The San Antonio Spurs opted not to add an impact point guard this off-season despite the fact that their incumbent starting point guard is 35 and will be coming off of a torn quadriceps.
Parker suffered the injury during game 5 of the 2017 western conference semi-finals against the Rockets and is now targeting a return to the court in January.
Parker shared his recovery progress with News 4 in San Antonio on Thursday:
“It’s OK. It’s OK. It’s getting better and better,” Parker said of his quad. “I’m starting to run like a little bit. I’m walking pretty well. I think it’s still going to be a long process. It’s still going to take like another four or five months but I am very happy in with the progress.”
Being able to run at this point is a good sign. The Spurs will rely upon recently re-signed backup point guard Patty Mills, second-year guard Dejounte Murray and even Kawhi Leonard to fill some of the point guard duties in Parker’s absence.
While the Spurs are always in the thick of things in the western conference and virtually guaranteed to win 50 games each year, trotting out a 35-year-old starting point guard who lost a step before a serious leg injury along with their big free agent acquisition being a 30-year-old forward coming off of an Achilles injury doesn’t seem to translate to true contention in the western conference next season.
Spurs fans can relish in the fact that they will get to enjoy Parker and Manu Ginobili playing together for at least one more half season.
