It's Time to Start Bowen Again

[Gooshie]

The Milwaukee game reminded me of 2 years ago when they came in to San Antonio and scorched us for 55 points in the paint. After that game, the Spurs picked up their intensity on D and went all the way. I don't believe we can do the same this year unless Bowen is re-inserted into the starting line-up.

Let me count the reasons:

1. We are currently 18th in Def FG%. In the Tim Duncan era, we have never finished a season lower than 5th. Our defense lately to begin games has been terrible. Remember when Bowen would set the defensive tone right off the bat? We need to get that back.

2. Mason and Finley are somewhat redundant in the starting line-up. When Parker and Manu were hurt, it made sense to have more offense on the floor to start games. Now that Parker is close to 100% and Manu is working his way back, we have enough offense to get by, especially with Bonner in there instead of Fab. Keep Fin in the starting 5 and bring Mason off the bench with Manu and Hill. This would also improve the bench IMO and maybe give Manu more room to operate.

3. Bruce has played quite well lately when given extended minutes. Hopefully this is a sign that he has improved since the beginning of the season when he was inconsistent. Not sure what the reason for his struggles were, maybe he just needed a little extra time to get his body going at age 37.

4. The ultimate goal is another Championship. In order to get there, we'll probably have to go through the Hornets, Lakers, and then either Boston or Cleveland. The Hornets have Peja, and we saw what he did to us when Bowen wasn't on him in the first 2 games of the playoff series last year. Lakers have Kobe, Celtics have Allen and Pierce, and the Cavs have LeBron. If we don't start Bowen against those teams, we would be dead meat. So, if we're gonna start him then, why not start now??

Tonight would be a great night to break him out vs. Mayo. Then you have Iguodala, Wade, and then Kobe looming next week.

It's time, Pop. Pull the trigger.

[lefty]

He doesn't have to start; but he'll log more minutes

[Chieflion]

I agree with your post with the exception of Iguodola.
After receiving that large contract, he is still sucking.

[HarlemHeat37]

Pop is clearly saving Bowen for the playoffs..anybody that watches games can see that Bruce is still a great perimeter defender, and certainly our best perimeter defender..he's still an energy guy, he still makes 3's at a high rate..he's even added a left handed driving layup..

I don't know if I agree with the strategy that Pop is using though..

I do agree that Bruce should be starting..he shouldn't be playing 30 minutes a game, but around 25..he should be guarding the other teams best player..OJ Mayo torched our team last game, except when Bruce was guarding him for the most part..

the bad thing with having him come off the bench is that our other guys can't guard the other team's main perimeter option..if they get hot, having Bruce come on won't make a big difference..he should be starting right away, which won't allow them to get into an early rhythm..

Finley has been a lot better than expected, and he could be used for a spark off the bench..

[Rogue]

Exactly what i am thinking.

[mrspurs]

Agreed on Pop saving Bruce for later. I dont agree with his shooting be great. But we dont need Bruce to shoot. Bruce has always set the tone defensively. And Bruce will be starting soon enough. Pop has to get Roger and Hill into the mix. And that means Bruce and Ime minutes are gonna be played with.

[Spurs Brazil]

Pop need to start Bruce and play him more minutes.

Our D is bad now. We need Bruce to make it better. Put Finley on the bench, nothing against him, but we need Bruce D. Give Finley shots to Mason

[SpursFan0728]

YES

He was the only one defending lately

[Ice009]

I think he will. Maybe not now, but a little later I think he will. If he doesn't he'll get a lot more minutes.

Although tonight Bruce was awesome at the end and I don't know why Pop didn't put him on the court the last few minutes.

[papashango]

I don't understand who you sit. Finley's defense hasn't been bad and he was shooting. That's the thing about giving Bowen a lot of minutes. Teams don't have to defend him. They'll let him have the corner 3 but its basically 4 on 5 out there on offense. And that's if Duncan, Parker, Ginobilli and Mason/Finley are out there. I thought tonight Finley had two big blocks. Especially the one in transition.

[T Park]

I don't understand how Bowen starting, and playing 5 more minutes, makes the defense become fantastic.

[papashango]

I don't understand how Bowen starting, and playing 5 more minutes, makes the defense become fantastic.


It doesn't. And honestly I don't have a problem with the perimeter defense. The 50+ points in the paint for the 6ers is what is a cause for concern. Bowen won't help that. However a 6'10 shot blocker could.

[Spurs Brazil]

They got all those pts in the paint because the perimeter D was pathetic

[papashango]

They got all those pts in the paint because the perimeter D was pathetic


I don't buy that. Guys get beat on the perimeter. That's life. I've never seen a team in my lifetime not get beat in the perimeter. Its what you do after you get beat though and that's where the Spurs are having problems. Guys are just giving excuses to poor interior defense.

