Tony Parker the key for the San Antonio Spurs in game 6 against the Oklahoma City Thunder – NBA Feature
The matchup between the San Antonio Spurs and the Oklahoma City Thunder was pitched as a showdown between two of the best point guards in the league - Tony Parker and Russell Westbrook.
Parker had a showdown with another prolific point guard before the Spurs reached the Western Conference Finals, Chris Paul of the Los Angeles Clippers and he easily won that battle.
Paul had an amazing regular season, leading the Clippers to the best season record in franchise history. But when the Spurs took on the Clippers in the 2nd round of the playoffs, Parker ruled supreme and guided his team
to a cruising 4-0 whitewash of the Clippers.
The French point guard gave proof as to why he is one of the best point guards in the league, and carried the team on his shoulders throughout. Parker has a unique combination of speed, explosiveness and finish. He is also a great
play maker and ball handler, much like Paul. But in the series against the Thunder, Paul has suddenly disappeared from the game.
The one guard scored 34 points in the Spurs game 2 victory over the Thunder. However, he had less than 30 points in games 3 and 4 combined. In game 5, he had 20 points but could only muster 4 assists and went 5 of 14 from the field.
He was also absent in the crucial final quarter, with Ginobili taking the lead for the Spurs.
Parker had 6 turnovers in game 1 and 2 combined, but then committed 11 in the three games since. He made 16 shots in game 2 alone, and has made 16 in the three games combined since then. Parker is definitely not at his best, and
the Spurs need him to be at his best now more than ever before.
Credit the Thunder for what they have done with Parker and the Spurs since losing the first two games. Thunder coach Scott Brooks started with defensive specialist Thabo Sefolosha in game 3 and made him guard Parker instead of
giving the daunting task to Westbrook. Sefolosha did such a good job that he made headlines all over the NBA with his performance.
Since then, Parker has not been able to come out of his slump. The man who led the Spurs to a 20 game winning streak and the best tied record in the league this year is now struggling to make it happen on the court.
Now is the worst of times to be facing a bad streak. The Spurs have accepted Parker as their new leader and Tim Duncan is no longer the man around whom the team is built. He is not getting as many touches as he used to, and has
happily taken a step back for Parker. It was part of the transition coach Gregg Popovich undertook ever since he realized that Duncan was getting old and his team needed a new strategy to stay relevant in the NBA. His new strategy centred around Parker and
it has worked so far. Now, with the Spurs down 2-3 to the Thunder in the Western Conference Finals and with game 6 in Oklahoma City, where the Thunder are 7-0 so far in the post season, it’s too late for the Spurs to change their strategy.
Parker needs to rise to the occasion one more time if the team wants to go through to the NBA Finals. This season will most probably mark the end of an era of greatness by the Spurs which started in 1999 when the Spurs won their
first NBA title with the Duncan-Popovich combination. They have won three more titles since then and along with the Los Angeles Lakers, are the only other team that has stayed relevant and competitive over such an extensive period of time.
But with Duncan at his age, the Spurs probably have a last chance at achieving the glory of winning an NBA championship in the Duncan era. And they need Parker to play his role if they want that dream to materialize.
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