When Tony Parker lobbed a ball toward the basket, a teammate was there to throw it through the rim. When he dribbled the ball into the lane and attracted multiple defenders, he found the open man. And when the Phoenix Suns gave him enough room to get a shot off, more often than not, it fell softly into the net. Yet somehow, at the end of a night in which so much went right for Parker, the Spurs were still left wondering what went wrong. Even with Parker scoring 20 points and dishing out seven assists, the Spurs lost Game 2 of the Western Conference semifinals 110-102 on Wednesday at US Airways Center, and Parker wasn't about to question any mysteries about why it happened. “That's basketball,” Parker said, shrugging his shoulders. “You've got to just keep playing.” The question now for the Spurs — as it has been for at least the past few days — is whether Parker will keep playing as a reserve. Starting point guard George Hill did a better job Wednesday than he did in Game 1, making Phoenix's Steve Nash work harder and hitting his own share of shots, but the Spurs have consistently looked better against the Suns with Parker on the floor. In previous postseasons, Spurs coach Gregg Popovich often has responded to a series deficit by making a lineup change, often involving Manu Ginobili. So with Parker filling Ginobili's old super-sub role this year, could Parker be the next player re-inserted into the starting lineup to provide a boost? http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/spurs/Parkers_strong_game_doesnt_lead_to_victory.html
