Let me check my calendar … Yep, I think it was just about two weeks ago when I made my case for why Tony Parker is one of the five best point guards in the NBA. (Not to mention the column back in December where I said the same thing.)
Meanwhile, a lot of people have continually said they would put Baron Davis ahead of Parker. Look, I’m not hating on Baron — he is more naturally talented than Parker and I like watching him play — but can we all agree that last night showed at least one reason why he can’t be ranked in front of Parker?
In the Warriors’ biggest game of the season, with their playoff lives on the line, Baron Davis put up a 2-for-13 stinker in the first half and got benched by Don Nelson for the ENTIRE second half. Meanwhile, in a big game for the Spurs where Manu Ginobili was unavailable, Tony Parker dropped 32 points and 11 assists. Granted, the Spurs were playing the Kings and the Warriors drew the Suns, but Baron was going up against Steve Nash, whose defense can’t be any worse than that of Sacto PG Beno Udrih. Either way, could you even foresee a scenario where Parker would get benched for an entire half in a must-win game?
I know that the San Antonio/Parker haters won’t be swayed by one game, but maybe the truth will be a little easier to digest when you wash it down with the video posted above. Enjoy…
Related posts:
April 15th, 2008 at 11:06 am
Abe504 says:
excellent point, you gotta bring it every nite, through the pain and sickness, can’t be top five doing that. he easily coulda destroyed steve nash last nite but sat on the bench…
April 15th, 2008 at 11:12 am
BustJlaze says:
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!!!!!!
April 15th, 2008 at 11:40 am
fiyaman says:
still doesnt change my mind.
1. Baron never got the chance to redeem himself in the 2nd half . (? if parker shot 2-13 in 1st would Pop still play him the 2nd half? answer yes. ) so i could have to do with coaching.
2. Parker has a diff/better team.system which makes there game different. I seem to remember Parker getting handled by Nash just last week and then by DFisher Sunday so 1 game is not going to change my mind.
If Baron was allowed to play the whole game then your argument would be more justified. We already know that Nellie doesnt know how to coach just let them run around and do what they want. He got Biedrins sittin on then bench all season. If he coached more they wouldnt even have been in that situation. They had to giveup there spot to Denver (a team that didnt even want to be there)
April 15th, 2008 at 11:57 am
Jim says:
I love Tony, but I think this is a draw. The tiebreaker shouldn’t be one night’s performance, come on, that’s no way to settle anything.
Instead, Baron wins because instead of le video du poseur, he made http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fDlaVqVz17g
April 15th, 2008 at 12:52 pm
rangerjohn says:
“I seem to remember Parker getting handled by Nash just last week and then by DFisher Sunday”
time to go back and rethink that, while the spurs lost, it had nothing to do with parker getting out played,
against fisher, TP 20 pt, 7 rb, 5 assists on 8 of 15 shooting, fisher 14 pt, 1 reb, 4 as
against the suns, TP 20 pt, 2 rd, 4 as on 9 of 17 shooting, nash 12 pts, 5 rb, 10 as on 4-10 shooting.
parker also won the finals mvp, davis has not even GOTTEN CLOSE TO THE FINALS.
parker for sure over davis and that goes double for the davis video posted eeewwww!
April 15th, 2008 at 12:55 pm
Myrie says:
Mr. Austin Burton….you cannot be serious. There is no way Tony Parker is a better point guard/basketball player than Baron Davis. No way.
Tony Parker cannot do the main essentials of a point guards duties; which remain as being the floor general, running an offense, starting point of a defense and be a leader. Do you think he does any of those things better than Baron Davis?
Tony Parker is a solid ball player, and a better point guard than most ppl think, but not better than Baron Davis.
….what next…Parker better than Brandon Roy and Deron Williams?
April 15th, 2008 at 1:09 pm
Chuck says:
Baron and Tony bring different things.
I would pick the guard depending on the needs of my team. I wouldn’t need a lebron james and a baron davis.
I would clearly take tony parker.
That’s why Chris Paul dominates on his team, because he plays his position and no one interferes with the system.
Baron sucks at D, Tony is too light and can be posted up at any time.
Tony is an okay perimeter shooter, Baron is streaky and I think Don Nelson’s helter skelter offensive system accentuates that.
Tony and Baron can penetrate pretty much whenever they want.
I believe they are both very good guards if we take away barons History of sesaon long injuries.
If I had to take a guard. I’m taking Tony, he’s a better distributor that Baron, Tony’s lack of weight and his affinity to weight lifting are going to catch up with him sooner than later, but if I have to pick a guard now. Tony, plus he’s a better decision maker.
April 15th, 2008 at 1:48 pm
yallallreadyknow says:
what the phuck is boom dizzy doing in that video? short shorts? i would go into hiding forever if i was him. yuck!
…and the parker rap video aint much better. lil pretty boy.
as for the who’s better….
ya gotta go with diddy. imagine if he had tim duncan on his squad.
just watch the games and check the stats…baron gives you more of what you need when you need it
April 15th, 2008 at 3:27 pm
tealish says:
Baron is a gamer, but Tony Parker is winner. TP benefits from the SA system, no doubt, but Baron benefits from the Golden State system as well. You think BD gets to jack up quick 3 after quick 3 under Pop… That`s where his big-time status comes from, anyway.
So all you people sleeping on TP just because he plays with the Spurs, cut your crap. Neither would be nearly as effective if they switched teams. But as it stands, if winning is what you`re looking for, Tony Parker is your man.
April 15th, 2008 at 3:30 pm
tealish says:
Myrie: “Tony Parker cannot do the main essentials of a point guards duties; which remain as being the floor general, running an offense, starting point of a defense and be a leader. Do you think he does any of those things better than Baron Davis?“
Have you watched the Spurs play ball? Their offensive set is flawless, and as great as their players are, it still takes a smart and effective PG to run it smoothly.
