<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post"> See if you've heard this one before. A young point guard is staggeringly quick and makes his living slicing through NBA defenses. He has to please a demanding coach and needs to work overtime on a jump shot that opponents dare him to shoot. Tony Parker has been there. And he can sympathize with Devin Harris. The San Antonio Spurs' point guard had to prove himself to coach Gregg Popovich, who doesn't tolerate mistakes by his floor general. Parker had a honeymoon that lasted a couple years, then went through a troublesome third season before figuring everything out in his fourth year and becoming an All-Star last season. The Mavericks hope Harris is following the same growth chart, although they could live without that third-year slump, since that's what season Harris is entering. In short, the honeymoon is over. "If you want to compare me to Devin, I can see why they do that because of the speed and he's small like me and skinny and goes to the basket well," Parker said last week before the exhibition finale in San Antonio. "And he's got the same kind of coach. Avery Johnson learned a lot from Pop. "It's tough when you play point guard for a coach who is very demanding. It's always hard to try to find that balance between scoring and passing. And I had to find that balance to make Pop happy, make my teammates happy and at the same time grow as a player. It takes time. I had some ups and downs." Harris is going through the same sometimes-painful process. He understands that, as the No. 5 overall draft pick in 2004, certain expectations exist. He's waiting for that illuminating moment that brings it all into focus for him. "Hopefully, it'll all come together at some point," Harris said. "I'm still searching for it." </div> Source
