm wrong


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## KokoTheMonkey (Aug 4, 2003)

DaBobZ said:


> Good question Koko... I think you made a point
> Sure he took very few three pointers this season as his decision making over his shots has gotten better... So taking less stupid threes might have incresed his shooting % if that is what you mean... still IMO he was shooting great off the dribble threes in his first two seasons... Remember the Sonics series in his rookie year? Game 3 against at NJ in the 03' finals?
> He seems to take less of those and more out of rhythm stuck on his feet 3s... obviously he sucks at those.
> I really though he could end up beeing a decent shooter (better than JKidd) now I'm wondering if he can't be worse than him... hopefully I'm wrong



He has sporadically teased us with showing the ability to knock down those shots. That's why I still believe he can get a consistent solid jumper. I'm not stupid enough to think he'll knock down mid range jumpers like Sam Cassell and three's like Steve Nash, but I do think he's capable of having a jumper that the opposing team will have to respect.....every single game.


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## Nikos (Jun 5, 2002)

The more I think about it, Parker just may be the key to next season. I think he has to improve for this team to win the title. Not that he isn't an above average point guard already who has made some small strides each season, I just expected him to be a little better than he is. I thought he could be an elite PG, but that might have been a bit far fetched. Then again, not many elite PG's are really the type of players leading their teams to titles anyway, unless they have 4-5 other above average players at each position (like a Detroit). So with Parker, it will be about at least fine tuning his game within the Spurs system and making minor improvements across the board.

In the playoffs he simply wasn't as good as he should be overall. He needs to be more careful with the ball and hit his outside shot more often. And during those games his shot is off, he has to get to the line and convert. 

Parker has the type of quickness to the point where he can get off a decent look even in crunch time. But it seems like he loses confidence in his outside shot, and when the teams collapse on his drive, he isn't able to absorb contact and draw a foul (ala Manu).

I would like to see Parker improve his playmaking skills and improve his outside shot, and also do so consistently in the clutch. 

In essense he needs to be a more efficient offensive force, not neccesarily score more points, but improve his passing and scoring efficiency.

Parker still has room to grow a bit in many areas of the game. I don't expect huge strides his outside shot, or that he will turn into Stockton in terms of a floor general. But improving his A/TO ratio, and scoring efficiency isn't too much to ask given his quickness, skill, and his chemistry filled supporting cast .

Having the same core should help Tony realize that he just needs to improve a little in a few areas and the team maximize its abilities.

As Koko says "...It's Your Turn Parker"


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## TheRoc5 (Mar 1, 2005)

i think to improve parkers shooting he needs to get more in a rythm. hes a take a drible shoot kinda guy, so when hes open for a 3 or a wide open shot he should take a dribble and shoot instead of spoting up for the shot.
you can tell when he penitrates he feels better dribbling then shooting. the only other things i can think of is more confidence


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## KokoTheMonkey (Aug 4, 2003)

I'm interested to see how Manu's playoff emergence will carry over into the regular season. As of right now, I don't think Parker would fair all that well being the 3rd option, as evidenced by the playoffs. He just seems uncomfortable as the 3rd man, because he doesn't seem to know when to shoot and when not to shoot. The more Parker has the ball in his hands the more effective he can be, but if Manu is getting a lot of touches he's obviously not going to have the ball as much. 

Nikos and TheRoc made two good posts above me, but I wanted to talk about a part of Nikos' post that I thought rings true: 



> I think he has to improve for this team to win the title.


My thoughts exactly. If Manu keeps up his offensive dominance, teams are eventually going to say "To hell with Tony Parker, we have to defend Manu and Tim". The less that Parker makes teams pay for using that game plan, the more of a struggle it will be for the Spurs.


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## Nikos (Jun 5, 2002)

KokoTheMonkey said:


> My thoughts exactly. If Manu keeps up his offensive dominance, teams are eventually going to say "To hell with Tony Parker, we have to defend Manu and Tim". The less that Parker makes teams pay for using that game plan, the more of a struggle it will be for the Spurs.


I agree with this to an extent. Parker needs to be able to play well as the third or second option depending on the night. He has to make a difference even when he doesn't get to dominate the ball. But to be honest I don't really think Tony was really the second option during the regular season either. He did see a slightly higher percentage of the possesions, and he did play a few more minutes than Manu. But I think it all evened out considering Manu saw the ball a lot more touches in the clutch then TP did all season and in the playoffs. I would say they split evenly the second/third options this past season, the reason it balanced out is because of their disparity in touches during crunch time. Manu was obviously more efficient as well, so I would say he was easily the second best player in the regular season too. Although they were closer during the regular season than in the playoffs (where Manu upped his game WAY more).

