Tony Parker hitting weight room hard

[Reality]

http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/basketball/nba/spurs/stories/MYSA100307.BKNparkernote.en.13540d060.html

Tony Parker, hoping to get his 1st repeat and help fellow guard Manu GNob to a Celtlike 4 of 6 titles in his 1st 6 years, is resting his ankle but at the same time hitting the weights hard.

He will not play on the Frenchie national team for the next two years.

[rickortreat]

Tony is taking this seriously.  A very good sign.  He may not be the most talented guard, but hustle and working hard are just as important as talent.  Tony does a good job of running their offense, and staying under control. Amazing player for a dude from France!

[westkoast]

Tony is taking this seriously.  A very good sign.  He may not be the most talented guard, but hustle and working hard are just as important as talent.  Tony does a good job of running their offense, and staying under control. Amazing player for a dude from France!

He doesn't need to be.  He fits the role he is asked to play on the team and has steadily improved with each year in different areas.  It's always good to hear about players really wanting to step it up a notch for the next season.  Especially when it is a player who is just coming off a championship.

[Lurker]

Tony is taking this seriously.  A very good sign.  He may not be the most talented guard, but hustle and working hard are just as important as talent.  Tony does a good job of running their offense, and staying under control. Amazing player for a dude from France!

I wonder which of the others on this list you believe have little talent...

Five players who have averaged 18+ points AND 50+% from the floor for last 2 years:

Yao Ming
Elton Brand
Pau Gasol
Steve Nash
Tony Parker


Hustle alone doesn't explain Parker's ability to get into the lane and finish at a high rate.  Also if you watch the Spurs regularly you would see that Parker does an excellant job of picking up the opposing PG at 3/4 court and making them work to get into their offense. 

San Antonio again led the league in fewest 3-point attempts per field goal attempt by its opponents, and although the Spurs weren't quite as dominant here as in their awesome 2005-06 performance, it still gave them a major advantage. San Antonio also ranked second in 3-point percentage allowed, with the result being that the Spurs gave up fewer triples than any other team.

I guess Parker should get some credit for the Spurs strong perimeter defense also.  It can't be the fact that the Spurs have a weak interior defense that keeps teams from firing up threes.  So it must mean that the perimeter defenders on the Spurs rotate quickly and play outstanding team defense...including Parker.  If he was weak at d then how does he stay on the court (especially in Pop's system)?

[Ted]

I don't think he said "Parker has little talent." He said he's not the "most talented." And I would agree. Tony Parker is not the most talented guard in the league. But good for him for looking to improve.

[Lurker]

I don't think he said "Parker has little talent." He said he's not the "most talented." And I would agree. Tony Parker is not the most talented guard in the league. But good for him for looking to improve.

And how many other guards have the talent to blow by their defender, get a shot up over the big men and convert 50+% of the time?

IMO you are seriously underestimating the talent he has.

[Skandery]

Lurker, nobody is underestimating his talent or saying he has little talent, they're saying he's not the most talented and its not unreasonable to say so. 

Jason Kidd
Gilbert Arenas
Steve Nash
Baron Davis
Chris Paul
Mike Bibby
Chauncey Billups

There is 7 guys right there who have more talent than Tony Parker.

Stephon Marbuy
Jason Williams
Mo Williams
Deron Williams
Kirk Hinrich

There is 5 more less obvious guys who probably have more talent than Tony Parker
 
All Tony Parker really does well is either blow by a defender for a layup and he has great talent in converting the bank-shot layup at various angles, or pick and roll where he goes in for a layup.  His perimeter shot is now serviceable after years of work put in by a coach they hired whose SOLE purpose was making Tony's shot serviceable,  his three pointer is egregiously bad but he's stopped attempting it so much (thanks again to the coach), his FT percentage is plain bad for a guard.  His defense is adequate which isn't that impressive knowing he's spent an entire career on a team and with a coach whose entire philosophy begins with defense. 

Does Tony Parker have talent?  Yes
Does he have the most talent or is he one of the most talented?  No
Is it good for Tony Parker that basketball is about way more than just talent?  Absolutely

That's all anyone is trying to say, I think.

[Reality]

  His perimeter shot is now serviceable after years of work put in by a coach they hired whose SOLE purpose was making Tony's shot serviceable,  his three pointer is egregiously bad but he's stopped attempting it so much (thanks again to the coach), his FT percentage is plain bad for a guard. 

