Bruce Bowen's Player of the Decade [Archive]

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LakeShow

12-30-2009, 08:22 PM

He's so confused. :lol

http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=4782713 (http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=4782713)

Sisk

12-30-2009, 08:29 PM

he answered it the best way he could, wouldn't expect anything different

an argument can be made for both

Pero

12-30-2009, 08:29 PM

It seemed like he first wanted to go with Kobe. :lol

LakeShow

12-30-2009, 08:33 PM

Yeah, I just thought it was funny. Kobe almost came out of his mouth twice until he had a chance to think about what he was saying.

HarlemHeat37

12-30-2009, 08:39 PM

Poor Bruce, the ESPN media machine has been trying to work him..

The best test will be when the Jordan-Kobe comparisons come up..in a chat last year, Bowen said Kobe wasn't anywhere near Jordan when it came to toughest players he ever had to guard..I bet when ESPN will ask him on TV, he'll change his mind about it..

follow the $..

LakeShow

12-30-2009, 08:53 PM

itzsoweezee

12-30-2009, 08:59 PM

:wow Bruce said that? I thought they had the utmost respect for each other. Bruce must have been pissed at Kobe when he said that.

or maybe he was just being honest

LakeShow

12-30-2009, 09:02 PM

or maybe he was just being honest

Bowen never stopped Kobe, especially in the playoffs. He made Kobe work but he never stopped him.

HarlemHeat37

12-30-2009, 09:10 PM

itzsoweezee

12-30-2009, 09:10 PM

Bowen never stopped Kobe, especially in the playoffs. He made Kobe work but he never stopped him.

that has nothing to do with whether kobe is harder to guard than jordan was.

the consensus is, outside of laker fans, that jordan was clearly the better player of the two.

LakeShow

12-30-2009, 09:20 PM

I don't know if he was disrespecting Kobe when he said that..he just said Jordan was by far the toughest guy he's ever had to cover and nobody is even close..he also only covered Jordan in his last year IIRC, so I don't know, maybe he was taking a subliminal shot at Kobe..

That's what I was thinking. I don't know how long Bruce has been in the league but he should have only been in the league a couple of years when he had to guard Jordan. I can understand him having trouble with Jordan, everybody did. He played against Kobe in his prime when he made a name for himself as a top defensive player in the league and he could not stop Kobe. I don't get it, but whatever.

exstatic

12-30-2009, 09:21 PM

Bowen never stopped Kobe, especially in the playoffs. He made Kobe work but he never stopped him.

Nobody 'stops' Kobe. He's going to get his 30. What Bruce did was make him take 28 shots to get it, when Kobe would get 30 with 20 or 22 shots against others.

LakeShow

12-30-2009, 09:27 PM

Nobody 'stops' Kobe. He's going to get his 30. What Bruce did was make him take 28 shots to get it, when Kobe would get 30 with 20 or 22 shots against others.

Damn man, you're going to make me look at some stats. I know one year that Kobe totally destroyed Bowen. I don't know what his percentages were but I would bet that they were nothing like you stated above.

Gutter92

12-30-2009, 09:31 PM

Lol @ laker fan thinking that when Bruce was saying "I say co-" he was really about to say I say Kobe...he meant co-player, but then she told him to pick 1 so he said TD. Haha

LakeShow

12-30-2009, 09:37 PM

Lol @ laker fan thinking that when Bruce was saying "I say co-" he was really about to say I say Kobe...he meant co-player, but then she told him to pick 1 so he said TD. Haha

Ok, you have a point but it sure sounds like he was saying kobe. :lol

Gutter92

12-30-2009, 09:42 PM

Ok, you have a point but it sure sounds like he was saying kobe. :lol

Sure, it sounds like it, but she wouldn't be asking "Pick 1" unless she also understood it as him saying "co", meaning he really thinks they should share the honor.

FeZZy

12-30-2009, 09:42 PM

Talking about ESPN look at this

http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=4778881

#2!

12-30-2009, 09:43 PM

t t t t today junior!

Pero

12-30-2009, 09:45 PM

Lol @ laker fan thinking that when Bruce was saying "I say co-" he was really about to say I say Kobe...he meant co-player, but then she told him to pick 1 so he said TD. Haha

I'm not a Laker fan and I thought the same. Good point though.

phyzik

12-30-2009, 09:47 PM

I think he was about to say Kobe.....

I think the reason he was initially going to say Kobe was he didnt want to sound like a homer. Analysts are suposed to be unbiased. what easier way to get labeled as a homer by picking your former teammate?

After he thought about it though, he picked the correct one.

