Jun
15
HAH! TONY PARKER IS AN NBA FINALS’ MVP!
Filed Under Loose Balls
My Oh My! The NBA Ain’t What She Used To Be, Ain’t What She Used To Be, Ain’t What She Used To Be!
Tony Parker was excellent in the first three quarters of the Spurs’ clinching Game Four victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers. At that point, he had 24 points on 10-for-14 shooting and was hitting the jumper with great efficiency. At games end, Parker had 24 points.
If you’ve followed the Spurs and Parker’s performances in clinching games in the NBA Finals, this can hardly be described as being surprising. In the three games that the Spurs have clinched with Parker as a member of the team, the Frenchman has been a non-factor in the game’s biggest quarter. While Gregg Popovich relegated Parker to the bench in 2003 and 2005, at least he was on the floor this year.
? As the San Antonio Spurs and the New Jersey Nets battled in a tight Game Six of the 2003 NBA Finals, Parker watched from the bench as backup Speedy Claxton was a huge factor. Claxton made several jumpers in the fourth quarter as the Spurs finished off the Nets and ended David Robinson’s career on a high note. At this point, Parker was only in his second year and still had not fully won over the confidence of Popovich. Even after winning that title, the Spurs were seriously considering signing Jason Kidd and putting Parker to the bench.
? Two years later, the Spurs were battling the Pistons in a tight Game Seven of the Finals in San Antonio. While Parker had come a long way since the 2003 Finals, he was awful in Game Seven. And where was he as that clinching game was decided? On the bench, of course, watching Brent Barry get his minutes and Manu Ginobli dominate.
? As the Cavs made their “run” in Game Four tonight, Parker came off the bench after giving an early quarter rest. On the floor, he didn’t do anything and missed several shots. When the going got tough, it was Ginobli who took over the game and bailed the Spurs out.
For my money, I would take Ginobli over Parker every day of the week. When Ginobli isn’t playing like a flop, he is one of the most skilled guards in the game. Tonight was evident of that, and Ginobli is a better closer than Parker, who makes his living in quarters one, two and three. Despite how they spin the Spurs’ Big Three as being Tim Duncan, Parker and Ginobli, it really is Duncan, Ginobli and Parker.
By no means am I trying to diminish Parker’s effort in this series. He was the best player in this terrible Finals and deserved the MVP. I just don’t get this kid.
Sure, Parker’s quick and a very solid point guard. But no team ever plays this kid physical. Cleveland and Sasha Pavlovic had chances all series to foul him hard at the basket on fast breaks, and they gave this kid love taps. I don’t care how great people proclaim Parker to be, if you play this kid physical, he can easily become a non-factor. He’s not that mentally strong when you get up on him. If only Bruce Bowen wasn’t on the Spurs. He would totally take Parker out of his game.
Parker is also a very erratic shooter yet teams continue to go over the screen and rolls and let him get into the lane rather than going under them and letting him hit the jumper. And when he often gets to the lane, no one puts a body on him. I’m not advocating being dirty, but am talking about making a player earn his keep in the paint. A six-foot-two-guard should not score the majority of his points in the lane.
Don’t get me wrong. Parker continues to improve and is a good player. However, he’s not dominant and as great as he is made out to be. With that said, I’ll pose these questions:
? Has a player ever benefited more from playing with Tim Duncan? Take Parker off of the Spurs and put him on the Utah Jazz, a less talented team. He has nowhere near the impact of current Jazz point guard Deron Williams. Switch him for Kidd on the Nets. New Jersey would still be around .500 and a pretender in the East.
? Has a player ever benefited more from who he’s dating? Parker is a celebrity outside of basketball because he’s marrying Eva Longoria. It’s pretty sad because there are a lot better players in the league who should be household names than this guy.
? How would Parker have fared in a different day and age in the NBA? What would have Parker done if he ever had to play the Bad Boys Pistons, a team which would put Michael Jordan to the floor without hesitation. The Pistons would have relegated Parker to the bench, and people would have questioned his heart. Even in this series, when the Cavs got physical at the ends of Games Two and Four, Parker did not respond. How would have Parker fared this series if it was Chicago and not Cleveland in the NBA Finals? Bulls’ guard Kirk Hinrich would have really limited Parker with his physical defense.
