Posts tagged TonyParker at FanHouse - AOL Sports Blog

In another of our continuing series, five things to keep an eye out for tonight in the Hornets-Spurs Western Conference Semifinals Game 6 this evening.

1. Backs To The Wall: Well, here we are, San Antonio. The Spurs are not very used to having their backs against the wall, they usually are the ones doing the shoving. But tonight at home will either be the last stand of one of the most quietly dominant dynasties in NBA history or the night where the old gunslingers draw the line in the sand. With a raucous (and possibly, maybe sell-out) crowd behind them, the odds are in the favor of the boys in black and silver. However, against a Hornets team that's going to be feeling the momentum and smelling blood, they can't let up. They need to make some of the same adjustments they made in Games 3 and 4, and some new ones to prevent the Game 5 massacre. Like, oh, I don't know, keeping David West from single handedly annihilating you.

2. Feet On The Floor, Head In The Clouds: The health of Tyson Chandler and David West will be of great concern tomorrow night. Chandler's foot was so bad that afterwards he said he probably wouldn't walk on it that night but said he would be "fine." He then reiterated that sentiment on his blog, which was quite lengthy for a guy that just played a bunch of minutes in a playoff game against Tim Duncan, I might add. Meanwhile West was in obvious physical pain and still managed to destroy the Spurs in what can only be described as a symphony of catastrophic moves that had to make Spurs fans wonder if he was Satan himself. Still, injuries are injuries and teams that are beat up usually don't do so well on the road. We'll see if the devil gets paid his due tonight or if Manu Ginobili and Bruce Bowen can fire up the fiddle again.

Depending on your vantage point, the fact that a Hornets' fan brought a cardboard cutout of Eva Longoria dressed in Hornets' gear to taunt Tony Parker at the free throw line could either be seen as clever and hilarious, or insulting and over the line.

Ron Hitley at Hornets247 (via TrueHoop) laughed at the time, but upon further consideration, thinks it was a low blow:

One low blow: that dude with the life-size Eva Longoria cutout behind the basket when Parker was shooting free throws in the fourth quarter. I laughed at the time, as did everyone in the Arena (damn you, mob mentality) but in hindsight that was just way too personal. We're better than that, New Orleans.

So a Hornets' fan thinks it was going too far, but arena personnel apparently thought it was fine, as they allowed it to happen.

My thoughts? I'm leaning towards it being more funny than offensive, but that's really for Parker to decide. I mean, he's almost certainly been more offended by things he's heard from opposing fans than he could have been by a photo of his wife in the stands, right?

While I don't think this was anything too terrible, the league should probably put a stop to the fans' being allowed to bring in larger-than-life photos of players' family members to the games. This time it was fairly harmless, but I don't think that version 2.0 of this idea would turn out to be nearly as tame.

In another of our continuing series, five things to keep an eye out for tonight in the Spurs-Hornets Western Conference Semifinals Game 5 this evening.

1. Expect The Unexpected: I've worked this game around in my head for the last day, and I still can't get an answer out of it. It's like trying to get a clear choice out of a busted Magic Eight Ball. I can't even get a "Reply Hazy, Try Again." Nothing would surprise me tonight. A Spurs blowout? Of course! They're the champs and they've figured out the Hornets. A Hornets blowout? Well, you saw the first two games, didn't you? A Hornets breakaway in the last five minutes? That's what happens when you're old and slow. A Hornets meltdown in the last five minutes? That's what happens when you're young and inexperienced! A Spurs buzzer-beater? There's a reason Robert Horry, Michael Finley, and Brent Barry play for the Spurs. Armageddon? Why not? There's really no way to predict what will come out tonight in New Orleans.

2. Duncan Go Nuts: Maybe it was just the flu. Maybe the only thing holding Tim Duncan back in Games 1 and 2 were the chills and fever he reportedly had, and it had nothing to do with the stifling and effective double teams by the Hornets. The most likely answer is that it was a little bit of both. Either way, the Spurs have figured a way around that trick. By pulling Manu Ginobili to Duncan's post side and using him as the entry passer, they've presented the Hornets with their two worst matchups at once. Bring the help defender, and Ginobili's either got a three or the step on a drive if the help tries to close out. Don't bring the help defender ... well, let's just say you want to bring the help defender. The Hornets may have to try going to zone tonight and bringing Bonzi Wells over from the weak side block to provide pressure. Most importantly, if Tyson Chandler is guarding Duncan, he cannot do what he did in the last game and give Tim Duncan the baseline. That's just suicide. And it's not painless.

NBA Essentials ranks our six favorite stories of the day.

