This Tony Parker Kid Ain't Half Bad After All
Ahhhhhh. We can all breathe a sigh of relief, for one game at least. That was a thorough butt-whooping, and the most complete game we've played to date.
I actually had to watch the game on an illegal feed in Chinese (when games are on NBA TV, League Pass Broadband doesn't show them, so if you don't have NBA TV, you're SOL), so with the blurry-ish screen and non-English commentary, it was hard for me to glean specifics from the game. The players were white and blue blobs, respectively. In a way, it was refreshing to see the moving parts and inner workings of the game without the names and faces. Sort of like seeing the forest, not the trees.
The most important thing to take away from this game is the importance of Tony Parker. No player that means as much to his team probably receives as much flak from the team's most loyal supporters. Parker is a popular and easy target amongst the Spurs' faithful, and it's easy for us to lose sight of just how good he is. Yes, he has a propensity towards ball-hogging, and he is a score-first point guard. But our offense doesn't need a traditional PG, per se, and Parker, regardless of size or position, is an extremely efficient offensive weapon, and that will always have value. It's true that he has not gotten off to the best start this season, but there is an adjustment period for both Parker and the new players. But when his game is on, we get what we had last night: a completely dominant offensive performance. We could literally get anything we wanted at any time. In fact, despite our gaudy offensive numbers, we actually missed quite a few wide open shots and could have easily had 10 to 20 more points.
So before we start trading away Parker and giving the keys to the offense to Hill, let's remember just how good of a player Parker is. He's so good that the plan coming into this season was to shift the focus of the offense off of a 2-time league MVP widely considered (already) to be one of the greatest to ever play the game, and on to him. That's probably a pretty good player, no?
Game Ball:
I'm going to give co-honors to Parker and Duncan. Both had sick all-around numbers. 16 pts, 9 reb, 7 asts for Duncan; 17 pts, 6 rebs, and 8 asts for Parker and an absurd +31. In fact, both probably would have had triple-doubles if it wasn't for the ineptitude of the Wizards; neither player really had to play in the last 10 minutes of the game. And more than the numbers, the two were running the pick and roll to perfection. When those two get rolling in the PnR, there is nothing an opposing defense can do.
Looking Forward:
The Milwaukee Bucks roll into SA Monday night. As most regular followers of the Spurs know, the Bucks seem to have our number. It's hard to know why. Unlike the Thunder, they aren't overly athletic (something that gives us a problem). They just give us fits. And they're off to a surprising start this year behind the amazing play of rookie PG Brandon Jennings. I'm actually very excited to get to see him play live for the first time this year. Should be a good battle and a good challenge for our defense. We've actually been playing really good defense in the last 2 weeks. This has sort of been lost amidst the losing streak. But it's been more a failing of our offense rather than our defense in the last three losses. I hope to see the strong defensive play and intensity keep up.
Pay attention to the starting line-up. I think we're getting closer to locking in the starting line-up. We've got Parker, Jefferson, and Duncan for sure; I think McDyess will stay in the starting line-up, and I feel that Bogans will stay there, too. He's a very good defensive player that is actually a good offensive player, too. He fits into our system perfectly, and if he continues to give us good minutes, we will be a good team. More importantly, it does feel like a rotation is starting to come together.
Unfortunately, right now Blair is not a featured part of that rotation. It seems like his inability to play solid defense and to fully grasp our defensive schemes is hurting his chances to get on the court. With the improved play of Ratliff, it's going to be hard for him to see the court. Many people would like to see him playing ahead of Bonner, but Bonner gives us a very specific skill (3-pt shooting) that no other big gives us and that Pop really values.
Now if we could only find a way to get Finley out of the rotation.
I actually had to watch the game on an illegal feed in Chinese (when games are on NBA TV, League Pass Broadband doesn't show them, so if you don't have NBA TV, you're SOL), so with the blurry-ish screen and non-English commentary, it was hard for me to glean specifics from the game. The players were white and blue blobs, respectively. In a way, it was refreshing to see the moving parts and inner workings of the game without the names and faces. Sort of like seeing the forest, not the trees.
The most important thing to take away from this game is the importance of Tony Parker. No player that means as much to his team probably receives as much flak from the team's most loyal supporters. Parker is a popular and easy target amongst the Spurs' faithful, and it's easy for us to lose sight of just how good he is. Yes, he has a propensity towards ball-hogging, and he is a score-first point guard. But our offense doesn't need a traditional PG, per se, and Parker, regardless of size or position, is an extremely efficient offensive weapon, and that will always have value. It's true that he has not gotten off to the best start this season, but there is an adjustment period for both Parker and the new players. But when his game is on, we get what we had last night: a completely dominant offensive performance. We could literally get anything we wanted at any time. In fact, despite our gaudy offensive numbers, we actually missed quite a few wide open shots and could have easily had 10 to 20 more points.
So before we start trading away Parker and giving the keys to the offense to Hill, let's remember just how good of a player Parker is. He's so good that the plan coming into this season was to shift the focus of the offense off of a 2-time league MVP widely considered (already) to be one of the greatest to ever play the game, and on to him. That's probably a pretty good player, no?
Game Ball:
I'm going to give co-honors to Parker and Duncan. Both had sick all-around numbers. 16 pts, 9 reb, 7 asts for Duncan; 17 pts, 6 rebs, and 8 asts for Parker and an absurd +31. In fact, both probably would have had triple-doubles if it wasn't for the ineptitude of the Wizards; neither player really had to play in the last 10 minutes of the game. And more than the numbers, the two were running the pick and roll to perfection. When those two get rolling in the PnR, there is nothing an opposing defense can do.
Looking Forward:
The Milwaukee Bucks roll into SA Monday night. As most regular followers of the Spurs know, the Bucks seem to have our number. It's hard to know why. Unlike the Thunder, they aren't overly athletic (something that gives us a problem). They just give us fits. And they're off to a surprising start this year behind the amazing play of rookie PG Brandon Jennings. I'm actually very excited to get to see him play live for the first time this year. Should be a good battle and a good challenge for our defense. We've actually been playing really good defense in the last 2 weeks. This has sort of been lost amidst the losing streak. But it's been more a failing of our offense rather than our defense in the last three losses. I hope to see the strong defensive play and intensity keep up.
Pay attention to the starting line-up. I think we're getting closer to locking in the starting line-up. We've got Parker, Jefferson, and Duncan for sure; I think McDyess will stay in the starting line-up, and I feel that Bogans will stay there, too. He's a very good defensive player that is actually a good offensive player, too. He fits into our system perfectly, and if he continues to give us good minutes, we will be a good team. More importantly, it does feel like a rotation is starting to come together.
Unfortunately, right now Blair is not a featured part of that rotation. It seems like his inability to play solid defense and to fully grasp our defensive schemes is hurting his chances to get on the court. With the improved play of Ratliff, it's going to be hard for him to see the court. Many people would like to see him playing ahead of Bonner, but Bonner gives us a very specific skill (3-pt shooting) that no other big gives us and that Pop really values.
Now if we could only find a way to get Finley out of the rotation.
posted by secretchord53 at 6:29 PM
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