[T Park]

I don't buy that. Guys get beat on the perimeter. That's life. I've never seen a team in my lifetime not get beat in the perimeter. Its what you do after you get beat though and that's where the Spurs are having problems. Guys are just giving excuses to poor interior defense.

The job of the perimiter defender is to prevent the player from getting that close, then the interior defender's job is to prevent the said player from scoring once he gets there.

The perimiter D was bad tonight.

Again, an anomoly considering Bowen, Parker, Mason and others.

[Kori Ellis]

Every aspect of the Spurs D sucked tonight. The perimeter D, the transition D, and the screen and roll D (especially Timmy, as Solid D pointed out). But the Spurs D usually isn't great on back to backs.

Bowen does need more minutes though, and I'm sure by playoff time, he'll get them. Pop is preserving his 37-year-old legs.

[xtremesteven33]

Our playoff starting 5 will be:

Parker
Mason
Bowen
Duncan
Oberto

[papashango]

The job of the perimiter defender is to prevent the player from getting that close, then the interior defender's job is to prevent the said player from scoring once he gets there.

The perimiter D was bad tonight.

Again, an anomoly considering Bowen, Parker, Mason and others.

So your telling me when Bowen was out there tonight the interior defense was good? Guys were scoring on us in the paint even when Bowen was out there.

[erikuff]

I think the starting should be:
Parker
Mason
Bowen
Duncan
Oberto
Just as xtremesteven33 said. But not only for the playoffs, but the last 30 or so games. Bowen should be played about 25 minutes a game, the first couple minutes of each quarter to frisk the opposing team's best perimeter player, and if necessary, the end of the game too. He's a huge part of our defense, and we're down statistically on our defense this year because of Bowen's lack of minutes. Bowen needs to play Miami and the Lakers. Without him, we're not going to have fun nights.
:flag:

[AFBlue]

I like the reasons for starting Bowen, but I don't agree as long as Finley is playing well. Finley is a guy that can be very efficient and score in a variety of ways (spot up, off screens, and even dribble-drive). He seems to work best in his current role, so I don't think the Spurs should mess with a good thing.

And when you bring Bowen off the bench, you have the decided advantage of previewing who's "hot" and that's who he is going to guard...not necessarily the most talented player, but the player who is playing the best at that time.

[AFBlue]

And FWIW....I would give him more minutes, but I understand wanting to save him for the stretch run.

The bottom line is that the Spurs are still racking up the W's...hard to argue with that.

[HarlemHeat37]

Pop is preserving his legs for the playoffs, specifically for guys like Kobe..

same thing we did with the pick and roll vs. the Suns last year...

do you guys think Pop could give a fuck about the regular season? no..none of the Spurs do..

[Ditty]

yah use him for like 30 minutes against the tough teams and 10 minutes for the wizrds and thuder teams and 20 for like heat kinda teams ha

[Manufan909]

I'm just curious why everyone is handing the starting C spot to Fab when the only big playing worse than him is Toll. Bonner and KT have both made a much stronger caser for starting. If KT wasn't so slow, I think he could be top candidate, but since he isn't, Bonner is our best option.

[DMX7]

I'm ok with it as long as Bonner continues to make shots because we can't have multiple players on the court who can't score.

[T Park]

I don't see Bonner losing it if he keeps playing like he has.

I think Bonner ran out of gas in the second half tonight, but he looked good.

[Spurs Brazil]

Bruce needs to start and play more minutes

The defense without him is terrible. I don't care if he can't score, we need D

[HarlemHeat37]

I'd say it's about time..it's the end of January, he should start getting minutes on this trip..

he's been the only positive in today's game..he played solid D on Kobe, he's the only perimeter player on our team that rotates consistently..

[nkdlunch]

Spurs basketball starts and ends with defense. So why is our best defender (by far) starting from the bench??

Bruce brings the defensive poise that our team needs!

[hater]

Bowen looks like a leopard out there. Unhook his chain Pop!

[it's me]

He has to start but … the question is…. Who is gonna be benched…. Mason or Finley….. I’d rather have Finley out of the starting line up for…. But that wont happen

[hater]

that is not even a question. of course bench Finley.

[Rogue]

bowen just lacks one step to start at all-star weekend, but he's still miles away from a starting positon on spurs team.

What a joke. http://i40.tinypic.com/a2zswg.jpg

[NewJerSpur]

that is not even a question. of course bench Finley.

Agreed. You don't bring guys off of the bench to "spark the defense" like you would an offense and Bruce is the one aged player we have whose conditioning offsets his mileage. I like what Fin contributed offensively to start the season, especially when Tony went down on top of Manu....hell, I didn't think he had anything left to give at all and he proved me wrong on quite a few occasions so far. Still, I think it's time to set a better tone defensively at the beginning of games, at least on the perimeter. Tim could still use some help downlow so he can stop guarding the opposing team's best big so often.

