It takes a real man to admit when he is completely wrong, suck up his pride and apologize. With that being said, I owe a massive apology to the entire San Antonio Spurs franchise.I wasn’t the only one who wrote off the Spurs in this series, which does make me feel a little better about my foolish decision to pick the Memphis Grizzlies, but regardless, I don’t think I’ve ever been so wrong in evaluating a team.
In my Western Conference Finals predictions, I thought that the combination of Zach Randolph and Marc Gasol would be too much for the Spurs big men to handle, and I thought the defensive combination of Tony Allen and Mike Conley could at least slow down Tony Parker.
But I was wrong.
Zach Randolph had an abysmal series, there isn’t any other way to put it. Randolph scored 44 total points in the four games. He shot an atrocious 28-percent from the field. He was awful, plain and simple.
On the other hand, Tim Duncan played a fantastic series, averaging 15.5 points, 9.3 rebounds, 3.3 assists and three blocks per game. I honestly didn’t think the 37-year-old Duncan still had this kind of performance in him, so I apologize for that Mr. Duncan.
As a current college basketball player, I understand the importance of coaching, and how it can make a huge difference in a game. But the truth is, I completely underestimated coach Gregg Popovich’s ability to game plan and make in-game adjustments.
He is an absolute genius.
He has his team’s total and utmost respect, and I can guarantee that every one of his players -- from Duncan to their 12th man Patty Mills -- would run through a wall for Pop if he told them it’d help them win the game. Pop will go down as one of the greatest coaches in the history of sports, and I underestimated him.
I’m an idiot for that.
But I owe Tony Parker the biggest apology of all. I left him off my NBA MVP ballot. I left him off my First, Second and Third All-NBA teams. I constantly argued against him with my friends when they said he was a top five-point guard in the NBA.
And I was wrong, but now I see the light.
After watching Parker completely pick apart and destroy Memphis’ defense, it is clear to me now that he should have been on my MVP ballot and that he should have been on my All-NBA Second team, maybe even First team, and that he is, without a doubt, a top-five point guard in the league.
I’m going to go out on a limb here and say that he is the second-best point guard in the league, and only behind Chris Paul by the slimmest of margins.
Memphis defense ranked first in the NBA in points allowed this year. Parker made them look like a JV squad out there.
His 37-point, six-assist performance in Game 4 was unbelievable. For the series, he averaged 24.5 points and 9.5 assists per game, which are better numbers than what CP3 put up against this same Grizzlies squad.
Tony Allen and Mike Conley both made the NBA’s All-Defensive Team this year. So did Marc Gasol, but not even they could slow down Parker. He has mastered the art of the pick-and-roll.
His pull-up jump shot is money. He doesn’t miss around the rim. He can finish with both hands. AND his three-point shot is now a weapon too. Tony Parker is virtually unguardable now, and coach Popovich puts him in the perfect positions to succeed.
So I’ll admit it, I totally missed my pick on this series.
And with that, I’m sorry San Antonio.
