Rick, I wish you would quit making factually wrong statements and faulty comparisons because you're actually detracting from the tidbits of good analysis you are making.
As for Dan calling me out to make a concrete opinion, apologies, I hadn't realized I left things so vague and flaccid, let me try and remedy that.
I called Tony Parker overrated because quite honestly I don't believe he even belongs in the discussion of Top 3 Point Guards in the NBA, yet here we are arguing the possibility. That in and of itself supports my assertion. Now the argument of whether Tony Parker is a Top 3 Point Guard for the system San Antonio runs is a completely different undertaking and one I'd possibly agree with.
As I stated before Tony Parker has many outstanding qualities. He is amazingly fast with the added bonus of being one of the best players in changing speed and direction on dribble penetration (in fact the only one who is better is Steve Nash and Sam Cassell used to be better in his prime). He is one of the strongest point guards to play for the sheer amount of abuse he takes when he penetrates. He also knows how to take hits and how to fall which help immensely in his ability to stay durable. He has developed a wide array of releases while attacking the basket and the sheer amount of layups he attempts yield an amazingly efficient FG% for a PG. For the most part, his ego doesn't get in the way of the team concept and he has shown a willingness to learn, as I have observed his mid-range perimeter shot improve under Chip Engelland's tutelage.
Other than those areas, he is markedly average or below average in all other areas of the game. His career free-throw shooting is horrendous at 71.6%, especially bad for a guard, and horrible for a point guard. Although his mid-range game has improved, his long range shooting is exceedingly sub-standard for any guard with the one silver lining being he has quit taking so many attempts: just two years ago he was 27.6% from three pointer at 2 ATTEMPTS a game! He's averaged 0.5 attempts the last two years (probably heeding good advice-a strength of his) with a 39.5% average this year, which is a bit of mirage. It's much liked the 49.5% three point average Rip Hamilton had last year making it look like he was one of the best three point shooters in the NBA when anyone knows he is clearly not. His average assists are very mediocre for a PG, his career average is 5.4 apg, with a peak two years ago of 6.1 apg--this has regressed the last two years as he has emphasized scoring a little more. His defense is serviceable at best and costly at worst. I believe that he is no better a defender than Steve Nash yet Nash get all the bad press about being a horrible defender. Many things contribute to this general idea. Tony Parker playing on perhaps the most sound team-oriented defense of the last decade helps the image that he actually knows what he is doing. Nash having the sieve-like defensive teams of Don Nelson and Mike D'Antoni hasn't helped his case in any way. Parker is generally hidden on defense and the Spurs can afford to hide him. When Ginobili, Bowen, and Parker are on the floor together, Parker draws the weakest assignment. When Parker, Bowen, and Finley are on the floor together, Parker draws the weakest assignment. When Parker, Bowen, and Barry are on the floor together, Parker draws the weakest assignment most of the time. In the extremely rare cases that Parker, Bowen, and Vaughn are on the floor together.....yep, you guessed it......Parker draws the weakest assignment. Yet having the privelage of playing on the Spurs and drawing the weakest assignment a lot of the time, he's managed a paltry steal per game across his career, further alluding to his deficient defensive awareness considering he is so fast and quick.
In the end of all the statistical analysis, anecdotal evidence, and argument posturing, only one thing matters--Winning; of which by virtue of playing on the San Antonio Spurs with the likes of Tim Duncan, David Robinson, and Manu Ginobili, Tony Parker has done a lot of. He is an integral piece of a winning franchise and will therefore have his strengths aggrandized and his weaknesses more-or-less excused. I do the same thing; I over-value and overrate Robert Horry because of his 7 championships, is he as good as I think he is, probably not, but all that winning is sure good ammo. I think its the same phenomenon with Tony Parker.