1. FreeDarko: Why Deron WIlliams has it in for Chris Paul.

2. Third Quarter Collapse: Looks like the ref got cold feet on the final play of the Pistons-Magic Game 4.

3. Alan Hahn, Newsday: Did the Knicks hire Mike D'Antoni to entice LeBron James?

4. Ross Siler, Salt Lake Tribune: Ronnie Price doesn't think Ronny Turiaf should be suspended.

5. Hardwood Paroxysm: "I never noticed the Maginot line had rims on it."

6. The Hype Guy: A singing Shaq comes to Will Ferrell's rescue.

In another of our continuing series, five things to keep an eye out for tonight in the Hornets-Spurs Western Conference Semifinals Game 4 this afternoon.

1. Manu Happy Returns: Manu Ginobili returned to playoff form in Game 4, lighting up the Hornets for 31 points and 6 assists in Game 3. What's better, for the Spurs, is that he finally seemed to attack the rim after being held to the perimeter in New Orleans. Instead of his customary drive from the key, he instead used the wing more, driving in for albeit contested layups, and got back on defense instead of crying for the foul. Well, less so, anyway. He was downright brilliant offensively, though, nailing 3 three pointers and helping to open previously clogged lanes. He needs to repeat that performance tomorrow night against the Hornets for San Antonio to tie this thing up.

2. The Ineffective One Man Show: Chris Paul was a lot of things in Game 3. The words "amazing," "irradiant," and "transcendent" were just a few I read and heard about his performance. One word that did not describe Paul after that game, though, was "winner." The Spurs took a defending-Kobe-Bryant-like approach to Paul, choosing to let the All-Star point guard have his way, as long as his teammates were held in check. And for one game at least, the strategy proved effective. The issue will become whether they can keep the support players for New Orleans in check after a terrible Game 3 in which the Hornets were still within range until late in the fourth quarter. The Spurs also have to make sure Paul doesn't go too far. You can give the dog some slack to run around as long as he doesn't start choking you with it.

Chris Paul is Jordanesque, Chris Paul is a great human being, blah blah blah. Tony Parker put up a very similar stat line to everyone's favorite point guard last night, his Spurs got the win, and all I can hear is praise for CP3. Can we please give it a rest people, at least for one day?

For a single night, in the Spurs' Game 3 victory over the Hornets, I believe this to be true: that Tony Parker was at least just as good -- and possibly better --than Chris Paul. Statistically, they were virtually identical: Paul scored 35 points on 15-25 shooting, with two rebounds, nine assists, and just one turnover, while Parker had 31 on 12-24, four rebounds, 11 assists, and three turnovers. And as a reminder (because it's hard to hear over everyone's extremely loud praise-singing of Paul), the Spurs actually won the game.

As a team, the Spurs had assists on 13 more of their buckets than the Hornets did, and that's in large part to Parker creating and then his teammates making one more pass to get a wide open shot. This is a big reason why the Spurs were 11-25 from three-point land, while the Hornets were just 2-11. With Bruce Bowen all over Peja Stojakovic, and most of Paul's passes going towards the rim or to David West for a jump shot, the Hornets weren't able to get the open looks from behind the arc that the Spurs got, and that was largely due to Parker's playmaking.

There's no doubt that Chris Paul has had an incredible season, and an even more incredible playoffs. And he may end up being the greatest ever. But after a game in which Tony Parker played just as well and lead his team to the win, I think it's okay to not praise Chris Paul for a day. I'm sure he'll get over it.

In another of our continuing series, five things to keep an eye out for tonight in the Spurs-Hornets Western Conference Semifinals Game 2 this evening.

1. Western Aggression: I've been saying it all season. David West is the most offensively versatile power forward in the league this season. There's not a lot this guy can't do. The idea in Game 1 was to try and contain West with Oberto, Horry, Kurt Thomas (snicker). Now, there's a prevailing sense that Tim Duncan manning up on him is the best option. Here's the problem. If you put Duncan on him, you're essentially saying "KT/Oberto/Horry, you have to guard the lane against Chris Paul. Not a good idea. Not only that but the thought is that Duncan can contest some of West's 17-18 footers. But Duncan can't really get that far that fast anymore. He's still an elite defender, don't get me wrong. But he's going to have to come way out on West to contest those. Which means if West gets by him, the other big man for the Spurs has to leave Chandler. That's not good. I think at some point,the Spurs need to adjust accept West is going to have an advantage on this series and focus on the backcourt.

2. Shootout, Manu a Manu?: Manu Ginobili averaged 5.3 three point attempts this season. In Game 1, he took 9. That was a central part of the Spurs' approach, to try and attack the New Orleans defense at the perimeter with their key shooters. Which was all well and good in the first half when they were on fire. But when they cooled? That was when the Hornets kept attacking the basket. I would doubt that Greg Popovich tries to rely on the perimeter shooting as much in this game. Especially from ...

