Tony Parker Injury Update: Spurs point guard likely out for remainder of 2017 NBA Playoffs
Tony Parker, the San Antonio Spurs point guard, is likely out for the remainder of the 2017 NBA Playoffs after suffering a left leg injury Wednesday during the team's 121-96 Game 2 victory over the Houston Rockets. Though the Spurs managed to level the seven-game Western Conference semi-finals series at two wins apiece, Parker's injury could prove to be a severe blow for Gregg Popovich's team.
Parker, the 2007 NBA Finals MVP, will now undergo an MRI on Thursday. However, several reports claim that the Spurs coaching staff is not counting on Parker to return to the court. Parker suffered the injury with 8:43 left in the final quarter when he attempted to finish a driving floater over Rockets guard Patrick Beverley. Television cameras caught Parker clutching at his left knee before collapsing to the court, where he laid motionless for several minutes.
"It's not good," coach Popovich said after the game. "I have no idea (how severe the injury is). We just finished the game. We'll find out about Tony (tomorrow). We haven't gotten together to talk about who's going to play instead. I have no idea," the five-time NBA champion said, via ESPN.
Tony Parker injury update: Manu, Spurs prepared for the worst
Manu Ginobili, who formed the infamous Big 3 in San Antonio with Parker and Tim Duncan, hinted that Parker could struggle to return from his injury. "It's hard to see him limping and hurting now, and you kind of know we're not going to see him anytime soon. That's a tough blow. We shall see. We don't know. Besides the fact that Tony is our point guard, we are going to miss having him around, his experience, his big shots. It is more than just who is going to start. We are going to miss his presence."
However, Ginobili felt that the second-seeded Spurs have enough depth to recover from Parker's injury. "The fact we play a different style now, with Kawhi (Leonard) holding the ball a lot and running the high pick-and-roll and creating for others means we don't need, as much in the past, a point guard that creates for everybody. In that sense, we are going to have to find rotations, maybe without a point guard for moments. I don't know, we haven't talked about it. Patty's (Mills) going to have to play more minutes for sure, but Kawhi, for sure, is going to have the ball more in his hands."
The Spurs and Rockets will resume their second-round playoff series Thursday when they travel to Houston for Game 3. The Spurs will likely start Australian Patty Mills instead of the injured Parker. Stay tuned for the latest Tony Parker injury update, besides news from the ongoing 2017 NBA Playoffs.
