Jun
7
2007 NBA FINALS: THE POINT OF ATTACK
Filed Under Loose Balls
TONY PARKER (MR. EVA LONGORIA) VERSUS LARRY HUGHES
Never before has a player like Tony Parker benefited from playing with a big man like Tim Duncan. Sure, Parker is quick and a decent player. But he is not all that’s he cracked out to be. He can play some very uneven games, going off for big streaks of points in a half and being non-existent at other stages. Parker’s previous performances in the 2003 and 2005 NBA Finals have featured such unevenness. He has had some spectacular games but wasn’t even on the court in the fourth quarter of the Spurs’ Game Six and Seven clinchers in 2003 and 2005, respectively.
With that said, Parker has matured in two years and is a much better player now. He is not a traditional point guard and sometimes will bring the ball up and hand over to Manu Ginobli to get the Spurs’ offense in motion. Parker thrives on using his quickness to get into the lane for layups, via the dribble or usually on a dive to the hoop and a nice backdoor pass from the skilled Tim Duncan. Parker can really burn teams with his ability to get into the lane and to the hoop so Cleveland’s big men better be ready protect the hoop. In fact, Cleveland may need to get physical with Parker and put him to the floor a couple of times when he gets to the hole, of course without being dirty.
Parker is an inconsistent shooter but can hit the three ball and medium range jumper when his feet are set. The Spurs will run Parker off the screen and roll game so that he can further get into the lane. Cleveland will have to decide whether it will be like Utah with their guards going under the screen, preventing the dribble drive and thus giving Parker the jump shot. The Cavs would be better employing this philosophy then letting Parker get into the lane, where he is at his most dangerous. On the defensive end, Parker can be beaten if Cleveland so chooses.
Larry Hughes will have the task of defending and at least slowing down Parker. When signing with the Cavs from the Washington Wizards in the 2005 off-season, Hughes was expected to step in and be the Cavs number-two scorer behind Lebron James. Hughes has not consistently done this, and the Cavs can not expect much offense from Hughes this series, granted that he’s playing hobbled. While Hughes can go off for quick stretches of points, he rarely puts together solid offensive performances throughout a game. In fact, he can be quite inefficient in scoring and require a high amount of shots to score in the teens. Yet, the athleticism and skill is there for Hughes to put together one or two decent games on offense.
With that said, Hughes’ impact will have to come on the defensive end, in using his size and length to make it harder for Parker to do whatever he wants. Hughes should come out and really try to be physical with Parker. This is easier said than done, as Parker seems to get to the hoop whenever he wants to.
Advantage: Tony Parker and the Spurs
Hughes is a decent player but you don’t know what you’re going to get from him on the offensive end. You can mark down the fact that Parker will be scoring in the high teens for most of the series and may even have a 30-point game this series. Hughes may have one big offensive game in Cleveland (Game Three?) and Parker may have a forgettable performance or two, but the advantage certainly goes to the Frenchman, who should get layups when he wants to.
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