warriors vs spurs preview (Photo: SportsIllustrated)
We asked Paul Garcia (@PaulGarciaPS) of ProjectSpurs.com for insight on Tony Parker and the San Antonio Spurs, who face the Golden State Warriors tonight.
Last year, Parker was quietly having an MVP-type performance. For those who haven’t been following all year long, how is his performance this year?
After going deep into the Finals, then helping France win the 2013 Eurobasket title, Parker started off playing really well this season but towards the All-Star break, he just didn’t have that burst or spark, so Gregg Popovich shut him down for six games (02/11/-03/02). Since he returned from the rest period, he’s put together a few 20-point plus games.
Parker averaged 20.6 points per game last season, and this season, he’s very close to that mark (17.6 points, 50% shooting, 6.1 assists) despite playing fewer minutes this season (2013: 32.9 minutes per game, 2014: 30.3 minutes).
Though he’s not having an MVP-type year, he doesn’t need this season because of the Spurs’ depth. Seven of their nine core players are all averaging over 10 points per game since the All-Star break and the other two (Diaw and Splitter) are both averaging 8.5 points per game.
During Parker’s six game rest period, the Spurs defeated two potential Western Conference teams in the Los Angeles Clippers and Portland Trail Blazers minus Parker.
It’s going to be an interesting post-season when a team has to play San Antonio because the Spurs have built an offensive system that isn’t just predicated on Parker. If a team takes Parker’s strengths away , the Spurs have an abundance of perimeter players who can run sets in the offense (Manu Ginobili, Kawhi Leonard, Marco Belinelli, Patty Mills) effectively.
How have Manu and Tim Duncan been holding up this year in terms of health and, assuming Manu is healthier than he was last year, what can we expect in the playoffs?
Duncan has been relatively healthy all season. He’s mainly been sidelined for rest purposes this season. He’s also averaging less than 30 minutes per game and it helps that the team has won 29 of their 52 wins by 10 or more points. This season, Duncan, Ginobili, and Parker have played a lot of games for just three quarters, because they usually have a win wrapped up by the end of the third quarter against teams below .500.
Ginobili on the other hand has also been much more productive than last season, and as Popovich said this season, a lot of him getting his legs back was due to taking the summer off from play with Argentina. This season, Ginobili’s had more 20+ point games than last season and outside of some strains this season, he too has been relatively healthy for a majority of the season except for the time he missed in January and February.
A big part of Ginobili’s success and ability to stay fresh is due to his teammates on the bench, or as they’re called in San Antonio, the ‘Foreign Legion.’ Ginobili used to be the main factor on the Spurs’ bench, but this season, he, Boris Diaw, Belinelli, or Mills can go off scoring in an any individual quarter.
Friday night was an example, as Belinelli exploded for 13 points in the fourth quarter. Ginobili is only having to play 23.0 minutes per game this season.
Popovich will continue to monitor the minutes of Parker, Duncan, and Ginobili, even if it means sitting them in some games and losing the best record. However, so long as they don’t get injured, Popovich will have his players rested and fresh come the first playoff game.
The Spurs seem to always — I mean always! — play with a chip on their shoulder, like they deserve to win the champinship. They’re the true model for that across the NBA, of course. Aside from Popovich and the Big Three, where on the Spurs does that come from, or is it really those 4 people you can point to as sort of the “Mt. Rushmore” of the present-day Spurs?
These days the Spurs aren’t just called a team, but their culture of winning is all part of the ‘Spurs System.’ For this successful system, it takes the foundational leaders which are Coach Popovich, Duncan, Parker, and Ginobili. They’re all leaders who hold each other and their team accountable. It’s a culture where each of them has positive relationships and they bring in, and develop pieces not just off talent, but players who have specific skill sets that will fit their team, and personalities who aren’t ego-driven. Even on nights when Parker, Ginobili, or Duncan may not play, the three of them are still involved on the sideline guiding the younger players. Their other pieces such as Leonard, Danny Green, and Tiago Splitter all also fit the mold of what a successful player in the Spurs system is known as – hard working , driven, and an eagerness to not only improve their individual game, but that of making the entire team better.
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