duncan228
12-21-2008, 05:32 AM
Bonner's new-found confidence paying off for Spurs (http://www.thestar.com/Article/557005)
Dave Feschuk
SAN ANTONIO — When Matt Bonner was a Toronto Raptor, his signature move wasn't his machine-like three-point stroke or his hard-foul clothesline, though he had both in his arsenal. His signature move was a look.
A young perfectionist who lacked some confidence, Bonner would habitually interrupt his game to flash his coach, Sam Mitchell, a trademark glance. His arms outstretched, his mouth agape, he would look at the man in the suit on the sideline for approval, for encouragement, and to get yelled at. ("I've been yelled at quite a bit by everyone I've ever played for," Bonner says. "It helps me feel more relaxed.")
Somebody once suggested to Mitchell that the club should erect a statue of Bonner locked in this familiar pose. And in the throes of some long-forgotten game, courtside observers still remember Bonner flashing the look at Mitchell walking down the sideline saying, "Get that statue ready."
A lot has changed for Bonner. Traded to the Spurs in the Rasho Nesterovic deal back in 2006, he spent most of the past two seasons as a sparsely-used bench player. But thanks to some suddenly-found confidence that has come to him, perhaps, from four years' experience and four games on the bench earlier this season, last night's game against the Raptors marked Bonner's 10th straight outing as San Antonio's starting centre.
The four games on the bench amounted to something of an intervention from his current coach, Gregg Popovich, the championship-winning veteran who grew tired of Bonner's unease. Bonner is, for all his quirky modesty, a talented enough gunner to be leading the league in three-point shooting this season. And yet, at times, he has refused to shoot.
"So we finally got to the point where it's shoot or sit," said Popovich. "He's innately a sort of a nervous kind of a player. He's hard on himself. If he makes a mistake, it kills him. His big deal was to learn that the next play is the most important one, whether he just missed a shot or dribbled it off his knees or threw it into the stands — it does not matter, because it's done ... We needed to get him over that."
Maybe he's getting over it. Last night he had 14 points on 4-for-7 three-point shooting. He's averaging 10.7 points and 6.4 rebounds in that 10-game stretch in the first five.
And he could be helping another team one day soon. Bonner, whose wife, Nadia, grew up in the Beach, spends a lot of time in Toronto. To that end, the redhead from Concord, N.H., is pursuing his Canadian citizenship in some earnest. Canada, coincidently, is home to senior men's national team that will, come August, attempt to qualify for the 2010 world championships. Bonner said he is willing to help in the quest, so long as the paperwork gets done.
"To have the opportunity to represent Canada on the basketball court would be wicked," said Bonner, whose grandfather is a Newfoundlander. "I would wear the 'Canada' on my jersey with pride."
Lately he's been wearing the San Antonio jersey with pride and assurance. And if he flashed a face of doubt at Popovich last night, the moment was lost on a courtside observer.
"He's making shots. He's playing with confidence and aggressiveness," said Popovich. "He's hitting the boards. He's working on his defence and it's getting better all the time."
Said Bonner: "(Popovich) made it very clear that regardless of how many I've missed, if I'm open, I've got to shoot the ball. Now (it makes sense). That's what I do to help the team win, so if I don't do that, I'm hurting the team."
Dave Feschuk
SAN ANTONIO — When Matt Bonner was a Toronto Raptor, his signature move wasn't his machine-like three-point stroke or his hard-foul clothesline, though he had both in his arsenal. His signature move was a look.
A young perfectionist who lacked some confidence, Bonner would habitually interrupt his game to flash his coach, Sam Mitchell, a trademark glance. His arms outstretched, his mouth agape, he would look at the man in the suit on the sideline for approval, for encouragement, and to get yelled at. ("I've been yelled at quite a bit by everyone I've ever played for," Bonner says. "It helps me feel more relaxed.")
Somebody once suggested to Mitchell that the club should erect a statue of Bonner locked in this familiar pose. And in the throes of some long-forgotten game, courtside observers still remember Bonner flashing the look at Mitchell walking down the sideline saying, "Get that statue ready."
A lot has changed for Bonner. Traded to the Spurs in the Rasho Nesterovic deal back in 2006, he spent most of the past two seasons as a sparsely-used bench player. But thanks to some suddenly-found confidence that has come to him, perhaps, from four years' experience and four games on the bench earlier this season, last night's game against the Raptors marked Bonner's 10th straight outing as San Antonio's starting centre.
The four games on the bench amounted to something of an intervention from his current coach, Gregg Popovich, the championship-winning veteran who grew tired of Bonner's unease. Bonner is, for all his quirky modesty, a talented enough gunner to be leading the league in three-point shooting this season. And yet, at times, he has refused to shoot.
"So we finally got to the point where it's shoot or sit," said Popovich. "He's innately a sort of a nervous kind of a player. He's hard on himself. If he makes a mistake, it kills him. His big deal was to learn that the next play is the most important one, whether he just missed a shot or dribbled it off his knees or threw it into the stands — it does not matter, because it's done ... We needed to get him over that."
Maybe he's getting over it. Last night he had 14 points on 4-for-7 three-point shooting. He's averaging 10.7 points and 6.4 rebounds in that 10-game stretch in the first five.
And he could be helping another team one day soon. Bonner, whose wife, Nadia, grew up in the Beach, spends a lot of time in Toronto. To that end, the redhead from Concord, N.H., is pursuing his Canadian citizenship in some earnest. Canada, coincidently, is home to senior men's national team that will, come August, attempt to qualify for the 2010 world championships. Bonner said he is willing to help in the quest, so long as the paperwork gets done.
"To have the opportunity to represent Canada on the basketball court would be wicked," said Bonner, whose grandfather is a Newfoundlander. "I would wear the 'Canada' on my jersey with pride."
Lately he's been wearing the San Antonio jersey with pride and assurance. And if he flashed a face of doubt at Popovich last night, the moment was lost on a courtside observer.
"He's making shots. He's playing with confidence and aggressiveness," said Popovich. "He's hitting the boards. He's working on his defence and it's getting better all the time."
Said Bonner: "(Popovich) made it very clear that regardless of how many I've missed, if I'm open, I've got to shoot the ball. Now (it makes sense). That's what I do to help the team win, so if I don't do that, I'm hurting the team."