Parker's Injury Leaves Major Question Mark

[Mombear]

Parker's Injury Leaves Major Question Mark
Written by Jose Grijalva
Saturday, 02 March 2013 05:41

Tony Parker went down with an injury and that may leave Nando De Colo with a golden opportunity.

Tony Parker went down with an ankle sprain on Friday against the Sacramento Kings and the San Antonio Spurs still managed to blowout the things in a 130-102 decision. After the game, Mike Monroe tweeted a small update from head coach Gregg Popovich.

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[Spurd_On]

Not the way Pop planned it but these backup PGs needed more minutes anyway if any are to be worthwhile in the playoffs.

[Rzarector7]

Originally Posted by Spurd_On

Not the way Pop planned it but these backup PGs needed more minutes anyway if any are to be worthwhile in the playoffs.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^

[alh1020]

Originally Posted by Spurd_On

Not the way Pop planned it but these backup PGs needed more minutes anyway if any are to be worthwhile in the playoffs.

I really like watching DeColo, Mills and Joseph (when he’s with the team) and I think they will fill in admirably during Parker’s downtime. But it saddens me to think we won’t see them very much after the last regular season game against Minnesota. I, for one, would like to see Pop step away from his standard of a set 7-8 man playoff rotation and for once rely on the bench that has supported the Spurs the entire season. Given, the playoffs are a time when you don’t want to make mistakes and instinct sometimes dictates you play your very best. But the playoffs can bring added stress and with Pop’s playoff rotation, added minutes for the ‘chosen’ ones and fatigue, minutes that these guys haven’t been used to during the regular season and weary legs for the aged ones.

[td4mvp2k]

Originally Posted by Spurd_On

Not the way Pop planned it but these backup PGs needed more minutes anyway if any are to be worthwhile in the playoffs.

That and we will see who can play come POs.

[Fundamental9903]

But Pop has to actually play the bench in the playoffs. That's going to be the million dollar question. If De Colo plays 15-20 minutes during this stretch only for Pop to stick him back playing 2-3 in the playoffs, it's all for nothing.

Stick with what worked in the regular season.

[Uwe Blab]

The reason Pop's rotation is shortened is because the other teams are going to play their best players more. You aren't going to last very long if you're playing De Colo against the likes of Chris Paul and Westbrook for long stretches. During the regular season, most of the time your bench is playing when their bench is playing.

[SleepyAdamII]

I thought Joseph did pretty well , going from D-League to starting PG. I suppose Pop will experiment this month, see who has the chops to stand in for Tony.

[Spurd_On]

Originally Posted by SleepyAdamII

I thought Joseph did pretty well , going from D-League to starting PG. I suppose Pop will experiment this month, see who has the chops to stand in for Tony.

The acid test begins Monday against Westbrook, followed by Rubio and Irving soon after that.

[WhiteChocolateJr]

Originally Posted by Fundamental9903

But Pop has to actually play the bench in the playoffs. That's going to be the million dollar question. If De Colo plays 15-20 minutes during this stretch only for Pop to stick him back playing 2-3 in the playoffs, it's all for nothing.

Stick with what worked in the regular season.

Simplified problem with that: Durant averages around 38mpg in the regular season; in the playoffs, that number jumps to 41.

Lebron in the regular season: 38mpg; in the playoffs it's 42.

De Colo on the court for extended minutes means Parker is taking a rest...which is a bad idea when LeBron/Durant/Westbrook/etc. is out there running up the score for damn-near every second of the game. PO games come down to crunch time, and regular season plus-minus is fools' gold when it comes down to execution against top names in the "real season." De Colo is great for getting TP some rest during the stretch run--but in the PO, there's a reason why rotations shorten.