# Tony Parker



## texan (Jul 10, 2003)

Once again, Parker is stepping it up in the playoffs. Hopefully this time, he can continue to keep up his stellar play. After a lackluster(not horrible, but not AS level) first 3 games to start the playoffs, he has picked up the pace and scored over 20 points the last 3 games. I've definitley noticed a difference in his confidence level the past 3 games, and it helps him play a lot better. With him playing like this, then it brings us that much closer to a championship, but how do we know he keeps this level of play up. I guess what I'm trying to ask is, when will he start to do this consistently?


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## TheRoc5 (Mar 1, 2005)

i think for the most part parker will play like this throughout the playoffs and if he does then i think next season will be the season he becomes consistent through out the majority season. parkers inconsistincy is from lazy and or under estamating his oppents. i feel that the denver gm was a wake up and so far hes playing well


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## KokoTheMonkey (Aug 4, 2003)

It's all about confidence. The dude can hit jumpers, it's just a matter of whether he believes it or not. 


I'll wait until after the playoffs is over to determine whether or not he's stepped up, because we all know he can fall from grace as fast as he has risen. So far, so good. I expect a big series out of him against Seattle, and by big I mean 20 PPG - 7 APG - 50 FG% and under 2.5 TO's per game.


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## texan (Jul 10, 2003)

Well here it is again guys. The drop in Parker's play. It always comes the same time of year, and could once again cost us. What is up with this guy? He could be a Top 5 point guard, but his confidence, and the mentality is just not there. He is really fragile, but I don't see how he could lose his confidence so quickly.


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## KokoTheMonkey (Aug 4, 2003)

I don't know about him. I just don't know. It's getting hard to defend the guy as he does this year after year. He's got to put it together in long stretches, not freaking 2 game bursts.


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## TheRoc5 (Mar 1, 2005)

this is just like the thread parker or manu, when parker is doing great we win by 10 plus. he has to step up tonight if he doesnt, then welcome to choke city san antonio, tonight will be very intresting


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## Cloud786 (Mar 18, 2005)

I still believe jason kidd would have made this a better team. Like it or not, it's true (at least for the next couple years).


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## KokoTheMonkey (Aug 4, 2003)

Cloud786 said:


> I still believe jason kidd would have made this a better team. Like it or not, it's true (at least for the next couple years).





Short term that's true. In 4-5 years though we're going to be happy that we have Parker instead of Kidd.


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## texan (Jul 10, 2003)

We all know that Kidd would have made this team better in the present, but in a year or 2, Parker will be a better player, and our team in the future will benefit from having Parker. Also, with Parker we looked/look like a championship team. When the proposed trade was on the table, we had just won a NBA Championship, and with Parker, it looked like we could win now, and win in the future.


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## ballstorm (Nov 30, 2003)

There is always someone to come up with Kidd's name when Parker has a hard time . It's an old story , it could have been great for sure , but it's not really what interests us for the time being . 
Texan was right to notice that the same pattern seems to occure year after year . Tony plays fairly well and suddenly for whatever reason his confidence seems to be hurted . Is he tired ? Or is it Ridnour who started playing better ? All I know is that with a not so dominant Duncan and a so-so parker , Ginobili has to play a pivotal role that he is not supposed to play . Right now , I think that we don't have much room for manoeuver ..


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## Darth Bryant (Feb 1, 2005)

I'm going to throw this in here since I kind of disagree about the whole Kidd VS Parker concept. Theres no doubt in my mind that Kidd could have made some smart vetern plays which could have benifited the Spurs throughout the playoffs and seasons, but the problem is you can never count on him. I mean we have all seen him clutch sometimes, he's even had seasons earlyer in his career were he was the fourth quater specialist... But he isnt really that anymore. He is a mere shadow of what he used to be. This season he shot under 40 percent, from FG and 3 point line. And his free throw shooting dropped below 80 again.. And unfortunetly for the Nets, his free throw missing came durning important games durning the playoffs and even durning the fight to make the playoffs. 

I mean there is no doubt that he is good even at this point in his career and that many teams should be desperate to get him, but the spurs wanted some young talent that will be around a while, and Kidd isn't the answer. The Lakers (dont hate me for bringing them up  ) had a chance at kidd, durning the dynasty and decided to keep fisher and shaw. In my opinion it was a great decision, not because those two were better than Kidd, they were not.. But they were more consistant with playing especally injury wise.

