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It was sad to see Bruce not starting, but you do what you have to do.
Manu let go of the starting position numerous times. Team first.
It'll be interesting to see if Pop stays with this lineup while Tony and Manu are out.
Spurs' Bowen responds coming off the bench
By Mike Monroe
For the first time since he arrived in San Antonio in 2001, Spurs forward Bruce Bowen did not start a game for which he suited up.
Bowen's response: His best game of the season.
Bowen replaced starter Ime Udoka, who started in his spot, with 2:22 remaining in the first period. By the end of Tuesday's 92-80 victory over the New York Knicks at the AT&T Center, he had scored a season-high 13 points, making all three 3-point attempts in almost 28 minutes on the floor.
Bowen, who had started all 555 of his games as a Spur, accepted his removal from the starting unit with equanimity.
“As a compe or, you may not want it to happen,” he said. “It's a matter of just being as professional as you can, and not allowing those things to affect you from the standpoint of not withdrawing from the team.
“Coaches have reasons for doing things, and it's important for you to trust in the things they're trying to get accomplished.”
Popovich also had Fabricio Oberto back in the starting lineup at center after Kurt Thomas started Friday's game against the Heat. For the second straight game, Michael Finley came off the bench, behind Roger Mason Jr.
Finley had his best game of the season, too, making 6 of 9 shots and scoring 14 points.
“Fin and Bruce played very well tonight off the bench, and it was great,” coach Gregg Popovich said. “Everybody participated and played for each other. It was a good combination of what the starters could do and then the bench helping them out.”
On the ballot: Led by 10-time All-Star Tim Duncan, four Spurs are on the 2009 All-Star Game ballots that began being distributed at NBA arenas.
Duncan has played in every All-Star game since entering the league in 1997, and has been voted a starter nine times.
There was no All-Star Game during the lockout shortened 1998-99 season.
Also named to the ballot by a panel of media representatives were Spurs guards Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker and forward Bruce Bowen.
Duncan appeared on last season's ballot at center, but the league amended the selection of the media panel and changed the Internet to reflect his status as a forward. All votes he received on the printed ballots were counted as votes at forward, and he earned a starting spot.
Told he had been placed in his usual forward spot, Duncan laughed.
“Yeah,” he said, “and now I'm starting at center.”
Double duty: Mike D'Antoni not only coached the Knicks in Tuesday's game, he also appeared as a guest on the PBS conversation show, “The Charlie Rose Show.” He taped the show last week in New York.
“Yeah,” D'Antoni said, “you get to see me tonight and John Updike tomorrow. You might want to wait until tomorrow.”
It was sad to see Bruce not starting, but you do what you have to do.
Manu let go of the starting position numerous times. Team first.
It'll be interesting to see if Pop stays with this lineup while Tony and Manu are out.
That's the CIA Pop way of saying that The Drive for 5 is on!!
Nice to see D'Antoni has a sense of self-deprecating humor. Made me chuckle.Mike D'Antoni not only coached the Knicks in Tuesday's game, he also appeared as a guest on the PBS conversation show, “The Charlie Rose Show.” He taped the show last week in New York.
“Yeah,” D'Antoni said, “you get to see me tonight and John Updike tomorrow. You might want to wait until tomorrow.”
I was surprised to see Bruce come off the bench, but glad it was made.
Who said Bruce can't come off the bench and be effective?
Mason is more deserving than Bowen
As much as I like Bowen, bringing him off the bench at this point makes sense. He's not a playmaker, or athletic in the paint. It's best to bring him in for what he's really good at and get the most out of it, rather than count on him to do more than should be expected of a player in his mid-30's. I like him coming in toward the end of quarters as a defensive specialist. Make it harder for teams to go on a run in the last 2-3 minutes of a period.
Looks like last nights experiment worked well.
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