Depth was expected to be one of the big narratives heading into Game 1 of the Spurs’ and Blazers’ second-round series. San Antonio gave more run and got more production from their second unit than any other team in the regular season (45.1 points in 21.3 minutes per game), the Blazers finished dead last in both categories (24.7 in 14.2) and neither of those realities changed much in the first round of the playoffs—the Spurs’ bench ranked third in minutes and second in points per, while Portland’s averaged the fewest minutes and second-fewest points.
That the Spurs’ second line outscored the Blazers’ 50 to 18 last night pretty much guaranteed that San Antonio’s advantage off the bench will remain a major talking point for Game 2. But as good as they were, it wasn’t the Spurs’ second unit that stole the spotlight last night, it was a starter—Tony Parker.
Coming off a 32-point, four-assist, four-rebound showing against the Mavericks in Sunday’s first-round Game 7, Parker pour in 33 on 13-of-24 shooting on Tuesday and added 9 assists for good measure. It was the second time in his career the Frenchman notched back-to-back playoff games with at least 30 points. The first came in April of 2008, when he went for 32 and 41 in Games 2 and 3 of the Spurs’ opening-round matchup against the Suns.
It may be some consolation to Blazers fans to know that he cooled off a bit in Game 4 against Phoenix, scoring just 18 points (still a team high) on 7-of-17 shooting. The Suns won that game (yet more consolation) to bring the series to 3-1 San Antonio. Then Parker came out and blew them away in Game 5, racking up 31 points and eight assists and shooting a mammoth 16 foul shots as the Spurs clinched the series.
The Spurs are 15-2 all-time in the playoffs when Parker scores at least 30. The reason for that has less to do with the actual amount Parker scores than the way he tends to get buckets when he goes off. For his playoff career (which isn’t a small sample size as the Spurs have made the second season in all 13 years he’s played in the league), Parker has shot 39 percent from mid-range. That alone is a pretty presentable number, but across the 17 games in which he’s dropped at least 30, that number has jumped to 54.3 percent.
When Parker is connecting from mid-range, it forces the opposing defence to honour that shot and play him closer further from the bucket. With his defender denied the cushion of space that helps to keep Parker in front of them, it’s easier for the point man to get around the corner and into the paint. Across those 17 games, he’s shot 32.8 percent of his shots right at the tin and made 68.8 percent of them.
Though nearly impossible to prevent, allowing Parker in the paint opens opposing defences up to drive-and-kicks as they suck in to contain him—even when the pass out seems completely impossible, as in the video above. It’s part of the reason why Parker has averaged 6.3 assists per in those 17 games. It’s also part of the reason for that 15-2 record.