The strategy of wearing out Tony Parker

Someone very close to me who really knows his basketball was questioning the San Antinio Spurs' strategy of not getting the ball in Tony Parker's hands at the end of the games in this Spurs-Mavericks series. ESPN.com's John Hollinger has an answer:

The most shocking thing about Saturday's loss was seeing Tony Parker run out of gas so visibly down the stretch. He had a breakaway with just less than four minutes left in the fourth quarter when Jason Kidd and Jason Terry both caught up to him. He missed both free throws, and his only shot the rest of the way was a tired-looking 3 off the dribble into the front rim.

Parker played 41 minutes and scored 43 points but had only 12 after the break and none in the final 7 minutes, 33 seconds. His teammates mustered only eight points during that stretch, allowing the Mavs to win despite getting diddly from both Dirk Nowitzki and Terry.

This reinforces the dominant theme of the Spurs' season: not enough help. Parker rarely played 41 minutes during a playoff game in past seasons, let alone 41 minutes of handling the ball for 15 to 20 seconds on nearly every possession. San Antonio got 68 points from Parker and Tim Duncan, but only 22 on 6-of-28 shooting from the others. Once Dallas clamped down on those two after halftime, the Spurs scored only 35 points in the second half.

Apparently what the Mavs are doing is forcing Parker to work hard for his open looks early in the games, plus forcing him to play some heavy defense, thus wearing him down in the stretch. Neat.

Let's see how that plan works tonight.