duncan228
10-10-2009, 11:36 PM
Replacing Bowen's defense: A gang approach (http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/spurs/Replacing_Bowens_defense_A_gang_approach.html)
Mike Monroe
MIAMI — The Spurs hit the road for the first time Saturday, flying to South Florida seeking an answer to one of the major questions of the preseason: With Bruce Bowen gone, who fills the defensive stopper role against a premier scorer such as the Heat's Dwyane Wade?
Richard Jefferson, the wing man the Spurs acquired in the trade that sent Bowen off the roster, has an easy answer.
“That's unrealistic,” he said. “That's like asking someone to fill David Robinson's role, or Tim Duncan's role. (Bruce) was one of the best perimeter defenders in the history of this league.”
The transition to a post-Bowen defense began last season, when the eight-time All-Defensive Team selection's ability to lock down the league's great scorers began to erode. Bowen slipped out of the starting lineup. His minutes dwindled to fewer than 19 per game, an all-time low for his eight seasons with the Spurs.
Now, Jefferson will be part of a gang approach to defending players such as Kobe Bryant, LeBron James and Wade, who is likely to miss today's game with a strained rib muscle. So will Manu Ginobili, George Hill, Roger Mason Jr. and Keith Bogans.
“Bruce was the best at making those kinds of guys uncomfortable, but those guys you have to guard as a team,” Ginobili said, “so we're going to have to play better team defense than the last two years.
“We all have to step up defensively.”
Jefferson understands that Spurs fans valued Bowen's defensive prowess and expect him to play up to a nearly impossible standard.
“I'm the (small forward) who's here to replace Bruce Bowen, so I have to do what I can to get better defensively,” he said. “Mentally, I haven't been as good defensively as I'd like the last few seasons. Now, here I am in the situation where they're looking for that from me.”
The Nets and Bucks, Jefferson's previous teams, needed more scoring from him than do the Spurs, whose offense is built around Duncan and Tony Parker.
“Here, it's: ‘Richard, we just need you to knock down open shots and defend other people,'” he said.
Bogans, the 6-foot-5 guard who split the 2008-09 season between Orlando and Milwaukee, was signed to a free agent contract a week before training camp began strictly for his skill as a tough perimeter defender.
He joins the Spurs at roughly the same point in his career as did Bowen, who was signed at age 30 after five NBA seasons with three teams.
Bogans, 29, has played six seasons in the NBA for four teams.
“His skill is defense, like Matt Bonner's is shooting threes,” coach Gregg Popovich said. “That's where we want him to concentrate and focus.”
Wade is one of the NBA's most explosive scorers and was the league's scoring leader last season at 30.2 points per game. If a player like Wade gets on a scoring run and Popovich needs a defender to slow his roll, Bogans knows where he can find one.
“That's going to be me,” he said. “I just try to play him tough, every possession. Great players in this league are going to make shots. My main thing is to stay in front of him, stay with our team principles and see what happens from there.”
Staying home: Still watching the wear and tear on his veteran players, Popovich opted to leave Duncan and Ginobili in San Antonio. Ginobili played in the Spurs' first two preseason games, against Houston and the Greek team Olympiacos Piraeus, at the AT&T Center. Duncan made his preseason debut Friday night against Olympiacos.
Mike Monroe
MIAMI — The Spurs hit the road for the first time Saturday, flying to South Florida seeking an answer to one of the major questions of the preseason: With Bruce Bowen gone, who fills the defensive stopper role against a premier scorer such as the Heat's Dwyane Wade?
Richard Jefferson, the wing man the Spurs acquired in the trade that sent Bowen off the roster, has an easy answer.
“That's unrealistic,” he said. “That's like asking someone to fill David Robinson's role, or Tim Duncan's role. (Bruce) was one of the best perimeter defenders in the history of this league.”
The transition to a post-Bowen defense began last season, when the eight-time All-Defensive Team selection's ability to lock down the league's great scorers began to erode. Bowen slipped out of the starting lineup. His minutes dwindled to fewer than 19 per game, an all-time low for his eight seasons with the Spurs.
Now, Jefferson will be part of a gang approach to defending players such as Kobe Bryant, LeBron James and Wade, who is likely to miss today's game with a strained rib muscle. So will Manu Ginobili, George Hill, Roger Mason Jr. and Keith Bogans.
“Bruce was the best at making those kinds of guys uncomfortable, but those guys you have to guard as a team,” Ginobili said, “so we're going to have to play better team defense than the last two years.
“We all have to step up defensively.”
Jefferson understands that Spurs fans valued Bowen's defensive prowess and expect him to play up to a nearly impossible standard.
“I'm the (small forward) who's here to replace Bruce Bowen, so I have to do what I can to get better defensively,” he said. “Mentally, I haven't been as good defensively as I'd like the last few seasons. Now, here I am in the situation where they're looking for that from me.”
The Nets and Bucks, Jefferson's previous teams, needed more scoring from him than do the Spurs, whose offense is built around Duncan and Tony Parker.
“Here, it's: ‘Richard, we just need you to knock down open shots and defend other people,'” he said.
Bogans, the 6-foot-5 guard who split the 2008-09 season between Orlando and Milwaukee, was signed to a free agent contract a week before training camp began strictly for his skill as a tough perimeter defender.
He joins the Spurs at roughly the same point in his career as did Bowen, who was signed at age 30 after five NBA seasons with three teams.
Bogans, 29, has played six seasons in the NBA for four teams.
“His skill is defense, like Matt Bonner's is shooting threes,” coach Gregg Popovich said. “That's where we want him to concentrate and focus.”
Wade is one of the NBA's most explosive scorers and was the league's scoring leader last season at 30.2 points per game. If a player like Wade gets on a scoring run and Popovich needs a defender to slow his roll, Bogans knows where he can find one.
“That's going to be me,” he said. “I just try to play him tough, every possession. Great players in this league are going to make shots. My main thing is to stay in front of him, stay with our team principles and see what happens from there.”
Staying home: Still watching the wear and tear on his veteran players, Popovich opted to leave Duncan and Ginobili in San Antonio. Ginobili played in the Spurs' first two preseason games, against Houston and the Greek team Olympiacos Piraeus, at the AT&T Center. Duncan made his preseason debut Friday night against Olympiacos.