Because you can't really get enough live blogs, can you? Hornets - Spurs. The new hotness that is Chris Paul. The somehow old hotness that is Tony Parker. The always emotional Tim Duncan. Tyson Chandler. Other people as well.

Thrilling description, no? Seriously, this actually might be the best series in the entire playoffs. As Matt Moore pointed out, there aren't a lot of bad matchups available anywhere across the board. David West is up and coming, Tyson Chandler will make things tough for Duncan down low and this is the point guard matchup that Parker - Nash and Paul -- Kidd was supposed to be. Where amazing happens.

In another of our continuing series, five things to keep an eye out for tonight in the Spurs-Hornets game tonight.

1. Matchup Madness: It honestly doesn't get much better than this for NBA matchup analysts. Tony Parker versus Chris Paul, a point guard cage match where Parker is suddenly the more experienced, larger point guard. Tim Duncan versus David West, where West's offensive versatility may enable him to be the only power forward in the league to hold Duncan to a draw. Throw in Tyson Chandler versus the Spurs' ability to attack the basket, the Hornets' ability to take away the Spurs' rebounding advantage, and you have a tactician's dream. All of that pales in comparison, though, to ...

2. Who Wants It More?: Yes, the clichéd question that abounds yearly in the NBA playoffs. Generally speaking, I don't subscribe much to this question. Phoenix didn't lose to San Antonio because the Spurs wanted it more. The Spurs won because San Antonio was able to take Manu Ginobili left to the hole whenever he wanted, and controlled the boards. Likewise, desire had nothing to do with Dallas' meltdown.

FanHouse's Round Two previews will give you the critical points of every series, so you can talk to your friends like you've been following every team in the Association all season long. Or know what the hell an Udoka is.

Biggest Reason You Should Watch: Because Chris Paul v. Tony Parker is just like Chris Paul v. Jason Kidd, except this time CP3's opponent can shoot and play defense. Oh, and if you really ever wanted a "new - old" rivalry that you could wax all philosophical about by the water cooler, this is it. The Spurs have championships galore. The Hornets won the first divisional championship in the history of New Orleans this year. Plus, we're all a little sick of Manu at his point, no?

New Orleans Can Win If: Well, they can't, if you listen to most of the hating. Paul is going to be otherworldly. Peja Stojakovic has to do what he did last round, which is shoot lights out. It will be tougher this time against Bruce Bowen, who cheats plays hard nosed defense, but CP3 is so good at manipulating defenses that it's entirely possible. Tyson Chandler needs to come up with a little more offense (7.2 against Dallas) to take some of Tim Duncan's heat off of David West too.

San Antonio Can Win If: Tim Duncan can stop the X-man. West averaged 22 plus against Dallas and while Paul makes this team go, if they can't score in the post, it becomes a heck of a lot harder to hit from the perimeter. Duncan's defense is actually still pretty underrated, but then again so is West. Or is he overrated now? I can never remember. Whatever. This is the Spurs. They can't ever not win.

Video Clip to Get You Pumped: Well, I was going to use French disc jockey DJ Hornet (get it?) but I wasn't sure if it was safe for work, and well, frankly it sucked. Instead, a quite possibly irrelevant South Park clip about distinct styles. If Randy Marsh's wail at the end doesn't get you stoked, I don't know what will.

34-13 is all you need to know about the whoopin' that the Phoenix Suns put on the San Antonio Spurs Sunday afternoon. That was the score after the first half, and even Gregg Popovich acknowledged that it was not so much what the Spurs weren't doing as it was what the Suns were doing. That would be getting ridiculously aggressive and, to use the classic boxing analogy, punching the Spurs hard enough that they didn't get back up and crawl into the ring again.

It reminded me a lot of the Carolina - Kansas Final Four game, honestly, only if Tim Duncan had freaky bug-eyes and an unstoppable Will.

The Suns won 105-86 and the general consensus at the NBA 'Haus is that if there is one team that has a shot at pulling off a comeback down 3-0 to the defending NBA champions, it's these Phoenix Suns. Oh, and by "consensus", I think I actually mean "a few of us delusional enough to hope that evil won't kill good this week."

In another of our continuing series, five things to keep an eye out for tonight in the Spurs-Suns game today.


