Spurs vs. Clippers: Good Tony Parker needs to show up

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Tony Parker did not have a good season by Tony Parker standards. He was injured, not in game shape or just out of sync because he was in and out of the line up. Much like the Spurs season, things took a turn for Parker in March, when almost every stat jumped. Most notably Parker began attacking the paint again. And the Tony Parker that’s in attack mode is exactly what the Spurs are going to need to neutralize Chris Paul over this upcoming seven game series.

According to NBA.com, Parker took more shots from 16 feet or farther then he did inside eight feet before the All-Star break. Post All-Star break, Parker suddenly found the paint again, taking 30 more shots from eight feet and in than 16 feet and out. In fact, in the final 29 games played, Parker took just 32 fewer shots from inside eight feet than he did in the 39 games he played pre All-Star break. Not coincidentally, the Spurs played their best basketball when Parker was at his most aggressive.

Here’s why this matters specifically to the first round of the playoffs. Parker’s primary defender will be Chris Paul. Paul had an MVP caliber season, but he also played a full 82 games and averaged nearly 35 minutes a night. That’s a lot for someone who is the key cog in his team’s offense and also was the team’s best wing defender. I’m sure this wasn’t by design, rather out of necessity because of the Clippers’ thin bench and revolving door of back up point guards.

If the Spurs are going to win what everyone is expecting to be a long series, they need to tire out Paul. Parker, Kawhi Leonard and Danny Green will all make him work on offense, but it’s Parker’s job to make Paul expend a ton of energy on defense. If he’s taking a ton of jump shots like in the first part of the season, that plays right into Paul’s hands and allows him to save himself to ignite the league’s most efficient offense. No doubt Tony Parker is the most important part of a very important Spurs offense, but as the series goes on, his aggressiveness will also have a lot to say with whether or not Paul will have the legs to have that Clippers machine moving at a high speed.

  • GKoH

    I disagree a little. Do the Spurs need Parker to show up? Yes. Definitely. Do they need the Parker who slices and dices his way into the paint? Yes. Definitely. I disagree, however, that Parker, or the Spurs, need to focus on tiring Chris Paul. I think that’s a mistaken approach because there are no guarantees with that approach and no control over it. Maybe Paul will get tired and slow down, but then again maybe he won’t. It’s the playoffs, and this is the first round, rest when you’ve won or you’re out. His fatigue may be more of a factor in the 2nd or 3rd rounds, maybe not. I just don’t think the Spurs should pay it any attention. The Spurs will win if they play Spurs basketball, and probably won’t if they don’t. Parker should just focus on playing his game and taking those Spursian high-percentage shots. Basically Parker, and the Spurs, should do whatever it takes to win - whether that’s Parker carving it up, handing it over to Kawhi, dishing it to Duncan, raining fire down from above or overwhelming with the Bench - or any combination thereof.

    Thinking about Chris Paul, thinking about his fatigue is a mistake. It’s a distraction. It’s irrelevant. Chris Paul will get tired or he won’t. It will be a factor or it won’t. It’s not certainty though. Not in the first round, maybe not in the whole playoffs. The Spurs just need to be the Spurs, and hopefully that will include Tony ‘The Dagger’ Parker.

  • TD BestEVER

    I Disagree with the Spurs NEED Tony Parker to be super aggressive, or that he is the most IMPORTANT part of our offense. We don’t need any of those things. ALL we need Tony Parker to is be efficient on offense. He needs to take care of the ball, while moving the ball and shoot a good % from the floor. That’s IT!!

    What the Spurs NEED is DEFENSE from Kawhi, Danny, Tim to D up hardcore. If those 3 are engaged the win is all but locked up. Kawhi will make Paul work way harder at getting to the basket and with his size we shouldn’t have to ever double or leave other people to help out on Paul.

    Green should make Reddick work harder as well because Green is used to playing this style himself. He knows how to run around screens and is really good at contesting shoots and getting steals. No matter what % he is used to shooting he is not used to shaking guys like Green.

    Then when those guys get past their men they still have to get the ball up, over, or around Timmy Duncan. TD will be chilling on D with Jordan and the hack a Jordan strategy.

    So with those DEFENDERS and the good ball movement as I mentioned above(which allows our depth to shine through) should make this 5 or a 6 game series. With the one game we loose being a crazy game Where Barnes or someone else goes off and gets 15-20 or so.

  • Jordan Hedge

    Spurs need to play better than the Clippers. Boom. Analysis done.

  • j. jordan

    Yes, we need a good Tony Parker. A good Tony Parker who doesn’t turn the ball over, doesn’t hold onto the ball for most of the shot clock, and who can play adequate defense. The great thing about this current Spurs team is if Kahwi is doing ‘Kahwi’ things, Timmy is playing his normal, dependable game, Danny is knocking down threes (and Tiago is healthy)…with Boris and Patty providing a spark off the bench, this team can reach the Finals again without Tony having to do a whole lot.

  • TD BestEVER

    That’s what really hurts us sometimes when TP has it going. There are times when no one even touches the ball and when he doesn’t even look to the roll man until they are no longer open. AS much as this drives me crazy as long as he is shooting good % its ok. Its the times where he dribbles off 2 or 3 picks looking for a driving lane so he can go score and doesn’t find any that drive me crazy. Or even worse when her waits until there are 5 seconds left on the shot clock only to dump it off to a guy who is nowhere close to open and has to try and create any kind of shot just to avoid a 24 sec violation that kills me. But hopefully we will get a efficient TP who scores about 10-14 ppg on about 8-10 shots and allows the offense to just flow and take advantage of an average defense.

  • Emil E. Matula III

    All Tony has to do for the Spurs to win is attack, make the right pass, hit the jumper above the screen, and not turn the ball over. Any more than that, and the other weapons of the Spurs fall by the wayside. Parker and Manu have to be extremely careful about shooting the Spurs out of games.

  • hoopsaf

    That’s absolutely right. Spurs don’t need a Tony who scores 20+ on 11 for 16 shooting although if he does that every game, that would be a big boost. They just need him to score a few ‘efficiently’, make a few assists, not turn the ball over, and rebound/defend adequately.

    What Spurs can’t have is a Tony who goes 2 for 8, 1 rebound, 3 assists, 2 turnovers -> basically waste of a position. This would create a situation where all the other guys will have to do a lot more to compensate for Tony’s lack of offense and defense.

  • Dapimp Ofdayear

    We need bad Manu to get kidnapped LOL.

  • ben from austin

    The Clips have six guys (the starters and Crawford) who would make the Spurs regular rotation. It’s not just Paul the Spurs should focus on tiring, but that entire six-man unit — by relentlessly attacking Big Baby Davis, Spencer Hawes, Hedo Turkoglu, Austin Rivers, etc., whenever they set foot on the court. That might also be the best time to hack Jordan, to try and force him out of the game right when the Clips need him to cover up for their bench’s defense.

    Even so, I imagine the Spurs will have to win at least a couple games in the closing minutes against the Clips’ best players.