Spurs: Tony Parker Still Vital Despite Monster Summer

It’s tough not to love what the San Antonio Spurs did this offseason.

They locked up Danny Green and Kawhi Leonard with long-term deals, brought back franchise bedrocks Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili for at least one last hurrah, bamboozled the Sacramento Kings into surrendering Ray McCallum, signed David West for a laughably low sum, nabbed the belle of the free agency ball in Lamarcus Aldridge and utilized the 26th overall pick on Serbian center Nikola Milutinov, who — if history has taught us anything — will likely carve out a first-ballot Hall of Fame career playing next to Tim Duncan for the next 30 years.

ALSO ON HOOPSHABIT: The NBA’s 50 Greatest Players of All-Time

For an average team, a summer like that would have been quite a haul. For a Spurs team many would have considered legitimate title contenders without lifting a finger, it’s an embarrassment of riches. San Antonio is deep, talented, experienced and led by the ultimate maestro in Gregg Popovich. So what’s not to like?

More from San Antonio Spurs

Very little. But despite their enviable offseason, the Spurs really, really (really) need Tony Parker to stay healthy.

While stating that a team needs its starting point guard and former Finals MVP healthy in order to be successful isn’t exactly groundbreaking #analysis, Parker’s struggles last season and how they tie in to the Spurs’ offensive vitality is more complex than just saying “good team needs good guard to stay good.”

Jesus Gomez over at SB Nation’s Pounding the Rock wrote an excellent piece in May breaking down this new phase of Parker’s career, noting that one of the areas in which he struggled most last season is one that is being eschewed more and more in teams’ overall offensive schemes, yet one that is central to opening up the more analytically friendly areas of Parker’s (and subsequently San Antonio’s) game — the midrange jumper:

"“It’s no secret that Parker needs the midrange shot to fall to punish defenders that go under screens or help defenders that dare him to pull up. It makes his driving game deadlier, as it forces opponents to play him closer, making it easier for him to blow by them. That’s even more important now that his quickness has dwindled and teams zone up more, leaving a big man near the rim as much as possible. Unfortunately, his accuracy from those spots has decreased. After shooting an excellent 48 percent in 2012-13, Parker shot 45 percent in 2013-14 and just 41 percent in 2014-15.Since big men didn’t have to leave the paint to contest his shot, Parker didn’t force the issue by going all the way to the rim against a set defender as much as he has in the past and as a result his free throw attempts per minute decreased significantly. He was also one of the worst players in the league in transition, ranking in the 18th percentile, and was assisted on just 22 percent of his close shots. There were no easy points for Parker inside and with his pull-up not falling from midrange, the only area in which he truly excelled on offense was corner shooting.”"

Whether you’d rather pin the blame on age, injury or some combination of the two, Parker’s season never really achieved any sustained level of consistency. Per NBA.com, after opening with a strong month of November, averaging 16.7 points and 5.9 assists per game while shooting over 50 percent from the floor, the wheels came off during the middle portion of the year as Parker missed games left and right while posting averages of 12.1 points and 4.3 dimes on an uncharacteristically pedestrian 44.7 percent shooting during December, January and February.

After the All-Star break however, Parker and the Spurs seemed to finally right the ship during a stellar month of March in which he put up 18.3 points and 5.3 assists per game on 55.5 percent shooting as the team went on a here-we-go-again 12-3 run. Yet, just as would-be Western Conference playoff challengers braced themselves for a potential date with a fully operational Spurs Bot, the team dropped to sixth in the standings, Parker ran out of gas and Chris Paul shoved a Texas-sized dagger into the heart of the champions.

In the seven-game first-round classic against the Los Angeles Clippers, Parker’s numbers cratered as he averaged only 10.9 points and 3.6 assists per game on a horrendous 36.3 percent from the field. Exercise caution when looking at the shot chart below, it’s not for the faint of heart:

Tony Parker’s 2014-15 playoff shot chart, per NBA.com /

Aside from the statistics — raw, advanced or otherwise — anyone watching the games could see the lack of burst weighing down Parker’s game. With his dynamic flurries to the rim and feathery floaters seemingly absent along with the aforementioned midrange jumpers, Popovich was forced to play Patty Mills heavy fourth quarter minutes as Parker routinely seemed to be running on fumes as the games (and series) wore on.

Though the series was about as close as humanly possible and the Spurs as a team certainly showed up to play, it often felt that San Antonio was somehow just hanging on through the strength of Duncan’s wizardry, Mills’ shot making, Boris Diaw fadeaways and the occasional Clippers meltdown. Without the conductor of the league’s most synergistic offense operating at peak capacity, it never really felt like the series was being played on the Spurs’ terms.

This is why, next season, Parker’s ability to stay on the floor and once again be an efficient point of attack for the Spurs’ offensive assault will be so essential to their post season success. Yes, the Spurs can still lean on “the system,” Pop’s brilliance, the wiliness of David West, the timelessness of Tim Duncan, the whirling dervishes of Manu Ginobili, the somehow still improving Kawhi Leonard, and the two-way talents of Danny Green. And yes, in Aldridge they have the in-prime superstar they’ve never even deigned to chase, but no one on the roster can get into the teeth of a defense quite like a healthy Tony Parker.

For all the much-deserved kudos being volleyed the Spurs’ way over the past several seasons for their egalitarian, motion offense, Parker is still the spark that sets their glorious pyrotechnics display ablaze. Parker’s dribble drives into the center of the floor and deft reads out of the pick-and-roll often initiate the cascade of passes that have basketball purists nodding in approval. Without the threat of the speedy Frenchman cleaving open their schemes and the chain reaction of helpers helping it instigates, defenses can more easily stay at home on shooters, causing the beautiful fluidity of San Antonio’s offense to bog down.

While the sheer talent of Lamarcus Aldridge alone should greatly reduce the burden on all of San Antonio’s aging stars, Parker’s functionality remains crucial. Aldridge’s proficiency from midrange could make him an offense unto himself, and though there will likely be some early hiccups, the Spurs coaching staff will surely figure out a way to absorb his singular talents into their more democratic attack. With that should come an even greater reduction of the need for Tony Parker to carry a heavy load, but his health and production remain as vital as ever.

Next: San Antonio Spurs: Grading The Offseason

More from Hoops Habit

Home/San Antonio Spurs

Despite Spurs’ Monster Offseason, Tony Parker’s Health Still Key

By Jameson Miller | Jul 27, 2015

More from Hoops Habit