1. This Ain't Baseball: 3-0 is fine in baseball. It's got the capability to wrestle momentum in a single inning. It's got a much more random set of variables. In basketball, it comes down to matchups. Your five guys versus my five guys. And the Spurs five guys have been phenomenally better than the Suns' five guys in this series. There's a reason the 3-0 deficit is considered a death knell. The question today is simply how much pride this Phoenix team has. While it might be better to end the Suns' fans misery and get the San Antonio Spurs' slow killfest off of national television, to get swept in the first round would be pretty embarrassing for a team that was supposed to contend for a title. Of course, losing 4-1 won't be much more dignified.

2. Which One Goes Off: Game 1: Tim Duncan. Game 2: Manu Ginobili. Game 3: Tony Parker. How about Game 4: Fabricio Oberto? Or Bruce Bowen? Which player for the Spurs are the Suns going to let torch them this time? The Suns have been completely unable to do anything defensively, and now they're turning on their coach. Shaquille O'Neal can't defend Parker's speed or Duncan's range. Nash can't keep up with Parker and can't rotate effectively to cover the shooters. And Amare always seems to make the wrong decision in key situations. That's to say nothing of the offensive and defensive liabilities that are Leandro Barbosa and Boris Diaw, despite their pleasant boxscore. Maybe it's Jacque Vaughn day in Phoenix.

In another of our continuing series, five things to keep an eye out for tonight in the Spurs-Suns Game 3 tonight.

1. Barbosa Better Ball: Leandro Barbosa gets the start tonight, and he better get off his snide real freakin' quick if the Suns are going to survive this at all. Barbosa went 0-7 in Game 2, and on top of that, was worked over defensively like he was trying guard the Globetrotters. Barbosa's lack of size is a serious issue against the Spurs, and his lack of savvy gives Tony Parker an edge on him. Throw on top of that the Spurs' ability to force him to outrun his own layups, and this has not been the model series for the Brazillian Blur. He needs to come out popping if the Suns are going to claw their way back into this thing.

2. Perhaps Spread The Shots Out: In the first two games, the Suns have started hot as the fires of tarnation. And then they've cold to as cold as a witches' ... hands. Sorry, I'll stop using my grandmother's analogies. Anyway, the Suns have allowed the Spurs to roar back on them in two games with untimely cold streaks. To be sure, the Spurs' tenacious and incomparable defense had something to do with the pathetic output in the third quarter of Game 2, but the Suns have also just been victims of ridiculous cold streaks. They need to maintain a level of consistency for all four quarters if they're going to put the defending champs back down to their level. And if they do manage to get a lead in the fourth, they better not let off the pedal. Because the last thing they'll see is the Spurs' license plate speeding off to the second round.

It would be safe to assume that John and Rhonda Till, parents of two year old Parker Duncan Ginobili Till, and residents of Greensboro, North Carolina, are fans of the San Antonio Spurs. Like, really big fans. Apparently, while the Spurs were dynasty building in 2005, the Tills were debating what to name their son. Then the kind of obvious occurred to them, the Greensboro News & Record reports:

Parker's nice, they agree, while point guard Tony Parker does his floor general bit.

Duncan's not so bad either, John suggests, as former Wake Forest star Tim Duncan leaps over players to score a basket.

Rhonda approves. Then John goes too far.

'What about Ginobili?' he says, referring to Argentinian guard Emanuel David 'Manu' Ginobili. 'He's the other superstar on the team. We've got to have him in.'

An adamant Rhonda says: 'No way.'

But apparently a "weak moment" around the time of their son's birth by Rhonda led to Ginobili getting squeezed into his name as well. And now, Parker Duncan Ginobili Till is two years old and able to watch what could be another Spurs championship, even if he -- apparently -- has no idea what the mess is going on. Now, personally, I think this is really cool (and I totally respect the guy for talking his wife into it). Reggie Smoltz Brentson Brinson. I like the sound of that.

H/T: Ryne Nelson

In another of our continuing series, five things to keep an eye out for tonight in the Hawks at Celtics game.

1. Garnett: Just "Garnett."Can't really get more obvious than this. His first playoff game with the Celtics. His first game back after what is reported to be the birth of his first child. And a game against what can only be generously described as a slightly outmatched Hawks team. Kevin Garnett has waited his whole life for the next two months. He's had an MVP caliber season, but possibly the quietest MVP caliber season in history. This may be the time when he goes absolutely ballistic.

2. The Singular Advantage: If there's one area where the Hawks have a legitimate advantage in matchups, it may be at Center. Al Horford has shown he can compete on both offense and defense with anyone in the league, and he's got the only weak spot for the Celtics. There are only two issues. One, he's facing a three-headed monster of Kendrick Perkins, Glen Davis, and Leon Powe. And two? He'll probably end up guarding Garnett at some point. But if he can force Garnett's defensive attention away from Josh Smith, that might open things up for the explosive wing man, Smith.