Tony Parker, originally uploaded by market.america1.
Tony Parker plays a similar role for the Spurs to that Chauncey Billups plays for the Nuggets. Or, for that matter, the Pistons when Detroit was formidable. The comparison to the Nugs is more apt, as those Pistons teams were supremely balanced, but I bring up those Piston teams because when the Spurs won the title in 2007, it reminded me of the Pistons' sole title run. Maybe it's a little transparent, but I think it's important to note. These two guys are both Finals MVPs, without ever having really sniffed the regular season award of the same name. It's a different beast, that. Takes a different kind of competitor. Whereas guys like Duncan or Carmelo will get you through the season, players like Billups or Parker catalyze a team in ways that become especially apparent in seven game series. Joe Johnson could arguably be put in this category as well, especially as you peep my write up of Johnson and see the Moses comparison. Johnson, Billups, Parker, they won't be your leader as you wander through the desert, but they may just be the important second that completes the journey to the promised land.
Enough postulation. Enough Eva Longoria comments. Wait, I didn't mention her? My bad. Mrs. Tony Parker's hot. Mr. Tony Parker's hot too. Not in the Gerard Butler way (Man crush intact? Check. Man-hood intact? Check. Um...Sparta!), or even in that French guy in the last Matrix movie way (because, y'know, French accents...), but in the 22 points, nearly 7 assists, 3 rebounds, and a field goal percentage over .500 kind of way. Last season was actually not Parker's most effective season from the field. He shot .548 in 05-06, which was good for 3rd in the league. Still, even at only .506 last season, over half his shots get in that hoop, which is historically unheard of for a guard. Parker's done it three times in his eight season career, and he's been close in a bunch of other seasons.
Tony Parker Is A Monster During The Playoffs!, originally uploaded by spursdotcom.
