Tony Parker Injury: Updates on Spurs Guard's Back Spasms and Return

Updates from Friday, April 11

San Antonio Express-News reporter Dan McCarney has the latest on Parker:

Updates from Monday, April 7

Dan McCartney of the San Antonio Express-News has the latest on Tony Parker

The Spurs later updated Parker's status (via Jeff Caplan of NBA.com):

Original Text

Tony Parker was doing pretty much whatever he wanted against the Memphis Grizzlies on Sunday, but a back injury instantly cut his night short. 

According to the San Antonio Spurs' official Twitter feed, the veteran point guard, who had 10 points in just nine minutes, left with back spasms and won't return:

The severity of the injury won't be known until after the game, but as the San Antonio Express-News' Jeff McDonald pointed out, this continues the string of bad luck for Parker, who recently dealt with Achilles soreness and is averaging just 30.0 minutes per game, the lowest mark since his rookie season:

San Antonio is still attempting to hold off Oklahoma City for the top spot in the West, but with a comfortable three-and-a-half game lead, it wouldn't be surprising if Gregg Popovich held out Parker down the stretch in an attempt to get him ready for the playoffs.    

It's not as though Pop isn't accustomed to resting his stars, and he has a capable backup in Patty Mills, who is averaging 10.1 points in just 18.5 minutes per contest this year. 

Either way, though, getting Parker healthy will be crucial if the Spurs want to hoist the Larry O'Brien Trophy in June. In his 13th year with the Spurs, he is one of the team's leaders and is a catalyst to the offense when on the floor, so the team will surely be careful in making sure he gets back to full health.