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Tim and Tony are the new Shaq and Kobe
Say hello to the new Shaq and Kobe. They're not nearly as flashy, not quite as tall and not nearly as fussy. But they're just as effective and have the potential to team up for just as many championship rings.
The concept of dominating the league is nothing new to Duncan, the two-time MVP and two-time world champion. But he hasn't had a backcourt teammate this dynamic playing at this high a level in his seven years in the league. Parker showed spurts of this kind of play during last season's championship run, but not this good, and not this consistently. And it's his emergence that has the Spurs riding a 17-game win streak and looking like favorites to win a second straight title. In six playoff games entering Sunday's Game 3 against the Lakers, Parker is averaging 22.3 points on 51.5 percent shooting, including 56 percent from three-point range. In two games against the Lakers, he has averaged 25 points and taken over in key spots. ``He's grown so much over last two years, and he just continues to grow,'' Duncan said. ``It's great when he takes the game over for stretches at a time. He's just takes the ball and decides what he wants to do with it. That's a great person to have out there.'' While O'Neal and Bryant are usually arguing about who's team it is and who should shoot less, Duncan has shown nothing but support for Parker as he develops into one of the league's premier guards. ``Tim welcomes the help,'' Spurs assistant coach Mario Elie said. ``That's one thing about Tim being a great superstar. When Tony's going well, Tim don't moan or groan about getting the ball. He just lets the young guy do what he does.'' The moaning and complaining the past couple of years could just as well have come from Parker, who often took a verbal beating from his coach, Gregg Popovich. But the point guard has withstood the badgering and excelled. ``I think Timmy sees how tough we've been on Tony, and he sees how Tony has come through that with flying colors,'' Popovich said. ``When you're on a guy like that, you're going to find out one of two things: He's either going to fold because he can't handle it, or he's going to thrive because of it. We thought he would thrive because of the way he's made up. That has really gained him respect.'' Now it's Parker doing a lot of the yelling. He might only be 21 - eight days away from his 22nd birthday - but he is becoming one of the more vocal leaders on the Spurs. It's a role he hasn't been in position to play in the past. ``Now that I have experience, I feel more comfortable talking to Rasho Nesterovic and Hedo Turkoglu because I have been there before,'' Parker said. ``It's not like I'm going to scream at former teammate Steve Kerr, when he had already won five titles.'' Duncan and Parker have led the Spurs to a 2-0 lead on the Lakers in their Western Conference semifinal. And there's not much trickery to their success. ``There are not a whole lot of secrets about what we do and they do,'' Duncan said. ``It's about imposing your will, continuing to push and believing in what you're doing.'' That used to be enough for the old Shaq and Kobe to beat teams. Now it's the new dynamic duo that's stomping its way to another title. HIGH SCHOOL REUNION Jermaine O'Neal never went to his own prom. So he went to Janese Banks' instead. Banks is a senior at Ben Davis High School in Indianapolis and a three-sport letter winner with a basketball scholarship to Wisconsin. During a news conference for a high school all-star game that O'Neal sponsors, Banks asked O'Neal if he'd take her to the prom. He said he'd think about it, asked his fiancee and was given the OK. ``It wasn't something I was planning,'' Banks said. ``It was a spur-of-the-moment thing. I guess it pays to be assertive.'' O'Neal said he was proud of Banks' accomplishments in and out of school: She is active in her church and the Big Brothers Big Sisters program. ``She's excelled in school,'' O'Neal said. ``She's mentally focused. When you get kids that have a plan in life and are going to do whatever it takes to excel in life, I have no problem going to a high school prom.'' As for his own prom, O'Neal, 25, skipped because he had just declared himself eligible for the NBA draft and wanted to avoid a commotion. ``Four or five people asked me, but I wanted to sit home,'' he said. ``There was so much hoopla, I was shying away from the public.'' GOOD STANDING For those fully expecting the Rockets to deal turnover-prone, erratic-shooting point guard Steve Francis this summer before he completely drives down his market value, Rockets coach Jeff Van Gundy isn't offering much evidence that it will happen. ``I thought Steve had an outstanding year,'' Van Gundy said. ``He showed improvements in many, many areas. I think the novice fans will look at numbers and say he didn't have as good a year as in previous years. I would say he had a much better year. Helping us win more in a much more difficult and challenging Western Conference. I think Steve did a great job of playing well himself, but also enabling others to play well.'' ANGERED LOGO Jerry West, the Grizzlies general manager and silhouette on the NBA logo, wasn't all too thrilled with his team's performance in the first round against the Spurs. Memphis was swept out of its first playoff appearance in franchise history and didn't react like West would have hoped. ``I see some of these players laughing and joking,'' West said. ``I know I wouldn't be laughing.'' West, who called the team's defense and rebounding in the series ``embarrassing,'' might look to retaliate by leaving unsuspecting players exposed in the upcoming expansion draft. ``We're going to have some disappointed players who are going to be on the list,'' he said. ``I like players, but I don't fall in love with them.'' YES, SIR, SIR Shaquille O'Neal's stepfather, Phillip Harrison, nicknamed Sarge, told The San Antonio Express-News last week that Kobe Bryant needs to be more selfless if the Lakers are to win. ``Kobe Bryant could be one of the best players that ever played the game if he learned how to play team basketball,'' Harrison said. ``The game is played inside out, not outside in. You play team basketball, no problem. You have to establish the inside game first. ``Shaquille is the most dominant player to ever play the game. You have to pass him the ball. Let's stop the drama and just play ball.'' Said Lakers coach Phil Jackson of the comments: ``I think it's humorous, actually.'' |
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