The news on Tony Parker’s left knee injury is in. And, as expected, isn’t good.
Word came Thursday afternoon from the San Antonio Spurs that their point guard is done for the playoffs after suffering a ruptured left quadriceps tendon. Here’s more details from ESPN.com:
San Antonio Spurs guard Tony Parker has a ruptured left quadriceps tendon and will miss the remainder of the playoffs, the team announced Thursday.
The Spurs said a timeline for Parker’s return would be determined at a later date.
Parker, 34, had an MRI after suffering the injury during the Spurs’ 121-96 victory over the Houston Rockets in Game 2 of the Western Conference semifinals Wednesday night.
With 8:52 left in the fourth quarter, Parker immediately clutched at his left knee after a driving floater over Patrick Beverley and collapsed to the court, where he lay motionless for several minutes.
Although Parker, 34, has become a smaller part of what the Spurs do, he is their second-best playmaker and was playing well, offensively, for much of the postseason. The 26-plus minutes per night he logged will be difficult to cover up.
Most of the burden will fall to Patty Mills, his backup. But Kawhi Leonard will also seem more time on the ball. Asked about the transition, per ESPN.com, Leonard said he could “definitely” see himself playing more point forward with Parker on the sidelines.
That’s a lot to ask of Leonard, who is already doing almost everything for the Spurs. He has been their offensive lifeline more than anyone else during these playoffs, and he officially took on the responsibility of defending James Harden in San Antonio’s Game 2 victory over the Houston Rockets.
If the Spurs are looking to conserve Leonard while ensuring Mills doesn’t get displaced from the ball too much, Manu Ginobili is a natural point guard option. He orchestrates things for protracted stretches as a member of the second unit anyway. The Spurs might as well take advantage of that.
Whatever they do, they’ll have to do it on the fly. Replacing Parker is likely a fluid process, one the Spurs will have to change by the game and depending on the quality of play from its array of options—instability this team isn’t used to but has hopefully prepared for.
