Nobody is denying that Tony Parker is among the best point guards in the league. He's clearly in the top 6 group of Chris Paul, Derrick Rose, Tony Parker, Deron Williams, Rajon Rondo and Russell Westbrook.

However, saying that Tony Parker's championships is the ultimate trump card over Chris Paul is disingenuous, because if Chris Paul played on the Spurs all of these years, the Spurs would have also won all of those championships. Chris Paul is every bit the scorer that Parker is and is a slightly better passer. Right now he doesn't defend in the Pop mold of defense of not gambling on steals, but if he played for the Spurs he would.

Saying that Parker is more clutch or than Paul is not substantiated by fact -- Paul is better in almost every single way except for 3P percentage (which is ironic).

Almost any statistical comparison between the two gives Paul the edge -- raw stats, PER (27 vs 22), 82 games simple rating (+15.9 vs. +6.5), etc. Plus, if you just watch the games unbiased (like I do, unlike you Spurs fans), you just see that Chris Paul just has that magic and that franchise element to him that Tony Parker doesn't.

I would take Tony Parker over all but 2 point guards in the league -- Chris Paul and Derrick Rose.

I still want the ball in Manu's hands to end games.

quote:

---

I don't know what this guy is smoking. Everybody knows that Paul is the best point guard in the league and Parker is a scrub (we all watched Jason Kidd absolutely humiliate Parker in 2003).

---

Yes, because a result 9 years ago is applicable today.

i can't wait until this series starts to there will be at least something else to read on this thread. i know the parker vs paul pissing match will continue/worsen, but at least there will be SOMETHING else on here.

quote:

---

unbiased (like I do, unlike you Spurs fans), you just see that Chris Paul just has that magic and that franchise element to him that Tony Parker doesn't.

---

Riight. Because in-state rivals don't exist in professional basketball.

Paul does not have that game 7 magic at home versus the Spurs.

The Vegas line is Spurs by 11 or 11.5.


I think that the Spurs cover with no problem.

I think Vegas has it right - - Spurs should easily win by double digits. However, I see the team coming out a little flat at first. The starters will pick it up soon enough and, combined with their stellar bench, they should pull away in the second half.

I think the Clips are going to put up a lot more resistance than the Jazz. I doubt any of the games will be double-digits, with the possible exception of the elimination game.

I think the Spurs will win a couple games by blowouts. They are too much deeper and fresher. However, I can easily see Paul and Griffin getting loose for a win or maybe 2... I'm predicting a 5 game series though.

If I were coaching the Clippers, I would be tempted to give Paul and Griffin the night off in game 2 if they aren't fully healthy by then. For game 1 you probably want to try to steal a win against a team that hasn't played in forever, but if the Spurs are rolling early then again I think you concede the game and get your stars some rest. Back to back coming up this weekend, and they are not ready for that.



[This message has been edited by Ulrich (edited 5/15/2012 10:41a).]

thank god it's game day. i'm tired of waiting.

+1

Go Spurs go

Kinda surprised at how many guys at ESPN have the series going longer than 5. Three guys have it going 7.

http://espn.go.com/nba/playoffs/2012/matchup/_/teams/spurs-clippers

[This message has been edited by sharkenleo (edited 5/15/2012 10:58a).]

I think the ESPN guys are hedging a little bit.

I myself am a little apprehensive about this series. God only knows how the Spurs will perform after over a week of not playing basketball. You have to admit that part of their success this year was due to being in a major shooting groove during the last part of the season, it would suck if the long layoff has rusted that up a bit.

I think the good guys should easily take the series but it wouldn't surprise me to see them give up a couple of games, and it also wouldn't surprise me to see each game be very competitive, unlike the Jazz.

I feel the exact same Mass.

The Spurs could play this series with rubber exercise bands around their legs and still win in 5 games.

lotta confidence for a team that doesnt have the best player on the floor

Blake is not the best player on the floor.

The Spurs have 3 out of the 4 best players on the floor.

The Clippers have one great player, one good player, and a bunch of spare parts.

The main problem is that the Spurs have all these good wing defenders but no one to defend on the wing.

quote:

---

The main problem is that the Spurs have all these good wing defenders but no one to defend on the wing.

---

If the Spurs don't close out on the three point shooters, they will be in for a long series.

Spurs 7 days off. Clippers 1. Over the last 15 seasons, teams w at least 7 days off are 6-0 vs teams w 1 day to recover

That's why the Spurs are -11 tonight. Big line for a playoff game.

Did anyone hear Shaq say yesterday that he had 17 days off between the ECF and Finals when he played with the Magic? Can anyone verify this? That can't be right.

Caron Butler is the only wing that can create for himself, and he's no Kevin Durant. There are some players they can't leave alone, but the only guy who is a real danger to create shots is Chris Paul.

Ital. What Shaq was meaning to say is that he had a total of 17 days off throughout the entire playoffs which hurt the chemistry a bit. He actually only had 3 days off before the finals lol.

They called him out on it after the LA/OKC game ended.

1995 Eastern Conference Finals Game 7: June 4, 1995

1995 NBA Finals Game 1: June 7, 1995

The Spurs are definitely going to have to guard the 3 ball better this series. Utah got tons of open looks from outside last series but that was definitely what the Spurs were trying to do.

The Spurs are going to have to get out on guys like Mo Will/Young and Foye. Butler is an ok 3 pt shooter.

Leonard and Green are both very good perimeter defenders. My biggest concern is the inside lob passing. The Spurs really suffered against CP3 and West/Chandler back in the '08 WC semis. I could see that being an issue again, this Clipper team is very similar to that Hornets team. Good inside penetration, and a couple of really good finishers in Blake and Jordan.

Ehh I'm not worried about the lobs too much. They will get their dunks but that isn't going to win them the series.

DeAndre sucks. Spurs should just foul him every time.

Also if the games are close down the stretch expect Pop to use the hack a clipper strategy. It's not popular by some but he isn't afraid to use it.

Griffin: 52% from the line
DeAndre: 51%
K-Mart: 38%
Bledsoe: 62%
Evans: 49%

I hate to dog on Jordan but he isn't good at anything on offense. He can dunk and make tip shots and that's it. Not sure I'd call him a good finisher. Blake's better, but he's still unpolished due to crappy coaching. He's also injured

Here we go!

Boris with some really nice passes.

Ginger seems to be playing with a ton of energy and doesn't appear to be hurting