Parker Proving a Point

Is the Spurs’ love affair with Jason Kidd over?

Kidd, an upcoming free agent, was No. 1 on their list at midseason, but insiders think Jason’s bricklaying NBA Finals, in which he’s shooting 36% for the New Jersey Nets, have them re-thinking.

The Spurs may have also targeted Kidd to please their franchise player, Tim Duncan, a close friend of Kidd. However, Tony Parker’s rapid rise has impressed a lot of people, including Duncan, who has begun saying Parker is his guy.

The Spurs’ staff, which has tried to stay noncommittal, is said to have been blown away by Parker’s progress.

Noted General Manager R.C. Buford: “Very seldom do we have to go double-team Tony’s man. That was my concern coming in. [Defense] had never been a priority for him and he’s also probably not the strongest player at that position....

“The thing that surprises me, for two years we’ve always been concerned about him getting abused defensively but, with the exception of a few games against Steph [Marbury in the first-round series against Phoenix], which is a tough matchup for him, he does a pretty good job of staying in front of people like Stevie Francis and most of the really good point guards in the league.”

*

Gone for the moment but not forgotten: Even as the Nets struggled against the Spurs, there was little temptation among those who’d played both to confuse San Antonio and the Lakers.

“It’s a different matchup,” said Dikembe Mutombo, who was with Philadelphia in the 2001 Finals, which the Lakers won in five games.

“You have Kobe Bryant, who is one of the most valuable players in the league and you’ve got Shaq [O’Neal], one of the most dominant centers in this league. Coming in against San Antonio, we knew that there’s one man that we need to slow down: Tim Duncan.”

Nor have the Spurs forgotten O’Neal.

“Shaq will always be the most dominant big man ever,” said Steve Kerr. “He’s like a man among boys out there. But Tim is fundamentally the best big man in the game and the fact is, he outplayed Shaq in our series. And we beat them. So for right now, anyway, Tim has the edge over him, I think.”

Said Kevin Willis: “Shaq’s No. 1 because of what he’s done. He’s got three championships and the only way you can stop him is to double-team him or triple-team him and hope he doesn’t want to play that night.”

*

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX)

NBA FINALS

*--* SAN ANTONIO VS. NEW JERSEY Spurs lead series, 3-2 GAME 1 San Antonio, 101-89 GAME 2 New Jersey, 87-85 GAME 3 San Antonio, 84-79 GAME 4 New Jersey, 77-76 GAME 5 San Antonio, 93-83 GAME 6 Tonight at San Antonio, 5:30 GAME 7 Wed. at San Antonio, 5:30 p.m.* *if necessary All times PDT

*--*