Summer 2006 he was going to work on his three pointers.  Broken finger nixed that.
Summer 2007 he plays for the Frenchies and now his ankle is twisted.  No time for practicing treys.

I wonder if the improving on treys is now moved back to summer 2008?
I wish he would improve it because i think it would one of the difference makers in a 2008 Spurs title.

[westkoast]

I have to agree with everyone else Lurker.  I don't think anyone is knocking Tony Parker but he is not the best PG in the league as far as raw talents are concerned.  He is still an awesome PG and an important part of all the championship success the Spurs have had over the last couple of seasons.  Arenas, Davis, Nash, Kidd are all better then Tony if you were to compare them one on one.

And shouldn't Tony Parker get props for actually listening to his coach and not thinking he knows everything like some of the more talented guards in the league Skand?!  He has traits that don't show up on paper that really add to his worth IMO.  One of those being very coachable and another being a great teammate.

[Skandery]

And shouldn't Tony Parker get props for actually listening to his coach and not thinking he knows everything like some of the more talented guards in the league Skand?!

Absolutely westkoast!  I give Parker all the props for that stuff.

By no means does more talent equal a better teammate or EVEN better basketball player.  Plenty of guys I mentioned: Marbury, J. Williams, Davis (at his worst), Bibby, etc, I consider worst basketball players than Parker because they're bad at being team players or undermine the coach's authority or are plain undisciplined on the court.  What Parker lacks in talent he makes up more in these other ways and that's why he's been able to find success.

[JoMal]

What Tony Parker has is luck. If he had ended up on any number of other teams, we may not have seen him develop nearly so well as he has. He has exceptional quickness, but his court vision was never going to get him much playing time. He needed a patient coach and that is what he got, on a team with enough addtional firepower where his flaws were not tantamount to team failure.

As for working out in the off-season, Sacramento center, Brad Miller, of all people, has developed a physique. I know, you wish you had been sitting down before reading that, but it is true. He has taken to personal training to the point where his personal trainer goes everywhere with him so he won't miss a session. He has lost 25 pounds from last season and is down to about 245 pounds now, and has muscle definition.

Says something about the Kings' management drafting a 7 foot offensive center in this year's draft to motivate the current center, I have to say.

[Lurker]

If all those guys are so much more talented then how come it doesn't reflect in their play?

How come coaches believe Parker is an all-star over several of those players?

And I still say that you are all underestimating his level of talent.  I am not claiming he is the most talented but I also wouldn't list him as the 15th in talent among point guards (J-Will?  Mo Will? -- you have got to be kidding Skander).  His speed and quickness are talents.  Shooting 50% from the floor is a talent.  Running the point on a championship level squad is a talent.

Skander claims Parker has a terrible FT% but he shoots a higher % than Baron or Kidd.  Her also shoots a better % from the floor than anyone on that list but Nash.  And from the 3pt line...Parker is better than than anyone on your list.  Just because he is smart enough to realize that he shouldn't take a 40% shot when he can get a 50% shot shouldn't penalize him.  Hell, Baron shot 30.4%...that shows talent.

[WayOutWest]

I don't know how you can argue your stance Lurker, it's pretty obvious what everyone else is saying.  Except for Nash having more talent than Parker, anybody who thinks that is on crack.

You are confusing talent and skill.

Speed, jumping and court vision are talents.
Shooting, driving and dishing are skills.

Smush Parker has more talent than Tony Parker but Smush is not even 1/5 as good a player as Tony.

[JoMal]

Lurker -

The true test of a player is to put him on a team he is not familiar with and see how he performs. Several of those other PG's named have been given that opportunity and that is a good way to judge how they perform. Parker has a superstar teammate who allows Parker much more freedom then he might have on a less talented squad.

[Lurker]

Lurker -

The true test of a player is to put him on a team he is not familiar with and see how he performs. Several of those other PG's named have been given that opportunity and that is a good way to judge how they perform. Parker has a superstar teammate who allows Parker much more freedom then he might have on a less talented squad.

And what other teams has Arenas, Paul, Bibby, Billups, J-Will, Deron Williams, Mo Williams, Kirk Hinrich been on and produced?  Where exactly have they proved these superior skills?

Nash and Kidd - I agree.  But the others?