There's nine games on the NBA schedule on Tuesday night, as the league sees its first action since the All-Star break.
The San Antonio Spurs announced that Tony Parker will be out of action against the Clippers on Tuesday for "rest" purposes, and head coach Gregg Popovich took it a step further. Popovich said the point guard will be out of acton for the foreseeable future as the Spurs head into the final three games of the Rodeo Road Trip, via Mike Monroe of the San Antonio Express-News.
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It's been an interesting timeline for Parker in recent weeks. He was sent home prior to the team's Feb. 12 game in Boston because he wasn't himself, "mentally or physically," Popovich said at the time, via Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News. With all the injuries that had piled up in that locker room — Manu Ginobili (hamstring), Kawhi Leonard (broken metacarpal), Tiago Splitter (shoulder, calf) — Parker had been carrying a larger load and was affected by it.
Parker played 11 minutes in the All-Star Game on Sunday, so this is a bit of a surprise, but he has been playing hurt. With reinforcements arriving, it appears Popovich is giving him a break:
Here's the deal on @tonyparker: Popovich shutting him down til he's 100 pct because 'he's been playing at '60 to 70 pct."
— Mike Monroe (@Monroe_SA) February 18, 2014
This comes on the back of the news that Ginobili is probable Tuesday, and Leonard and Splitter are game-time decisions against the Clippers, via Monroe. The Spurs have missed all three players dearly, and the fact of the matter is Parker hasn't been his normally effective self in quite some time.
Popovich's announcement is probably for the best. The coach didn't cite one injury in particular, but Parker is essentially banged up. San Antonio is getting much of its depth back, and it knows Parker needs to be completely healthy if the Spurs are going to make another deep playoff run. If ever there's a time for them to rest him, it's now.
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