Since being drafted with the final pick of the first round in the 2001 NBA Draft, San Antonio Spurs point guard Tony Parker has always flown under the radar. The current scope of the NBA’s Point Guard position is the deepest its ever been. Names such as Stephen Curry, Kyrie Irving, Damian Lillard, Chris Paul, John Wall, and Russell Westbrook are often the names that most heavily dominate conversations when referring to upper echelon Point Guards.
Then there are those Point Guards that are often forgotten when discussing top playmakers due to the landscape of the Point Guard position being as deep as it is such as first-time All-Stars Kyle Lowry and Jeff Teague, as well as the Memphis Grizzlies Mike Conley. Then their are those who have noticeably regressed such as Rajon Rondo and Derrick Rose. Regress, something Parker knows all too well when referring to the season he was having from the months of December-February. Lingered by a nagging hamstring injury since a December 5th game at the FedEx Forum against the Memphis Grizzlies, Parker wasn’t a fan of using his injury woes as an excuse for his declining play.
In reference to Parker’s plaguing left hamstring injury, Parker proclaimed, “I have not been the same since I came back and it’s still bothering me. Everybody knows. I am not going to use that as an excuse.” Parker ended up missing nine of the Spurs next twelve games. Despite his time away from the hardwood, Parker noticeably looked like a shell of his former self even when he returned. Parker, in the 29 games he played in throughout the three month period from December to January averaged an uninspiring 12.1 PPG along with an even more lackluster 3.9 APG. Yet, somehow, someway, Parker flew under the radar as he has done throughout his fourteen-year career. Except in ways unfamiliar to him, in ways for declining play, not inspiring, captivating play.
Parker’s averages hadn’t been this low since his inaugural campaign in 2001-2002 when he was a mere nineteen years of age. In his rookie season, Parker posted averages of 9.2 PPG and 4.3 APG. Aside from his junior season when he averaged 14.7 PPG, Parker has never averaged below 15.0 PPG a game, nor has he been below 5.3 APG per game. When dismissing his rookie season and current season, Parker has showcased career numbers of 17.8 PPG and 6.2 APG.
While Parker’s lackluster performance flew under the radar, what didn’t fly under the radar was how the abiding injury was hampering him. Commenting on his left hamstring Parker stated, “I’ve been through a lot of tough challenges in my career, right now this is up there.” For a veteran who has been through it all (just ten regular season games shy of 1,000 and just four postseason games shy of 200) to give such credence to his perpetual left hamstring woes speaks volumes.
However, there has been a noticeable (pleasurable for Spurs fans) resurgence since the beginning of the month of March. Parker seems revitalized and is back to playing the basketball that he and fans are both accustom to. Leading the Spurs to a 4-1 record in the month of March so far, Parker has averaged 25.8 PPG, 5.4 APG, and is averaging a steal plus per contest at 1.6 for the first time all season. Parker’s field goal percentage has also paid dividends as he is shooting a whopping 60.4% this month, numbers that would even put DeAndre Jordan on notice. Parker hadn’t averaged over 28.0 MPG (February) since aggravating his left hamstring, however, in the month of March he has added another half quarter to his averaging, averaging 34.2 MPG.
Just as Parker’s averages have become heavily inflated when referring to his totals for this season, his confidence has as well. On March 8th, after a Sunday afternoon defeat of the Chicago Bulls, Parker’s words in a postgame interview were music to Spurs fans ears. Parker stated, “I’ve been playing in this league a long time, everybody plays through injuries and that was my only problem, playing through the injury, and now I feel better.”
With Parker performing as he has been in March the Spurs are poised to reap the benefits. In addition, they have the benefit of a rather soft schedule in March, most noticeably with their next four games against Minnesota, New York, Milwaukee, and Boston. Parker’s performance will likely go unnoticed in comparison to other upper echelon Point Guards such as Curry, Irving, Paul and Westbrook. However, what will not go unnoticed is how pivotal and instrumental Parker is to the success of the San Antonio Spurs franchise.