LakeShow

12-30-2009, 09:48 PM

Sure, it sounds like it, but she wouldn't be asking "Pick 1" unless she also understood it as him saying "co", meaning he really thinks they should share the honor.

I get it, , she said you never answered the question and he said, I said ko... and was interrupted and never got to the co-Player of the Decade so it just sounded like that.

JamStone

12-30-2009, 09:51 PM

Yeah, I just thought it was funny. Kobe almost came out of his mouth twice until he had a chance to think about what he was saying.

I think he was saying "co-" as in he wanted to say "co-players of the decade" if he could get away with it. It's amusing coincidence that it sounds like "Ko-" as in Kobe.

LakeShow

12-30-2009, 09:54 PM

I think he was saying "co-" as in he wanted to say "co-players of the decade" if he could get away with it. It's amusing coincidence that it sounds like "Ko-" as in Kobe.

I agree now that I've played it several times.

ploto

12-30-2009, 10:44 PM

What's with the black shirt with the white collar and the black bow tie with the white polka dots?

crc21209

12-30-2009, 10:55 PM

murpjf88

12-30-2009, 11:13 PM

I'm suprised it wasn't shaq and duncan. Without shaq, Kobe only accounts for one title. Shaq has four in his own right.

Interrohater

12-30-2009, 11:25 PM

Poor Bruce, caught between a rock and a hard place. To me, he really wanted to say that he feels a "player of the decade" title should encompass a high character, which the great Tim Duncan epitomizes. Of course, to say this on national tv would imply that Kobe does not have a high character, and as we all know, that won't fly on ESPN.

Blackjack

12-30-2009, 11:33 PM

Am I the only one who heard someone on the crew or someone who was there with Bowen yell, 'Timmy!' when he was asked to pick between the two?

TIMMYD!

12-31-2009, 12:31 AM

Am I the only one who heard someone on the crew or someone who was there with Bowen yell, 'Timmy!' when he was asked to pick between the two?

:lol:lol

Yeah, you're right, someone says Timmy very loudly. I'm surprised I didn't hear it the first time.

AnthonyM

12-31-2009, 01:02 AM

Lol, good ol' Bruce...

"Bigs are so important for championships in this game, as well as wing players, as well"

blizz

12-31-2009, 01:20 AM

Am I the only one who heard someone on the crew or someone who was there with Bowen yell, 'Timmy!' when he was asked to pick between the two?

I heard it too when I saw it this morning on ESPN. I was about to mention it when I saw your post. When I first saw it, I thought he was gonna say Kobe but watching it several times just now, I agree, he was trying to say co-.

TDMVPDPOY

12-31-2009, 02:00 AM

the difference here is bruce bowen was a nobody when he was defending jordan...i think a prime bruce or artest wouldve did well against jordan

MoSpur

12-31-2009, 08:50 AM

He's so confused. :lol

http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=4782713 (http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=4782713)

He wasn't gonna say Ko-Be. He was gonna say Co-Players of the Decade. AS in Co-MVPs.

Pero

12-31-2009, 09:21 AM

He wasn't gonna say Ko-Be. He was gonna say Co-Players of the Decade. AS in Co-MVPs.

Mentioned like 10 times now already. :rolleyes

Rummpd

12-31-2009, 10:39 AM

Bowen has said Dirk was his hardest cover and with Dirk's height that is certainly plausible and Anthony is another tough cover for anyone when on - Kobe is fabulous but will also continue to shoot and shoot his way to 9 or so of 30+ nights which he had frequently when Bowen covered him.

No way is Kobe the player of the decade he was the MAN on only one championship team tying him with Wade - Duncan and Shaq had three MANs (Wade was the major force on the Heat title). Duncan or Shaq yes for Decade most valuable players (i.e. MANS on Title Teams) as Kobe is a laughable choice - I MVP, I Finals MVP gimme a break NO WAY is it Kobe.Co MVPS of the Decade are Shaq and Duncan period.

Fpoonsie

12-31-2009, 11:19 AM

I laughed when I saw that segment...no matter how hard the ESPN hype maching tries...they wont get Bruce to suck off Kobe...no way no how...

:lol

Yeah, she almost seemed disappointed when he didn't agree that Kobe was the PotD. Hilarious.

cd98

12-31-2009, 11:36 AM

Phil Jackson couldn't stop Kobe from taking 30 shots. Bowen did the best defensive job on Kobe of any players and he made Kobe work for every shot and held him to lower percentages.

Sure Kobe made spectacular shots on Bowen, but Bowen forced Kobe to make spectacular shots. And if Kobe wasn't hitting spectacular shots, he was in for a long night.

