Thursday, January 28th, 2010...10:28 am
Monroe: Ankle Likely to Shelve Parker
Via the Express-News:
The Spurs won’t know until today or Friday how long Tony Parker will be out with another left ankle sprain, but Manu Ginobili offered a hint.
“Tony said it wasn’t so bad, but he will probably miss a couple of games,” said Ginobili, one of three Spurs who will be asked to fill in at the point until the All-NBA guard returns.
X-Rays were negative, but Monroe reports that the Spurs won’t set a timetable until Parker is re-examined by the team’s medical staff.
One note on this: There’s been a fair amount of “blessing in disguise talk” about Parker’s injury, the idea being that his tweaked ankle will keep him off his feet and hopefully give his plantar fasciitis some time to heal. Now, I’m not a doctor, far from it in fact, but my understanding was that plantar fasciitis takes months, not days or even weeks, to fully heal. Given the inflammation and pain associated with plantar fasciitis, I’m not sure the combination of a rolled ankle and a few days rest expedites the recovery process.
Then again, like I said, I’m not a doctor. If any of our readers are doctors, or have suffered from plantar fasciitis, please feel free to confirm or refute my suspicions.
15 Comments
January 28th, 2010 at 10:42 am
Yes my friend, you are not a doctor, but you could most definitely play one on the internet!
You are absolutely correct, I’ve had the dreaded fasciitis before and nothing, nothing, short of a solid month or more of rest and relaxation will get close to healing it completely.
YOU KNOW ITS…. SAD BUT TRUUUEEE
January 28th, 2010 at 10:43 am
My view on the “blessing in disguise” is less about the plantar fasciitis and more about how he played this summer with the national team. Even if his plantar fasciitis isn’t effected by the rest, he probably needs the least conditioning and most rest of anyone on the team.
The downside would obviously be that it hurts our rotation’s consistency and building chemistry on the court.
January 28th, 2010 at 11:22 am
From what I’ve heard he’ll need 2 months rest. So when is he going to get that rest? He’s committed to play with the French national team for the next 2 summers. The plantar fasciitis could easily linger into next season since he won’t have enough time in the summer to rest and heal. So basically the Spurs and Spurs fans get screwed not only this year but next year as well because Parker will not be 100%. I’m sick and tired of the committments to the national teams. The players are locked into guaranteed contracts to they have no risk. Their employer bears all the risk when they play in the summers. The only time they don’t commit to playing for their respective national teams is when they are a free agent. They don’t want to jeapordize their financial security by playing competitive basketball without a guaranteed contract. It would be safe to say that Manu probably would have played for Argentina last summer had the Spurs extended him. If the Spurs extended Manu today then I bet my house that he would play for Argentina this summer. I don’t think it’s fair to the Spurs organization or to the Spurs fans. Manu Ginobli and Tony Parker get paid to win games for the San Anotonio Spurs not for their respective countries.
January 28th, 2010 at 11:34 am
In the world of soccer, when a player gets injured on international duty, the club usually receives compensation from the Football Association of that country. But it doesn’t seem like that happens in basketball. Maybe the spurs should try to make France and Argentina pay for Manu’s and Parker’s injuries they have received during the past couple years.
January 28th, 2010 at 11:39 am
I suffer from PF. My doctor says the genetics of being flat-footed is the root cause. It took some physical therapy plus shoe inserts but it greatly improved. I’m one of those blessing in disguise fans. I certainly don’t think that a few weeks will heal Tony, but, in agreement with BlaseE, I think Tony’s legs and feet need rest after playing for his national team. He often has solid first quarters because his body is fresh, but for the remainder of the game he has no explosion to get past his defender or finish at the rim. And opponents target him defensively. That his foot may improve slighly while his legs get some rest is worth sitting him, which is now mandatory.
It’s obvious that this season Tony will not reach the level he did last season. But he needn’t be that dominant with a healthier TD, Manu plus the additions of RJ, Blair and improved play of Hill. If 2-3 weeks of not playing can make him better, both shot and speed, on 3-4 possessions per game, that would be enough to turn the tide for this team. It’s not like they’re getting dominated vs the good teams that have been beating them. It’s the unforced turnovers and wasted possessions, often with Tony unable to generate offense, that turns a second half lead into a deficit where the team comes up just short.
January 28th, 2010 at 12:48 pm
I think we saw this with Tim Duncan. They gave him a few games off here and there when he had PF but it didn’t really do anything; he simply played through it. And he sucked it up and played unbelievably in the playoffs when he had it.
January 28th, 2010 at 1:31 pm
I am in the other camp with regard to the national team playtime. The players for the most part are developed, nurtured and given an opportunity to become elite because of their national team, and more importantly their national programme.
The enormous amount of good people like T.P & Manu engender with regards to the development of the sport in their respective spheres of influence i.e Argentina & France cannot be understated.