Now tell me where does Baron`s “floor generaling“ skills come into play? I didn`t think GS had set offenses.
April 15th, 2008 at 4:50 pm
rangerjohn says:
davis is no leader, he is a score 1st and score often point. he is more of a 2 then a 1 IMO. parker runs the show, (granted the show is easy to run in SA). he is faster, and gets to the rim easier but the spurs system is not an “assist” oriented system.
davis might be a better athlete but parker is a better all around player.
put davis in SA and he would be 2nd string AT BEST. he would be a mnau type, off the bench energy type player. he “dominates” the ball to much to play with a guy like duncan.
April 15th, 2008 at 6:09 pm
Big Shot BOB says:
Oh shizzle Jim…that BD video hilarious!!!
April 15th, 2008 at 6:43 pm
Willis says:
And quit raggin on Beno. Watch a game before you start talking about his D. any Kings fan knows they play zone most of the time. Beno again, played like 2 quarters last night, and like I said when the Kings did play man D Quincy Douby was on him, or maybe Cisco. dang I get mad when cats dont know what they are talking about and just make assumptions from box scores.
anyway BD is better. Tp is alright, but he isn’t exactly an assist man, he doesn’t run the team as well as he should, and he won finals MVP against a team whose point guards should all be 3rd string guys, not starting. BD has a bad game (half) and people going round saying TP is a better point/player. Worlds gone crazy.
and Beno is insulted that you said his D wasn’t better than Nash. My girlfriends D is better than Nash.
April 15th, 2008 at 7:28 pm
doc says:
Somebody said imagine BD with Duncan.I see Duncan having a stroke from stressing out because this little fucker wont pass the rock.In 1 on 1 Im taking Diddy which I think some of yall confuse with basketball.In B-ball Im taking Parker.
April 15th, 2008 at 8:14 pm
K Dizzle says:
You TP fans are crazy. Baron was a good point guard before Golden State. Dude ran the point to perfection in New orleans before switchin his style for golden state.
Austin, what you doin writin a story about Baron not bringin it and you don’t know the situation? This is why Spurs and spurs fans are hated. Dude sits for a half, we don’t know why and now he’s a quitter? 8 years in and he’s judged on 1 game where NOBODY knows what really happened. Parker goes for 32 and 11 against a kings team with no Artest, no Martin, no Miller and they barely scrape it out by 3 then this b.s. story gets thrown out sayin Parker better than Baron. Some of these posts are jokes and the stats being thrown out are beyond false. Parker’s a better passer? Parker’s a better decision maker? Baron sucks at defense? Do people actually watch games? And yeah, Fish did bust Tony’s ass just like every other point guard does. Parker gets 20 points on 15 shots and Fish gets 14 on like 8 shots and doesn’t even play the last 20 minutes. Tony Parker doesn’t play defense. He gets jumpers in the eye, he gets posted up, he gets blown by.Baron isn’t a leader? He averages 21,8,5 with 2 steals and has better 3pt and ft% while playin 6 more minutes a game for a team with no size, 2nd best numbers behind Paul, while Parker’s gettin 18, 6 and 3 with not even a steal a game. What does if Baron played in San Antonio he wouldn’t give up the rock? Have you ever watched dude play? Damn, I can’t wait til the Suns-San An so we can see Nash light tony up and then write up and tell me tony’s top 5. He still ain’t. Paul, Williams, Baron, Nash, Billups, Kidd before i even look at Tony. Maybe even Sessions and i’m not even really jokin with that last one, but congrats on puttin 32 and 11 on Udrih
April 15th, 2008 at 8:53 pm
Austin Burton says:
@K Dizzle — OK, gotta clear some things up:
1. Baron never got farther than the 2nd round of the playoffs while he was with the Hornets - and this was when they were in the East - so you can’t say he ran the point “to perfection.” And I remember him jacking a ton of threes and turning the ball over a lot, too.
2. I don’t know what happened Monday night between Baron and Nellie, but I do know that I’ve never seen Tony Parker get benched for an entire half in a big game.
3. I didn’t say Baron was a quitter. I’m pretty sure he wanted to play and he wanted to win. But you can’t put Baron’s record against Tony’s 3 rings and Finals MVP and say Baron’s better just because he makes for more highlights.
4. Golden State’s system creates inflated numbers; that’s why Matt Barnes thought he should’ve gotten more than $3 million this year. San Antonio’s system doesn’t make for such high numbers; that’s why Parker’s assists numbers don’t look so great. But you notice how TP always shoots around 50% from the floor? He would put up huge numbers in Golden State, trust.
April 15th, 2008 at 10:25 pm
hotdog says:
If BD can rap like that this would be a no contest!
French Rap = Fun
April 15th, 2008 at 11:31 pm
james says:
BD is still better than Tony Parker, it wasn’t really BD’s fault that he sat on the bench the entire second half of the Suns game.
April 16th, 2008 at 12:05 am
Austin Burton says:
It wasn’t his fault? Granted, Baron isn’t the coach, but I think if he’d gone 6-for-13 in the first half instead of 2-for-13, he would have played in the second.
April 16th, 2008 at 6:11 am
Benoit Benjamin says:
I guess it doesn’t come down to skills only. TP has proven he can win big games and he’s an all star. So I guess that makes him better than baron for now.
April 16th, 2008 at 7:23 am
Jonathan says:
Baron is much better just doesent have the right team monta ellis is all basically he didnt have a 2nd half chance
April 16th, 2008 at 10:08 am
d-mak says:
yea but baron a better rapper chuuuch!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HrDKY5RyOD4