[FlyingTiger]

i know its playing hurt, but career lows in Pts and Blks... 2nd lowest in FG% and rebounds 3rd lowest in FT%. i really think parker is the main reason why the spurs are doing so good this year. as of right now, Dirk and Brand should start in front of him in the ASG.

[OneBadLT123]

Originally Posted by FlyingTiger

i know its playing hurt, but career lows in Pts and Blks... 2nd lowest in FG% and rebounds 3rd lowest in FT%. i really think parker is the main reason why the spurs are doing so good this year. as of right now, Dirk and Brand should start in front of him in the ASG.

All im saying is that he better not win MVP unless he really turns it around

[1 Penny]

Yeah, he seems to be cruising right now. He doesnt put as much effort, but he still comes out night in and night out. I'm thinking, Popovic got to him and convinced him to save himself for the playoffs, because the Spurs dont really need Duncan playing his best to get top 3 best record in the NBA. I expect Duncan to be putting much more effort and much more fresh come Playoff time... he is playing similar minutes compare to last season, but both last season and this season he certainly is averaging lesser minutes. Just the results of having a great coach and team.

[Sir Patchwork]

People are really stretching saying Parker is the best player on the Spurs this year. What is the argument for that? Duncan leads the team in scoring, rebounding and blocked shots, while being easily the most important and best defender on the team. Come playoff time, Parker might not even be the 2nd best player on the team.

Duncan is having a season below his standards (because of injury and pacing himself), but his below average season is still a lot better than Tony Parker's career year.

[Diable]

I would bet that over 95 percent of all NBA players never have a best season that compares to Timmy's worst year.Some nights he looks better than others,but apparently there isn't much to be done even if they sit him.

His numbers are down,but his numbers are still better than all save about five to eight players in the league.Most of those guys have nothing like the impact he does defensively or in drawing double teams that lead to open shots. A huge reason that Parker gets so many lay ups is that Duncan's man knows that he can't leave him even when Parker beats his man.

[Chan]

Yes, his production is down.

[Pj5]

First off, Tony Parker isn't the second best player in the team.. Manu is. It's pretty simple to see why Parker doesn't get that much respect despite shooting a high percentage, he gets his shots from layups , teardrops and very short range jumpers. Force him to take jumpers and he becomes ineffective. Manu is A LOT more versatile and shoots a decent percentage from 3 point land.

As for Tim, I'd look at this way.. the fact that he's not a hundred percent yet still puts up decent numbers and the success of his team despite the production decrease makes the Spurs even scarier.

[socco]

Originally Posted by Pj5

Force him to take jumpers and he becomes ineffective.

Force Shaq off of the post and he becomes ineffective as well. It's one thing to say it, it's a whole other thing to do it. And people haven't been able to do it to Parker. Parker is CLEARLY a more important part to that team than Ginobili. He makes that team go. Duncan is still the best player on that team, but he has certainly taken a step or two back from his old self.

[Pj5]

Originally Posted by socco

Force Shaq off of the post and he becomes ineffective as well.

Shaq's a traditional center.. and he plays the way a true center should. Parker as a point guard has to improve his range. He's a POINT GUARD. He's a good player and to be able to penetrate that well is a great thing but he needs range. Look at the top quality pgs in this league and you'll notice that they have that mid to long range jump shot. IMHO, Manu is still the second best player.

[socco]

Originally Posted by Pj5

Shaq's a traditional center.. and he plays the way a true center should. Parker as a point guard has to improve his range. He's a POINT GUARD. He's a good player and to be able to penetrate that well is a great thing but he needs range. Look at the top quality pgs in this league and you'll notice that they have that mid to long range jump shot. IMHO, Manu is still the second best player.

My point with Shaq is that all you have to do is one thing to make him ineffective. But that thing can't be done. You can't keep Shaq out of the post, just like you can't keep Parker from getting to the basket off the dribble. If you can keep him out of the lane, then you're going to stop him from having a big impact. The problem is that it cannot be done. It hasn't been done. That makes your point meaningless.