Parker is the same way. Except even better in my opinion. He has a nice shooting percentage of 45 perent from the FG, has shown he can run the floor very well this season, especally durning the playoffs, and has made some pretty nice clutch plays towards the end of the season and in the playoffs. And even though his FT percentage is scary......... He hasnt struggled much in the playoffs compared to kid.

Tony Parker not as good as kid now, but only a kid.. And has at least nother 10 years to go.

Kidd is on the decline, though better than Tony now... Probably wont be in another 2 or three years.. 

And I believe that if your looking at a franchise Tony is way better to go with. Kidd might help you get a title this season... But what about two seasons from now, or three? Build with youth, get a couple titles in a row instead of one here and there.


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## TheRoc5 (Mar 1, 2005)

i guarantee parker will have a great gm in gm 6 also i get a little mad at people cause they forget parker is 23, alot of players dont come in to the nba intill they are 22 or 23. parker is already a mile ahead of all of them. parker is a great player that lacks confidence and needs to learn a little bit more. thats perfectly normal for a 23 yr old nba player. in 5 or so yrs i bet you people will forget all about his sometimes inconstincy.


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## KokoTheMonkey (Aug 4, 2003)

Parker is still young, but he's getting old enough to where he needs to correct his flaws right now. The guy has so much talent in his hands, yet it seems like he doesn't fully take advantage of it. 


My main beef with Parker is that if he's not scoring he really doesn't contribute in other ways. The first quarter was an absolutely perfect example of this. He missed a couple of layups and had the ball stripped away a couple of times, which happens, but those things caused him to lose his confidence. He wasn't creating for others, nor was he even trying it seemed like. Then, late in the first quarter Pop puts Beno in the game. Beno gets a steal and a layup, and penetrates and finds Nazr for an and-one. I said out loud at the game "Why couldn't Parker do this?" 


That's my main problem with Parker right now. If you're not going to score, fine, but you better find other ways to contribute to the team.


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## texan (Jul 10, 2003)

I agree with you Koko. Parker is great when he is scoring, but if he goes cold, he becomes uber-unagressive, and doesn't contribute at all, offensively. He quits penetrating into the lane, and quits to give people open looks. He doesn't even push the ball in transition when he gets the chance. The worst part of this is that its not the opposing player stopping him. Its himself. Only he can stop himself. 

I look for Parker to come out and play a good game for Game 6. I think we should get him the ball early, and allow him to penetrate and dish. I also think we should look to run early to get him into a rhythm. The pick and roll with Mohammed/Duncan would be a good way to get TP off to a good start, especially if he could hit a jumper or two.


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## ballstorm (Nov 30, 2003)

Very good point Koko . When he can't score , Parker does not try enough to create for the others . This impossibility to score affects his whole game . It is like if , in a certain extent , he refused to play if prevented from scoring . He has improved alot as a PG this year though , so I still believe that he will be able to make up for this lack of agressiveness in the next games . Now , Pop should not hesistate to play Beno in the begining of a game if Parker looks frustrated .


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## KokoTheMonkey (Aug 4, 2003)

Parker had 29 points against Phoenix, but only 2 assists. I think in the last 3 playoff games he hasn't topped 3 assists. I'll make sure to note that we have won all 3 of those games, but you would think a guy who is so quick would be able to create more shots for others. It's alright though, as long as we win. This is offense isn't built upon Parker creating shots for others. It's built upon giving it to Duncan and getting everyone touches.


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## texan (Jul 10, 2003)

Parker doesn't need to average 6 or more assists for us to be winning. The main assist guy on our team is really Manu. Parker is really needed to score. When he is on his game offensively, and getting to the hole, we are at our best. It doesnt really matter if he is passing the ball when he gets there, or if he is taking the shot himself.


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## ballstorm (Nov 30, 2003)

I was expecting a big offensive game out of him , he did it and the team won so his assist total does not really count . I would like to see him creating more plays for the other players naturally , but as long as he scores like that , we should not complain .


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## texan (Jul 10, 2003)

I wonder if he can keep this up all series long. If Steve Nash is going to be guarding him all series long, I see no reason why he can't, and no reason why he wouldn't keep up this type of production. If Joe Johnson comes back, I can see his production dropping a bit, but TP should still be able to blow by JJ, and he should be a major contributing factor to us winning this series.


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## KokoTheMonkey (Aug 4, 2003)

It matters what you mean by "keep this up". 29 points per game? Nah. I'm not expecting him to average more than 20 PPG in this series, although it wouldn't surprise me if he slightly topped that. He actually hit two three pointers in Game 1, which is amazing for him this year, and if he can keep doing that he'll have a couple more similar performances. 