I would imagine basketball U.S.A and most fans would not be happy to see LBJ or Chris Paul make themselves unavailable f0r the olympics.
It’s a situation that obviously is very divisive but i Know from playing basketball in a country outside of the states (Australia) getting a player into the limelight makes the sport relevant, leads to more kids playing the game, and a better overall standard of play, which in turn reflects upon the international talent level you see in todays NBA.
January 28th, 2010 at 1:48 pm
I dont have a problem with them playing- i have a problem with the contract structure in the NBA. If you get injured outside of work, why should the team pay you, and why should that money count towards the salary cap? Like i said, i’m glad they play for their international teams. I lived in germany for two years, and although i didnt get to participate i read a lot about how much money they invest in what is basically their AAU program, although theirs is government run. Manu would not have been Manu and TP would not have been TP without those programs in their country. We’ve lost a couple years of productivity because of them playing for their international teams, but we’ve gained more from it than we’ve lost.
I know i started rambling, but my classes were cancelled today, so i started drinking Mango Rum and Mountain Dew about an hour ago and it’s starting to hit me. If you dont want to read the whole thing, heres a summary:
The issue isnt players playing internationally, the primary issue is that the Spurs are helpless to improve because of the cap structure of the current CBA. Hopefully, since Peter Holt is one of the owner’s reps for this round of negotiations (if i remember right) that is something he will address. Most of the players have insurance so they would get paid regardless- just not from the team, and hopefully if they missed most of the season it could stop counting against the salary cap.
January 28th, 2010 at 2:25 pm
I think you are right on the nail with the real issue. The NBA’s salary cap structure is nearly unique in all of sports.
Guaranteed contracts are a mysterious beast. I can’t think of anywhere else in the world outside of the states where sums of the magnitude of $20 million U.S are going into the bank rain hail or shine for a sportsperson.
January 28th, 2010 at 2:30 pm
I see your point Bushka and I agree with you Spursfan. The CBA handicaps the NBA teams. I know it’s a great honor to play for your country. And guys like Manu and Tony wouldn’t be who they were without playing for their national teams. That still doens’t make the situation right. The fact remains that none of the international guys would jeapordize their financial security by playing for their national team without having signed a NBA contract. I guarantee you part of the reason the Spurs have not signed Manu to an extension is so he won’t play this summer. They know Manu will not play if he doesn’t have a contract.
The new CBA need to address this situation. The Spurs had a wasted season last year because Manu came back from his ankle injury in 2008 too early and hurt it again in the Olympics. All the Spurs got out of that was a first round playoff exit to the freaking Dallas Mavericks. I hate losing to the Mavs. It’s just turrible.
January 28th, 2010 at 3:34 pm
the real blessing in disguise here is the added playing time for george hill and mason jr.
January 28th, 2010 at 6:27 pm
Rest or no rest, TP is still doing enough for the Spurs to win.
I agree with SAUCE, the real blessing in disguise is more time for Hill and RMJ. Like I said TP is doing enough on his end. Its up to the role players to hold up their end.
January 28th, 2010 at 9:14 pm
It could be a double edge sword, but I’m glad TP will be able to get some rest due to his injury. We should try to let him recoup for as long as our record allows. I really believe he is the juggler vein of the Spurs. As long as he is clicking everything else in our game flows. Granted he’s not the passer J. Kidd is and never will be, but he wasn’t a passer first PG when we won those championships with him either. Outstanding game for the Spurs against Atlanta, they looked like the dominating Spurs of old. We will need a lot more games like that to get there although; it was nice to see them sparkle again.
January 29th, 2010 at 5:06 am
NL: There is a slight difference between Duncan and Parker regarding the PF. Duncan relies on post moves and vision to get past his defenders and on defense we saw how he was less mobile and less efficient. But Parker relies entirely on quickness and agility and the PF is really killing him late in the games. He is still able to blow by defenders at times but in the def end, he is getting exposed because he is not able to fight through screens and chase the ever quicker guards. The opponents know that now and they are coming at him.
I think we have the chance to improve our def now. It is obviously a blow but maybe we needed that adversity. We will see more responsability for Hill, Mason and Gino and maybe that will be a blessing.
But I agree that one or even two weeks of rest won’t do much to heal the PF.
January 30th, 2010 at 2:20 pm
I don’t know anything about PF or treatment, but if TP doesn’t get at least 2 months of rest, does that mean he won’t be effective for the playoffs or could he simply play through it like Timmy did? In that case, would it be wise to let him rest for 2 months (if record permits) and continue to develop Hill and give more time for Mason & Jefferson to get into their grooves? Any thoughts guys?
I might be wrong, but I think there was an article a few weeks back about TP saying he won’t be playing with the French team this summer. I think he’s too tired and with his PF, he better rest up in the summer!!! TD needs another ring and TP has to stop wasting this prime overseas & use it in the NBA instead. He owes it to the Spurs, owners, and to us fans!!!
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