The 2014 NBA Finals are set to commence on Thursday, June 5 with the San Antonio Spurs playing host to the Miami Heat. It will be a rematch of the 2013 Finals, when Ray Allen’s clutch shooting helped the Heat win the NBA championship in seven games.
Unfortunately, one question threatens to damage the quality of Game 1: will Tony Parker be available to play?
For the second straight year, Parker enters the NBA Finals with a leg-related injury that could impact both his availability and mobility. After battling a hamstring issue in 2013, it’s the 2007 Finals MVP’s ankle that’s hobbling him a season later.
The good news for Spurs fans and the basketball community as a whole is that Parker expects to play. He made such clear when he spoke to France’s RMC Sport Radio.
Dan McCarney of The San Antonio Express-News provided the translation.
Parker said recently on France’s RMC Sport radio that he originally injured the ankle in Game 4 of the first round series with Dallas. He suspects that led to his hamstring strain in Game 5 of the conference semifinals before the ankle flared back up midway through the Oklahoma City series, including the Spurs’ Game 6 clincher on Saturday in which Popovich pulled Parker at halftime.
Head coach Gregg Popovich’s stance: “[Tony Parker] is either 50 percent or he’s out for the rest of the playoffs. One of the two. We’ll see. I had to do it. I’ll never do it again, I promise. We’re done with that joke.”
We’re looking at you, Scott Brooks and Serge Ibaka.
San Antonio is deep and legendarily coached, which is enough for it to compete with any team in any game. Parker just so happens to be the best player on the team, and if he’s unavailable, his absence will be felt.
The Spurs aren’t helpless without Parker, but losing an elite player is losing an elite player.
If Parker does play, the question will be: can he put forth his Hall of Fame-caliber level of postseason play? Or will he be limited in his ability to attack, a la 2013?
That question will be answered in less than 48 hours.
Houston to Decline Club Option on Chandler Parsons
We haven’t even reached the NBA offseason and free agency is already stealing headlines.
In what can only be described as a shocking turn of events, Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports reports that the Houston Rockets plan on declining Chandler Parsons’ club option. Parsons will thus hit the open market as a restricted free agent this summer.
There are two possibilities for what this approach means for Houston.
One scenario is that this decision creates something of a domino effect for the Rockets as they attempt to clear up cap space for a run at a third max contract player. Omer Asik and Jeremy Lin’s big respective contracts are the hurdles, while Parsons’ fourth year is only worth $960,000.
By making this move and shopping Asik and/or Lin, the Rockets can attempt to sign a star while still owning the right to match any offer that Parsons receives, should the star pursuit fall through.
The second scenario is that this isn’t an attempt to clear cap or roster space whatsoever. Instead, the Rockets are utilizing Parsons’ restricted free agency as means to gauge his perceived value from across the league.
Rather than potentially overpaying for the 25-year-old, the Rockets would allow Parsons to field offers from across the NBA. From there, Houston could determine whether or not it agrees on what other teams decide is his financial worth.
Regardless of what happens, it’s highly unlikely that Houston will let Parsons walk if it fails to acquire a star. Unlikely is an understatement.
Derek Fisher to New York? Phil is Paying the Price
Not even one week removed from his run to the Western Conference Finals as a player, Derek Fisher is already expected to retire and become a coach. Fisher, a five-time NBA champion, has experience with both the Los Angeles Lakers and Utah Jazz, which are in need of new head coaches.
And then there’s the Phil Jackson effect.
The New York Knicks are the Dallas Cowboys of the NBA. There’s a mercurial star, a micro-managing owner, constant media coverage despite an absence from the playoffs and a never-ending question mark at head coach.
Fisher could help solve the latter.
Marc Stein and Ramona Shelburne of ESPN New York report that Jackson will enter in preliminary talks with Fisher this week. This doesn’t guarantee a signing, but it’s the first official meeting between the two about the vacant coaching position.
Jackson has already been fined $25,000 by the NBA for tampering. The fact that he’s still intent on pursuing Fisher shows that there is legitimate interest.
Fisher won five NBA championships as Jackson’s point guard. He’s well-versed in the execution of the triangle offense and has long been known as one of the most intelligent players in the league.
There’s little question about whether or not Fisher will become a coach at some point in the future. The doubt exists for whether or not Fisher will be able to make the player-to-coach transition as soon as 2014-15.
With Steve Kerr now a member of the Golden State Warriors, Fisher could be the disciple that Jackson molds into a great head coach.