Popovich says Tony Parker could return for Spurs' next game
Reinforcements could soon be on the way for the ailing San Antonio Spurs, who will be without point guard Tony Parker for the fifth consecutive game (and 14th of the season) on Saturday night.
Parker has been nursing the left hamstring strain he suffered in a game against the Memphis Grizzlies on Dec. 5, but Spurs coach Gregg Popovich believes he could be ready to play in the team's next contest, according to ESPN's J.A. Adande.
The Spurs next play on Tuesday, when they'll host the Detroit Pistons.
While Parker reportedly practiced and played 3-on-3 Friday, Popovich wants to get him into a 5-on-5 scrimmage before making any firm decisions about his availability in the coming week.
With Kawhi Leonard still weeks away from a returning from his right hand injury, the Spurs could use some good news on the injury front. They just suffered their first losing month of December in the Tim Duncan era, and at 20-14, they're just 2.5 games up on the ninth-place New Orleans Pelicans in the Western Conference standings, and just three up on the surging (and healthy) Oklahoma City Thunder.
Despite some uncharacteristically shaky on/off splits, Parker is shooting a career-best 62.1 percent (!!) from 3-point range, bolstering a 58.5 percent True Shooting mark that would be the second-highest of his career.
The Spurs are 14-7 with Parker in the lineup, and just 6-7 without him.