I’m not going to lie. I despise everything about Parker, from his French accent and awe-shucks-ness to his overrated girlfriend and the way he calls Duncan “Timmy”, but will admit that he is a good player in this era of the NBA. Put him up against Dennis Johnson, Magic Johnson, Isaiah Thomas, Terry Porter, Kevin Johnson, Gary Payton (in his prime), Mark Price, Derek Harper and a slew of other point guards from the eighties and nineties, and tell me how Parker would have fared.
In this day and age of the NBA always looking to promote its superstars, Parker is just another example of how the league has erred in its approach. The league is about hype and who players are rather than what they do on the court. Parker has at least justified his hype with some more consistent performances in the playoffs this year, but he is still nor will he ever be what he is marketed as.
However, have fun trying to convince ABC commentator Mike Breen of this! All I can say is that Tony Parker is the luckiest man on the Earth. He’s a decent basketball player who has won three titles (the same amount as Larry Bird) and is marrying a woman whom everyone loves for some reason despite his weasel-like looks.
Parker must wake up every morning and wonder when this dream is going to end. He should do the same tomorrow when he realizes that he’s been named an NBA Finals MVP (thanks to the Spurs playing the Cavs).
I bet you Popovich wakes up each morning and wonders how in the world he has won three titles with Parker and why teams haven’t exposed the point guard as a non-factor by being more physical with him. Chalk another one up to the attention deficit disorder that is the modern NBA.
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Put aside the anti-French feelings and the references to previous era:
Tony Parker was the man in the NBA Finals and that is why he got the award.He has not won the Season MVP award of the All Star Game Award…
My fellow Frenchman has risen to the occasion and showed sceptics like you that he can be a physical player, and this despite is rather small frame.he still remains a very skillful player, with trememendous acceleration, killer crossover moves and mad teardrop shots…to become a better guard , he will have to work on his shots around the perimeter.
I don’t necessarily like the guy, who is reputed to be cocky, however, I have to admire him for his achievement: 3 titles in 5 years, one Finals MVP Title, 2 All Stars participation, and he is only 25!
All the other things about his (public)private life are irrelevent and trust me, a lot of people would like to make US$ 11 a year and marry that gal!
what drugs are u taking boy? did u even watch the NBA finals? uhmm…try to recollect on that stoned head of urs….what happened at the end of game 3? who shot that BIG three-pointer towards the end of the fourth quarter…..if parker had a chance he could do whatever he wanted…did u watch this series…..he shot it from EVERYWHERE…..SICK layups, teardrops, jump shots, and even three pointers. he made 3 three pointers this series. one of the reasons that most credit goes to ginobili….is because he is their best free-throw shooter. they rather have the ball in his hands, in case the other team fouls him, he can get them the points. so, u are saying that a person who doesn’t score dominantly in the fourth quarter is not a good player….any TRUE nba fan would know that scoring well in the first three quarter can win the game…even if ur fourth quarter is not that great….did u know that the spurs are the #1 team winning with the highest point differential…what does that tell u…most of their games are already in the bag…by the fourth quarter….so u gotta to stop thinking like u know EVERYTHING about basketball….just remember…it was parker who kept this team running and winning the first 2 games…..and a little word of advice…u dumbass….whenever u post crap/ bullshit like this on the internet…..u might want to NOT take drugs or be high…
lily, tony parker is a good NBA player who comes off as great in this day and age of the league. read the article and recaps of all the games in the series. parker was the best player in the first two games, so-so in game three (he came out passive but had a decent second half), and good through three quarters of game four. to me, parker is a guy who can close games early in a series. late in the series, not yet. i’m glad that parker can make sick layups. that’s how he scores. if any team would put Parker to the ground, they would limit him because he’s an inconsistent free throw shooter. i said parker deserved the mvp in the article, but you know what, that’s not worth a grain of salt in that terrible nba finals. as for your spurs’ point differential point, the cavs should have won games three and four if they had anyone (including Lebron) who had the guts to go to the hole. wow. the spurs really had those last two games in the bag. they clodded their way to the championship and let Cleveland’s ineptitude do the rest. how awesome is it that they won the clincher at the free throw line. very impressive. come on. that series was just brutal. games in the seventies and low eighties. frankly, the league simply isn’t what it used to be. that’s why a team like the spurs (which plays fundamentally sound, has a superstar in duncan, and a hall of fame coach like popovich) has won four title in nine years. that’s not a reflection of the spurs alleged greatness but the league’s overall weakness. i’m not buying the parker hype or the spurs as a dynasty. if you want to accept unwatchable basketball like that and believe the hype, then i say good for you. but i’ll ask you a question: how am i the dumbass, as you so eloquently put it!