[HarlemHeat37]

there's really no reason to be starting Finley..any other team in the NBA with a player like Finley has him coming off the bench, providing the occasional offensive spark..

one day we're going to find out that there's a secret between Pop and Finley..Mike must have caught Popovich doing something, or Mike must have saved Pop's life, and Pop didn't wanna tell anybody about it..

I'm not joking, which is sad..

[raspsa]

Everybody played badly against the Lakers, not just Finley. Didn't he score the clinching 3-pointer just a couple of nights ago?

[NewJerSpur]

His game-clinching 3-pointer that night has nothing to do with sitting him for Bowen at the beginning of games for defensive purposes. Pop would put him in position to take and make that shot regardless of whether he starts or subs 10 times out of 10.

[jbspurs]

Agreed. You don't bring guys off of the bench to "spark the defense" like you would an offense and Bruce is the one aged player we have whose conditioning offsets his mileage. I like what Fin contributed offensively to start the season, especially when Tony went down on top of Manu....hell, I didn't think he had anything left to give at all and he proved me wrong on quite a few occasions so far. Still, I think it's time to set a better tone defensively at the beginning of games, at least on the perimeter. Tim could still use some help downlow so he can stop guarding the opposing team's best big so often.

I totally agree with you! Spurs need to set the tone on defense first then offense.

[hater]

Bruce the Panther Bowen deserves more minutes

[timvp]

Bowen was a beast in the fourth. He single-handedly came in and quieted Okur.

Pop better just be resting Bowen because if he really thinks players like Finley and Udoka should be ahead of him in the rotation ........... then he needs to cut back on his wine intake.

[Kori Ellis]

Bowen guarding Okur was awesome and those four quick points was a nice boost too.

[Ice009]

How many times does Spurs Brazil have to say start Bruce?

I've said it at various points in the season too, but to be fair other posters have pushed a lot harder for it.

I hope Pop is just resting him and will make that move later.

AWESOME game from Bruce. I LOVE defense.

[HarlemHeat37]

I can't see any possible reason for Pop not playing him his usual minutes, other than the possibility of saving him for the playoffs..Bowen is still a top 3 perimeter defender in the NBA, and I've seen NOTHING this season to make me think otherwise..he's still the craftiest defender in the NBA, he still gets in players heads, he's even added some offense..

like I said yesterday..Bowen's offense is basically the same as Finley's, and I honestly believe that..the only difference is that Finley is a better 3-point shooter from various spots, as opposed to just the corners..Finley doesn't drive, he doesn't score off the dribble..there's really no reason to have him start..

[loveforthegame]

Pop seems to be sticking with resting Bowen for the playoffs.

I know the defense has been bad in stretches but who would have thought we'd have the record we do with Bowen playing such limited minutes?

If he's going to make a change he'll need to leave plenty of room for whoever is going to the bench to adjust before the playoffs.

[td4mvp21]

I've got to think Pop is saving Bowen. He has done very, very well in his time this season.

[Manufan909]

I'm just curious why everyone is handing the starting C spot to Fab when the only big playing worse than him is Toll. Bonner and KT have both made a much stronger caser for starting. If KT wasn't so slow, I think he could be top candidate, but since he isn't, Bonner is our best option.

I take it back, over the last couple of games, Fab has made me wish he was the starting C again. I think Bonner could still get 25+ minutes as the backup big with Thomas.

[rayray2k8]

He's getting the Robert Horry treatment..
Close this thread..

[Chieflion]

We are going to get 2nd seed in the West and no HCA in the finals if we really can get there either way, starting Bruce or not. I think Bruce should be our X-Factor.

[Bruno]

There is no need to speculate why Bowen didn't get more playing time because Pop explains it clearly earlier this month :

http://blogs.mysanantonio.com/weblogs/courtside/2009/01/jeff-mcdonald-p-28.html


Of Bowen, the team's one-time iron man whose role has been reduced this season, Popovich said, "He is getting older. People don't realize he's 37 years old. That's pretty old for a guy at the three position, guarding arguably the best player on the other team every night."

Popovich said he's been giving more minutes to newcomer Roger Mason with the starters, so Mason can continue to get used to the Spurs' system. The coach hinted at the possibility of Bowen's role beginning to expand again as the season moves along.

"I just want to make sure he's there come playoff time, so I'm trying to reduce his minutes now," Popovich said.

[urunobili]

damn watching him THAT hungry shutting down players in the 4th reminded me of him in 2005.... i think Pop is saving his all fot he postseason... and btw i don't think he last lost a step... with his conditioning he may play until he's 40...