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San Antonio Spurs: 5 Early Season Takeaways

By Gerald Bourguet

Nov 18, 2015; San Antonio, TX, USA; San Antonio Spurs point guard Tony Parker (9) embraces teammate Kawhi Leonard (2) after a three pointer against the Denver Nuggets during the second half at AT&T Center. Mandatory Credit: Soobum Im-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 18, 2015; San Antonio, TX, USA; San Antonio Spurs point guard Tony Parker (9) embraces teammate Kawhi Leonard (2) after a three pointer against the Denver Nuggets during the second half at AT&T Center. Mandatory Credit: Soobum Im-USA TODAY Sports /
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San Antonio Spurs
Nov 11, 2015; Portland, OR, USA; San Antonio Spurs guard Tony Parker (9) shoots over Portland Trail Blazers forward Allen Crabbe (23) and forward Noah Vonleh (21) during the fourth quarter at the Moda Center. Mandatory Credit: Craig Mitchelldyer-USA TODAY Sports /

5. TP Is OK

Over the summer, the future of Tony Parker — more specifically, the quality of his play in that future — became a major talking point. Though he only turned 33 in May and was nowhere near the “considering retirement” stage that Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili are at, the French maestro had been showing major signs of regression since the end of the 2014-15 season.

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Pass or Pursue: 3 High-Profile Spurs Trade Targets from Bleacher Report /

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    • In San Antonio’s first round playoff series with the Los Angeles Clippers, Parker was absolutely smoked by Chris Paul on both ends of the floor, watching his numbers deteriorate to 10.9 points and 3.6 assists per game on 36.3 percent shooting from the field and 0-for-9 shooting from downtown.

    CP3, on the other hand, nearly slapped up a 23-8-5 stat line for the series, making Parker look ancient and borderline unplayable. Things didn’t get much better for Parker over the summer at EuroBasket, where he posted a meager 12.0 points and 4.2 assists per game on .363/.286/.743 shooting splits.

    But the reports of Tony Parker’s demise were greatly over-exaggerated, and now that the regular season has begun, San Antonio’s point guard is averaging 13.7 points and 4.7 assists per game on .561/.500/.822 shooting splits.

    Those are the lowest scoring and assist numbers of his career since his rookie season, but TP has been extraordinarily efficient and doesn’t need to do as much with LaMarcus Aldridge on board. Parker’s game doesn’t look like it will age nearly as well as Duncan or Ginobili’s, but for the time being, his drop-off in production hasn’t been a hindrance to the Spurs’ success.

    Next: No. 4

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