James Silas Quotations

I think Tony will step up because he knows he has to play well. He had his ups and downs before, but he's playing with all the confidence in the world right now.

I think Tony has finally grown up and matured as a leader of the team. When you talk about point guards and look at the things he has been able to do consistently this season, you have to mention Parker as one of the best in the league.

He sets the standard of hard work, that hard-hat mentality the Spurs have, with his defense. He never gets the headlines or stories because he doesn't score a lot of points, but the Spurs would suffer without him.

Those teams are so much alike. They have veteran squads, smart players and play great defense. Both believe the championship is theirs and nobody else's.

The team set itself up for a great training trip, and when it was over, it showed through the win against Lafayette and the best times that came up left and right. We're in position to have a great taper.

The thinking used to be if you shut down Timmy, you have the Spurs beat. I don't think that's true anymore. You really have to stop Tony Parker, too, if you want to beat the Spurs. I really think Tony is in that same class now.

What Tony does, getting in the lane and making positive things happen, is so critical to the Spurs' success. When he breaks a defender down, somebody has to come over and help. Tony either goes up and gets fouled or passes off. You can't defend against that.