BREAKING: Tony Parker Out For The Remainder Of Playoffs
Breaking News! Tony Parker may have torn his quadriceps tendon which would sideline him for the rest of the playoffs. This is a huge blow for the Spurs who took down the Rockets 121-96 last night in game 2. The series is now tied 1-1, but this injury will really hurt the Spurs chances of advancing.
Tony Parker provides that veteran presence and he is still one of the best overall point guards in the West. Last night he played 26 minutes, and had 18 points before he drove to the hoop with around 8 minutes left in the 4th quarter and came down grabbing his knee. While I was watching this, Tony Parker did not look good at all. He actually could not get up for a few minutes. The Spurs will now probably have to turn to veteran Patty Mills to fill in Parker’s spot in the starting rotation. This would move Ginobili too the backup point guard spot for the Spurs going forward. Parker’s injury will also lead to Murray, Kyle Anderson (played pg in college), and Jonathon Simmons receiving more minutes for the remainder of the playoffs.
What does this all mean going forward for the Spurs? Well Tony Parker is now 34, and last night he actually eclipsed his 4,000th point in the playoffs. The only other current player to achieve this is LeBron James. Although Tony Parker is not to old to retire, he must be thinking about it after this injury. He has a lot of miles and on his body and his knee will never be the same. The Spurs will 100% miss Parker’s presence in the starting lineup. But I am really interested to see how Patty Mills steps up in his new role. He is fully capable of starting, and he has shown that over the past few years. I also want to see how Dejounte Murray ( 20 years old) and Kyle Anderson ( 23 years old) perform under the bright lights of the playoffs. The Spurs will need them to put in some big minutes if they want to advance past the Rockets. I still give the Spurs a chance to get past the Rockets due to a couple of reason. The Spurs still have the better coach in Popovich. He knows how to control his team and he will have them ready for their next game. The other reason is Kawhi Leonard. This dude is a monster and one of the best players in the NBA. He can control an entire pace of a game and is very smart with the ball. He will not be the leader on the court with Parker giving words of wisdom from the bench.
Written By: Connor Strayer (@Big_C19)