Jrue Holiday could use a little more mention when talking about the NBA's best point guards. Tony Parker probably knows the feeling.
Spurs vs. 76ers preview: Undersold point guards Parker, Holiday square off
Two of the NBA’s most talented but less-hyped point guards battle as Tony Parker and the San Antonio Spurs face Jrue Holiday and the Philadelphia 76ers
Brendan Maloney-US PRESSWIRE
One of the older, under-recognized point guards in the league will face one of the up-and-comers as the San Antonio Spurs head to Philadelphia to face the 76ers on Monday night. Both Holiday and Parker are coming off big-time performances.
Holiday scored 33 points to go with 14 assists and three steals to help Philadelphia to a 108-101 overtime win against Toronto on Friday. In San Antonio's last outing, Parker led the Spurs, who were without Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili, to a 98-93 victory against Atlanta.
Duncan was taking a game off to rest while Ginobili will miss Monday’s game with a hamstring injury.
Parker has the 76ers’ number in the most recent outings, averaging 26 points per game against Philadelphia. Meanwhile, Holiday will need to flip his fortunes against Parker -- coming off a career-high scoring game, he’ll be needed for a Philadelphia team whose offense appears to depend heavily on the fourth-year guard.
Philadelphia has won two of three after struggling through a five-game losing skid, and the difference during those two spans of competition came in how effective Holiday was in each. He hasn’t scored below 29 points in the past three games but during the five-game losing streak averaged 15.4 points a night.
The Spurs, per usual, are flying under the radar. San Antonio is currently cruising and on a four-game winning streak. Parker’s efficiency has been most notable of late, as he’s shot 54.5 percent from the floor in those wins.
San Antonio last played Philadelphia on Jan. 5, sending the 76ers out of town with a 109-86 win while holding their opponents to an abysmal 3-of-17 shooting night from three-point range. In that one, Holiday managed just 11 points on 33 percent shooting, and only Spencer Hawes showed any life for Doug Collins’ team.
With Holiday’s first All-Star berth still on the line, proving his worthiness could start with managing to disrupt and attack Parker, another of the NBA’s continually undersold point guards.
Time: 7 p.m. ET
TV: TNT
Odds: The Spurs are six-point favorites.
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