Tony Parker Out For 4 Weeks With Sprained Ankle

Seeing one of the team leaders down on the floor in pain has become a familiar sight for San Antonio Spurs fan this year. Last night, it was seen again as in the third quarter Tony Parker navigated through the Sacramento Kings defense in transition for a layup. As he landed, he came down on the feet of Kings guard Isaiah Thomas, rolling Parker’s ankle and taking him out of the rest of the game.
Saturday, the San Antonio Spurs released the status of Parker’s injury, saying:
“Spurs guard Tony Parker underwent an MRI examination this morning in San Antonio. The MRI confirmed that Parker has a Grade 2 left ankle sprain. He is expected to be out for approximately four weeks.”
Parker has been the key to the Spurs offense this year, leading them to being the 4th highest scoring team this year, and his injury will take him away from the team at a point where he had been playing his best basketball of the year, as he averaged 26.3 points per game and 8.3 assists per game in the month of February.
The Spurs will be forced to rely on Nando De Colo and Cory Joseph to carry the load at point guard for the next month or so while Parker recovers. De Colo has started the 3 games Parker had previously missed this season, and averaged 9.3 points on .348 FG% and 4.3 assists when starting. Joseph has played a total of 75 minutes this season, and was recently called up from San Antonio’s D-League affiliate, the Austin Toros, where he was a D-League All-Star. He gained playing time against the Kings when Parker went down, and had 9 points in 11 minutes.
The Spurs next game is Sunday, March 3, against the Detroit Pistons at 7:00 PM ET.