Tony Parker keeps on struggling
Apr 24, 2015; San Antonio, TX, USA; San Antonio Spurs point guard Tony Parker (9) shoots the ball against the Los Angeles Clippers in game three of the first round of the NBA Playoffs at AT&T Center. Mandatory Credit: Soobum Im-USA TODAY Sports
Tony Parker hasn’t been having his best playoff series by a long way, yet his Spurs have bailed out his weak performance through the likes of Duncan, Leonard and their endless supply of valuable role players. The Spurs’ near flawless win over the Clippers in game three proved that they can power through the troubles of a key player better than any team in the league, but that still doesn’t change the fact that Parker just hasn’t found a rhythm yet.
The full extent of his injury (tightness in his right Achilles) is entirely clear as he’s continued to play, so we can’t be certain how much pain Parker is in. That being said, after he left with the injury in game two, Parker still chose to play nearly 26 minutes in game three. He’s still showed his pace when dribbling around the paint and he’s been able to knock down the occasional floater, but he’s still continued to struggle.
He’s averaged just 3 assists and 5.7 points on 25 percent shooting this series. Which, a slight injury and stronger defense than we might have anticipated from the Clippers during the beginning of this matchup, Parker has hardly got anything going.
He just hasn’t been his normal self. So whilst that can partly be credited to the All-NBA caliber defense of Chris Paul, it still doesn’t mean the Spurs wouldn’t benefit from Parker finding a way to make a bigger impact. And if he’s going to be hounded by Paul all night long and swatted down with ease by DeAndre Jordan in the paint, Spurs’ fans will need to hope he stars finding his stroke from 15 feet.