Spurs Brazil
01-31-2009, 06:31 AM
Overnight, Bruce Bowen's free throw percentage jumped 25 percentage points, and he can thank Suns coach Terry Porter for the opportunity to make such a dramatic improvement.
In the Spurs' first 44 games, Bowen had played 898 minutes, but had gone to the foul line only eight times. He had made only two of his eight foul shots.
It was that 25 percent free throw percentage that prompted Porter to employ intentional foul tactics in the final 2:41 of the third quarter of the Spurs' 114-104 victory at U.S. Airways Center Thursday night, instructing his players to grab Bowen before the Spurs could get up a shot.
Bowen made 5 of 6 free throws after the intentional fouls. By game's end he had made 6 of 8, pushing his season free throw percentage to .500, on 8-of-16 shooting.
Bowen recalled the Mavericks having employed the same tactic in the 2006 Western Conference semifinals, with similar results.
“If they gave me a chance to get to the line, I knew I'd be all right,” he said, “because I'll have a chance to figure it out and get comfortable.
“I got one (free throw) Tuesday, in Utah, but prior to that it had been a long time.
Indeed, before going to the line in the Spurs' 106-100 victory in Utah, Bowen had shot only one foul shot in the previous 29 games.
“Eight all season?” he said. “Well, there you have it, and I got eight (Thursday). It's fun to be able to get a rhythm there and understand it and not even question what's going on.”
Suns point guard Steve Nash committed a tactical mistake when he intentionally fouled Bowen, away from the ball, with 37.6 seconds left and the Spurs holding a 109-104 lead.
Forgetting that away-from-the-play fouls in the final two minutes of a game allow the offended team to choose a player to shoot one foul shot, and then retain possession, Nash grabbed Bowen. Spurs coach Gregg Popovich chose Manu Ginobili to take the free throw.
“I got one as a gift,” said Ginobili, who broke Tim Duncan's franchise record of free throw makes in a game without a miss, going 18-for-18. “But I have to say something about Bruce's free throws: They were huge. Those situations are kind of weird, because it throws you out of rhythm. But if your teammate makes five out of six, and then you make stops on the other side, you can have a good run.”
Young legs: Veteran backup center Kurt Thomas grabbed nine rebounds and served as Tim Duncan's tag-team partner defending Suns center Shaquille O'Neal on Thursday.
What most impressed his teammates were two rebounds that he snatched away from O'Neal with what appeared to be outstanding vertical leaps.
“I'm able to pull some verticality out about once a month,” Thomas said, “so maybe this was it.”
http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/spurs/Foul_tactics_help_Bowen_improve_free_throws.html
In the Spurs' first 44 games, Bowen had played 898 minutes, but had gone to the foul line only eight times. He had made only two of his eight foul shots.
It was that 25 percent free throw percentage that prompted Porter to employ intentional foul tactics in the final 2:41 of the third quarter of the Spurs' 114-104 victory at U.S. Airways Center Thursday night, instructing his players to grab Bowen before the Spurs could get up a shot.
Bowen made 5 of 6 free throws after the intentional fouls. By game's end he had made 6 of 8, pushing his season free throw percentage to .500, on 8-of-16 shooting.
Bowen recalled the Mavericks having employed the same tactic in the 2006 Western Conference semifinals, with similar results.
“If they gave me a chance to get to the line, I knew I'd be all right,” he said, “because I'll have a chance to figure it out and get comfortable.
“I got one (free throw) Tuesday, in Utah, but prior to that it had been a long time.
Indeed, before going to the line in the Spurs' 106-100 victory in Utah, Bowen had shot only one foul shot in the previous 29 games.
“Eight all season?” he said. “Well, there you have it, and I got eight (Thursday). It's fun to be able to get a rhythm there and understand it and not even question what's going on.”
Suns point guard Steve Nash committed a tactical mistake when he intentionally fouled Bowen, away from the ball, with 37.6 seconds left and the Spurs holding a 109-104 lead.
Forgetting that away-from-the-play fouls in the final two minutes of a game allow the offended team to choose a player to shoot one foul shot, and then retain possession, Nash grabbed Bowen. Spurs coach Gregg Popovich chose Manu Ginobili to take the free throw.
“I got one as a gift,” said Ginobili, who broke Tim Duncan's franchise record of free throw makes in a game without a miss, going 18-for-18. “But I have to say something about Bruce's free throws: They were huge. Those situations are kind of weird, because it throws you out of rhythm. But if your teammate makes five out of six, and then you make stops on the other side, you can have a good run.”
Young legs: Veteran backup center Kurt Thomas grabbed nine rebounds and served as Tim Duncan's tag-team partner defending Suns center Shaquille O'Neal on Thursday.
What most impressed his teammates were two rebounds that he snatched away from O'Neal with what appeared to be outstanding vertical leaps.
“I'm able to pull some verticality out about once a month,” Thomas said, “so maybe this was it.”
http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/spurs/Foul_tactics_help_Bowen_improve_free_throws.html