I just hope Parker finds ways to improve his offensive effiency in the system. I don't have a problem with Parker seeing the ball a little more than Manu, just as long as he is efficient at scoring AND setting others up. 

TP simply has to play better basketball in the playoffs, even if he does play really well in the regular season. He hasn't really upped his game in any of the playoffs except his rookie season, and in the beggining of the 2004 playoffs.

I think TP can do it, but he just has to focus on improving the little areas in his game. Manu might not do as well statistically next season, but if he can play a few more minutes, and limit his turnovers I think he will be just fine sharing the load with TP as second option.


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## TheRoc5 (Mar 1, 2005)

Nikos said:


> I agree with this to an extent. Parker needs to be able to play well as the third or second option depending on the night. He has to make a difference even when he doesn't get to dominate the ball. But to be honest I don't really think Tony was really the second option during the regular season either. He did see a slightly higher percentage of the possesions, and he did play a few more minutes than Manu. But I think it all evened out considering Manu saw the ball a lot more touches in the clutch then TP did all season and in the playoffs. I would say they split evenly the second/third options this past season, the reason it balanced out is because of their disparity in touches during crunch time. Manu was obviously more efficient as well, so I would say he was easily the second best player in the regular season too. Although they were closer during the regular season than in the playoffs (where Manu upped his game WAY more).
> 
> I just hope Parker finds ways to improve his offensive effiency in the system. I don't have a problem with Parker seeing the ball a little more than Manu, just as long as he is efficient at scoring AND setting others up.
> 
> ...


theres some good points but what i think sticks out most is if parker becomes the second option he will do better, if we look at situations that he has been in you see that he has excelled. the 2 00time gms back to back, when we played the suns and denver with out tim or manu or when duncan fouled out of the nuggets gm 4 in ot. tp excelled he took over the gm and his playmaking and scoring skills were great. if pop tells manu to hold the ball a little less and tell parker to hold the ball alittle more i think you see a big diffrence in his gm and i even think we win a little more two.


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## KokoTheMonkey (Aug 4, 2003)

I watched Game 5 against Phoenix about 3 hours ago, and I saw some things from Parker. First off, he had a pretty damn good series against Phoenix. Second, Phoenix just completely backed off of him. He made them pay with a few spurts here and there (That was the game where he had 8 straight points including back-to-back 3's). Can you just imagine if he started knocking those shots down consistently? Goodnes gracious, I'd start to believe this team would be unbeatable. 

I'm expecting big big things from Parker next season. Another season of improvement, but I want him to finish strong.


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## Nikos (Jun 5, 2002)

KokoTheMonkey said:


> I watched Game 5 against Phoenix about 3 hours ago, and I saw some things from Parker. First off, he had a pretty damn good series against Phoenix. Second, Phoenix just completely backed off of him. He made them pay with a few spurts here and there (That was the game where he had 8 straight points including back-to-back 3's). Can you just imagine if he started knocking those shots down consistently? Goodnes gracious, I'd start to believe this team would be unbeatable.
> 
> I'm expecting big big things from Parker next season. Another season of improvement, but I want him to finish strong.


I would definetly say that was his best series. I don't remember him having any bad games against the Suns. The other series he wasn't as consistent, especially with his shot. 

I agree though, if he hits that jumper like he did at the end of Game 4 vs Denver and throughout the Suns series he could be dynamite offensively. If he does't hit the shot, he might improve a little bit and his game will soon plateau on the above average in PG status (where he is now).

I hope TP can improve, because if he does this team will be elite offensively (top 3), team health permitting.


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## spurs4all (Jul 31, 2005)

*Tony needs to become more assertive. He gives the ball up to soon, on top of the key, instead of driving and creating shots for the bigs. And for being a point guard his free-throw shooting is atrocious, definitely an improvement area. Because if he can't make the outside shot, he could at least drive to the basket and get some calls.......*


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## FreeMason Jr. (Jul 12, 2004)

spurs4all said:


> *Tony needs to become more assertive. He gives the ball up to soon, on top of the key, instead of driving and creating shots for the bigs. And for being a point guard his free-throw shooting is atrocious, definitely an improvement area. Because if he can't make the outside shot, he could at least drive to the basket and get some calls.......*


Welcome to the boards! But can you refrain from using that color of font? It hurts my head.


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## spurs4all (Jul 31, 2005)

ezealen said:


> Welcome to the boards! But can you refrain from using that color of font? It hurts my head.


Agreed! Didn't realize it until it was posted............


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## FreeMason Jr. (Jul 12, 2004)

You can still use colored font all you want. I'd just prefer it if it was a different color. I don't mean to sound rude. It's just kinda annoying.


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