Spurs' Parker held out of 2nd half in return from injury
It appears San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich is going to take a cautious approach with star point guard Tony Parker.
Parker has been limited to 22 of the team's 36 games this season, and was recently shelved for five contests with a hamstring strain. The injury has held him to just four games since Dec. 5, and the Spurs have suffered as a result.
The 14-year veteran returned Tuesday, scoring three points and logging just 13 minutes in the Spurs' 105-104 loss to the Detroit Pistons. He was an observer from the bench for the entire second half, watching Pistons point guard Brandon Jennings hit a game-winning shot to power Detroit to its sixth consecutive victory.
"He wanted to play, but I'm being conservative," Popovich said, according to Raul Dominguez of The Associated Press. "He had 13 minutes. That's good after sitting out as long as he did; make sure he doesn't re-injure the thing."
San Antonio dropped to 21-15 with the loss and sits seventh in the Western Conference - just three games up on the ninth-place New Orleans Pelicans.
It's been an uncharacteristic year for the mighty Spurs, and injuries to Parker and Kawhi Leonard, who could be out another two weeks, have played a part.
The Spurs are 7-7 without Parker and 6-8 sans Leonard, who has missed 11 consecutive games with a hand injury.
Parker will get a couple days to rest before the Spurs host the Phoenix Suns on Friday night.