Yes, the all-around team defense on Lebron James will eat up most of the headlines tomorrow morning. Rightfully so, since his 4-16 performance was a big part of the Cavs’ offensive struggles (not to mention his terrible shot selection. I don’t care if he did hit back-to-back threes, they were bad shots).
But amidst Duncan’s domination and Lebron’s ineffectiveness, the underlying story of game 1 is the development of Tony Parker on the biggest stage. Parker consistently took over game 1of the 2007 Finals, carving up the defensive interior of the Cavs and making a living in the lane. He pushed the ball when they were sluggish, and picked the Cavs apart on the pick and roll in the half court set. Cavs coach Mike Brown admitted Parker “had us on our heels” the entire night, and he could make few adjustments to stop him.
That’s right, Tony Parker controlled the game. A game in the NBA Finals.
Sound surprising? It should. Amongst the Spurs faithful, Parker’s pension for fading in the limelight has been well documented. It wasn’t just that he was inconsistent, but that he had his worst games at the worst possible times, putting more pressure on Duncan and company to pick up the slack:
- In the clinching game of the 2003 NBA Finals, Parker’s notorious 4 point, 3 turnover feat would lead to his 4th quarter benching in favor of backup Speedy Claxton. He would average a paltry 7 points a game in the final three games of the series.
- Parker would continue to improve, but in the 2005 Finals his tendency to disappear remerged. In game 7, Parker would shoot a pedestrian 3-11 and finish with 8 points. He would average 12.3 points a game over the last three of the series.
So when the Spurs signed veterans like Nick Van Exel to back him up and looked to sign Jason Kidd in the 2003 offseason, it made perfect sense. The young point guard seemed to vanish in the clutch, and he would abandon his offensive aggressiveness at the first sign of trouble.
But this isn’t the same Tony Parker.
In game 1 of the 2007 Finals Parker would finish with 27 points on 12-23 shooting to go with 7 assists and 4 rebounds. When the Cavs took the lead, it was Parker that earned a quick bucket with a foul. After missing the free throw, it was Parker that sped to the rebound and got the putback amidst the Cavalier bigs.
The new Tony Parker wasn’t hesitant when things got tight. Instead, he came out with fire. He came out with responsibility on his shoulders, and delivered. When things got tight, it wasn’t that Parker stopped shooting…Pop screamed at Parker for not shooting enough. This Tony Parker didn’t back down, he stepped up right when the Spurs needed him to the most.
Next time down the court, Parker shot a laser pass to Francisco Elson in the open floor to put the Spurs up for good.
A high risk pass? Absolutely.
The best part? He did it anyways.
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