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SAN ANTONIO -- It's good to be Tony Parker.
Strike that. It's good to be Tony Mejia. I get to cover the NBA Finals, travel around and all that. It's beyond-your-wildest-dreams fantastic to be Tony Parker.
He's a multi-millionaire, has been on People's 50 Most Beautiful People list and is engaged to another alum from that little club, Eva Longoria, who he's marrying on July 7. He turned 25 in May, and by the time the month is over, will be getting fitted for his third championship ring in six pro seasons.
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| Tim Duncan has been Finals MVP three times. This time, it's Tony Parker's turn. (AP) |
Parker gets what Parker wants, and what he wants in this series is to get into the paint and break down Cleveland's defense. If his performance in San Antonio's 85-76 Game 1 victory is any indication, he's going to get his way again. And again.
With Larry Hughes not at 100 percent and rookie Daniel Gibson not exactly known for his defense, the Cavs might as well sprinkle rose petals on the path to the lane, drop down some red carpeting and not even bother with the engraved invitation. Like it or not, Parker's on his way. He finished with 27 points and seven assists, both game-highs.
One of the major differences between Cleveland and San Antonio is that the Cavs can't contain Parker the way San Antonio can LeBron James. No, I'm not saying that Parker is better than James, so save me your scorn. But the fact is, the Spurs have Bruce Bowen to pester James and can run as many bodies at him as they feel like it, daring his supporting cast to beat them. That's part of the reason James missed his first eight shots before connecting on a runner nearly five minutes into the second half.
If Cavs coach Mike Brown tries to pack the lane in to combat Parker, the other Spurs will have field days from the perimeter. Parker is just too fast for anyone on the Cavaliers, and he came in intent on being aggressive.
Gregg Popovich says he can always tell when his point guard is in the right frame of mind because he's active on both ends of the floor. You could tell from the opening tip that Parker was in the right frame of mind. He got right to the basket for a layup one minute in the game, setting the tone for what would be a recurring theme the rest of the night.
"Our aggressiveness often times begins with him," Popovich said. "No matter how anybody plays him in the pick-and-roll, his ability to penetrate or get the ball to the other side of the court gets us going."
Whenever Parker wasn't finishing easy baskets himself, he was setting the rest of the Spurs up for them. It's part of a transformation that Popovich has seen in his point guard since they last won a championship two years ago.
"He thinks a little bit more like a coach out on the floor and is really helpful in that regard," Popovich said. "That's probably where most of his development has taken place."
Parker is light years away from where he was as a second-year starter on the Spurs' 2003 title team. Back then, he wasn't a liability, but he wasn't exactly an asset, either. Teams would dare him to shoot, he'd oblige and, more often than not, miss. In that postseason, he shot 56 3-pointers, the most he's shot during any playoff run in his career. He shot 26.8 percent from beyond the arc, and barely finished above 40 percent in the postseason.
