Duncan Down, Parker Up.

Duncan went down with a knee and ankle injury today. They don’t know how serious it is yet, as he will have an MRI tomorrow. That means Tony Parker is about to start balling. Wait, he already has been! Let’s discuss what he has done.

Please understand how hard it is for me to admit that Parker is playing well. I am a huge San Antonio Spurs, specifically Tony Parker, hater. Why? Because I have two guys in my office who are the biggest Spurs fans I have ever met and I believe the world needs balance; therefore, they love…. I hate. That being said, I cannot deny what Parker is doing anymore. I don’t feel like he deserved his previous allstar bids (Deron Williams got screwed last year), but if he keeps this up (with Duncan down he certainly will) then he will most definitely earn his third consecutive appearance.

First, let’s discuss Tony’s weaknesses, as I have to get these out in the universe before I share the love. He is arguably the quickest man in the league with the ball, but his lack of an outside shot has really hurt him. Also, for a point guard who spends his life driving to the basket and dishing to Duncan or outside shooters, you think he would average more than 5.5 assists per game. His assist to turn over ratio is a pathetic 2 to 1. For a two-time allstar, he has never averaged over 18.6 points or 6.1 assists or 3.7 boards per game (those were not even in the same year), which is very sad for an “allstar point guard.” All right, I’ll stop here, because this article is about what a great season he is having so far. Here are his averages for this year:

20.3 ppg, 3.7 rb, 7 ast. 0.8 stl, 2.2 t/o with 52% shooting

Those are very nice stats, but they get even better when you look at what he has done over the last 8 games:

23.9 ppg, 4.4 rb, 8.5 ast, 0.4 stl, 2.1 t/o with 56% shooting

Impressive! His points are up, rebounds up, assists WAY UP, shooting percentage up and turnovers down! That is one very nice 8-game stretch. The question is, can he keep it up all year? He has the talent, always has, so is it out of the question to say it just took him 6 years in the League to figure it out completely? I mean, he’s still only 25, so there’s plenty of room to grow, right? In fact, it appears that during the short off-season and marrying Eva Longoria, he had time to work on is shooting, as he is getting a midrange game. It’s not where it needs to be yet, but getting better.

Maybe, just maybe, after 6 years and 3 championships, Popovich finally trusts Parker completely to run the offense? That’s just speculation, but it’s one of the few reasons I can come up with to explain why Tony’s assists are up so much. Although, you have the fact that Duncan is getting older and they are leaning on Parker to be more of the playmaker for the team.

I guess, whatever the reasons are, if you are a Spurs fan or have Tony Parker on your fantasy team, you are loving him right now. If Duncan is out for an extended period of time, you will be loving him even more, because those stats I listed above should increase if the Spurs expect to win games without Duncan.

On a side note about Duncan’s injury… Do you think the Spurs could use Luis Scola right about now?? Thanks for the gift. NOW WILL ADELMAN PLEASE PLAY HIM!!! Go Rockets!