Besides the double OT game with Phoenix, Parker has scored at a great rate against Phoenix in the other three games. Like I said though, he's going to have to hit some jumpers to keep Phoenix from cheating on him in the paint.


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## texan (Jul 10, 2003)

I don't mean 29 ppg, but I mean 20+ on solid shooting percentages, low TO numbers, and confidence in his game. Even though he didn't have many assists, he created a lot more opportunities for his teammates just by being a scoring threat. That is what he needs to continue if we are to win this series.


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## XxMia_9xX (Oct 5, 2002)

i love parker but i won't be shock if he disappear late in the series. i dont want him to but that's what he's been doing ever since.


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## ballstorm (Nov 30, 2003)

Parker has averaged 19.23 pts so far (SA 2-0 Ph) .
26.5 pts in 2 games against the Suns .
He has always scored at least 10 pts in every single game so far . consistence ?


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## KokoTheMonkey (Aug 4, 2003)

I really like how Parker played in Game 2. He kept up his aggression and he even went to the basket hard a couple times drawing the defenders in the air, then dumped it off to Duncan at least once and Mohammed once too. That's what I've meant about creating for others.


Parker is still the key to the series. If he fades in Games 3 and 4, it's going to be tough to win.


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## texan (Jul 10, 2003)

Sometimes I love Tony Parker, other times I'm at his throat(not literally). Hopefully he keeps this up for the rest of the series. He will have a challenge b/c Joe Johnson is back and probably will guard him, but I still think he can perform at this level.


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## KokoTheMonkey (Aug 4, 2003)

texan said:


> Sometimes I love Tony Parker, other times I'm at his throat(not literally). Hopefully he keeps this up for the rest of the series. He will have a challenge b/c Joe Johnson is back and probably will guard him, but I still think he can perform at this level.




I think all Spurs fans can relate to your first sentence. He's loved by everyone when he's playing his best, but everyone is quick to jump on him when he's playing bad. I don't want to say it's completely deserving, but it's hard not to get frustrated with the guy when he plays bad. 

Anyway, as far as Joe Johnson is concerned, he'll be a much better defender on Parker than Nash was. Joe Johnson is much taller than Nash so he can give Parker tons of space to force him to hit that jumper. However, Joe Johnson is still going to have to fight around/over screens.


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## XxMia_9xX (Oct 5, 2002)

parker has had problems with a bigger defender and he usually disapper after game 2. so game 3 he's gonna be defended by joe johnson and it's after game 2... will he do his disappearing act again? i hope not, i dont wanna get frustrated. ui want him to finally break his routine and become more consistent.


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## texan (Jul 10, 2003)

XxMia_9xX said:


> parker has had problems with a bigger defender and he usually disapper after game 2. so game 3 he's gonna be defended by joe johnson and it's after game 2... will he do his disappearing act again? i hope not, i dont wanna get frustrated. ui want him to finally break his routine and become more consistent.



JJ is a decent defender, but we'll have to see how the layoff has affected him. Also unless Phoenix starts helping on the drive by Parker he will still be able to get in the lane vs JJ if he wants. Parker is simply faster and even though JJ has length, Parkers speed is superior to JJ's length. I think he finishes this series strong. I say 23 pts, 4 assists in Game 3.


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## KokoTheMonkey (Aug 4, 2003)

Parker really pissed me off in Game 4. He started off pretty damn good, but offensively he was no where to be found in that second half. Phoenix sagged off Parker to hover around Duncan, and Parker shot about 4-5 jumpers and missed them all. He also had a couple of travels in the freaking paint. I know every player is due a bad game, but it shouldn't have been this bad. Like I've been saying since we found out about this series, Parker is the key. He played very poorly, and the ship went down with him.


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## KokoTheMonkey (Aug 4, 2003)

Thank you Tony Parker for finishing strong. I don't know about you Spurs fans, but I was ready to completely blast this guy until his stretch in the 3rd quarter. 



When he plays with confidence, he's a damn good player. I just don't know why he doesn't play with confidence all of the time.


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## TheRoc5 (Mar 1, 2005)

KokoTheMonkey said:


> Thank you Tony Parker for finishing strong. I don't know about you Spurs fans, but I was ready to completely blast this guy until his stretch in the 3rd quarter.
> 
> 
> 
> When he plays with confidence, he's a damn good player. I just don't know why he doesn't play with confidence all of the time.


ditto he shot like 3-7 in the first half and in the second half he was great. he had 12 pts in the second half and was clutch also had a few assits when it counted he play a good gm and im proud of him. now for my brave pridiction im going to say he gets finals mvp award


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