LakeShow

12-31-2009, 05:28 PM

Dirk? Of course Dirk was a tough cover for him, Dirk is 8 feet tall :lol

I can't say I like Bowen's lack of respect for Kobe when Kobe has done nothing but give him respect and praise throughout their careers when most players were calling him dirty.

In my opinion the player that played Kobe the toughest was Eric Snow.

I didn't realize that it was not much history of Bowen vs. Kobe's career average in the playoffs is .444. So Bruce really only was successful against Kobe 2 season. The famous rape trial season and one season when he shot .434 but averaged 32.3. Two other seasons Kobe shot above his average. .466 and .453

I think I saw this posted here already so I wont post the article but here's an excerpt from it,

Bruce Bowen: Myth vs. Reality

This question is based off of two myths: Once upon a time Bowen actually shut down Kobe and Bowen has declined significantly, particularly since last season. Neither of these are true. Yes, Bowen has managed to slow Kobe at points over the years but his defensive style has never proven able to stop the black mamba consistently.

http://www.48minutesofhell.com/2009/03/11/bruce-bowen-myth-vs-reality/

01, 02, 03, 09

DesignatedT

12-31-2009, 06:34 PM

kobe isnt even close for player of the decade. are you kidding me espn? god the los angeles/new york constant dick sucking needs to stop. its getting really fucking annoying

duncan
shaq

then kobe.

kobe player of the decade? lmao

cd98

12-31-2009, 06:46 PM

No one can stop a top ten scorer from getting his points. All you can do is make them a volume shooter with a lower shooting percentage. Bruce did that to Kobe better than anyone including Eric Snow.

FYI everyone said Kurt Thomas could guard Tim Duncan but Duncan got 20/10s against him. No one ever stopped Tim but some players made him work harder than others.

nevitt_&_smrek

12-31-2009, 08:43 PM

No one can stop a top ten scorer from getting his points. All you can do is make them a volume shooter with a lower shooting percentage. Bruce did that to Kobe better than anyone including Eric Snow.

Looking at the playoffs, Kobe Bryant actually has better results, statistically, vs. Bowen and the Spurs than nearly any other team. 28.6 points per game on 46.7% shooting (2002, 2003, 2004, 2008 combined). He did have better numbers against the Suns, but his team was 0-2 in playoff series against them.

In 2004, Houston held him to 38.6% in five games. In 2002, Kobe had his best results, shooting-wise, against the Spurs (45.5%). OTOH, he was only 35.3% vs. Portland, 41.9% vs. Sacramento. In 2004, he also had his best shooting series against the Spurs. '00 Portland did okay (43.9%).

In '03 and '04, Wolves held him to 43% and 41.4%. All of the NBA finalists the Lakers have faced, barring the Nets, did a great job holding him below par also. 36.7% (IND); 41.5% (PHI); 38.1% (DET); 40.5% (BOS); 43% (ORL).

So comparatively, Bowen and the Spurs haven't done as well defending Kobe. 45.5% (2002); 43.4% (2003); 46.2% (2004); 53.3% (2008). To be fair, 2008 came against a Bowen that was clearly past his prime.

In the regular season, Bowen has done as well as anybody. Lifetime H2H: 42.6% in 32 games. However, an obscure fact is how poorly Kobe has done H2H vs. Vince Carter: 14 games 37.7%, despite 10 wins, 4 losses. So I'm kind of glad Spurs didn't pick him up for a title run.

daslicer

12-31-2009, 11:43 PM

the difference here is bruce bowen was a nobody when he was defending jordan...i think a prime bruce or artest wouldve did well against jordan

I have to disagree with you on that. Bowen's weakness on defense was he couldn't defend guys when they decided to post him up ala Mello. Mello always struggled against Bruce until he realized that if he posted him up theres nothing Bruce could do to stop him. I remember during the '01 playoffs when Bruce was with the heat he got destroyed by Mashburn and in that series all Mash did was post up Bruce everytime on the block and score. MJ would have done the same to Bruce a bunch of times but worse it would be brutal.

I don't know if you ever heard of the story of the summer one on one pickup game that happened betwen Artest and MJ. I think it occured in the summer of '02 some where in a Chicago gym. Anyways not only did MJ light up Artest badly he also taunted him and rubbed it in his face that Artest couldn't guard him. After the game was over Artest lost his cool picked up MJ and broke MJ's ribs. There used to be stories about this game and both sides have never denied what has happened. A young Artest couldn't handle an old MJ which makes me doubt he would have been able to cause problems for a prime MJ.