Kori Ellis
05-13-2005, 02:20 AM
Harvey: In his Spurs' role, Barry misses a chance
Web Posted: 05/13/2005 01:00 AM CDT
http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/basketball/nba/spurs/stories/MYSA051305.1D.COL.BKNharvey.26be9c0fd.html
SEATTLE — Brent Barry knows the ushers and the security guards here, as well as the good places to dine.
But he also knows the sight lines of KeyArena. He says he feels comfortable here, and for good reason. In his five years as a Sonic, he attempted about a thousand 3-pointers.
He looked comfortable Thursday night, too, and that's a change. Too often this season, he hasn't.
So when the Spurs missed free throws and Tim Duncan missed at the end Thursday night? While Barry stood unused as a shooter?
The Spurs missed a chance to see what they signed last summer.
Barry missed at the end, too, with an open 3-pointer with less than a minute left. But it's hard to blame him much for that. That was only his fifth shot of the game, and his first since early in the second half.
Is that the passive side of Barry? Some wonder, and this goes back before Barry became a fan favorite in Seattle, and before he wanted to sign up for Gregg Popovich's platoon.
This goes back to Chicago. Barry arrived as Michael Jordan left, accepting a lot of money as the lynchpin of the Bulls' rebuilding. And when things went wrong — when those Bulls were awful — Barry did what he's known to do.
He got down on himself.
On a Bulls charter, flying after a loss, Barry moaned his fate. Did he deserve his contract? Did he deserve to even play in the league?
A Bulls official sitting next to him said: "You got money, looks, age and talent. Exactly what are you worried about?"
Barry isn't the first NBA player who has doubted himself. Even the biggest one has recently. According to Shaunie O'Neal in the Washington Post, Shaquille worries.
"He's harder on himself than anybody," Shaq's wife told the newspaper this week. "Anything anybody writes in the paper, he's told himself things 10 times worse."
But Shaq has hidden his issues well, and Barry always hasn't. When he isn't talking about how badly he feels when he plays poorly — often with teammates — his play suffers.
The 2002 playoffs, against the Spurs, showed that. Bruce Bowen switched to him — secure that Tony Parker could handle Gary Payton — and Bowen dominated him.
Barry's 14.4 regular-season scoring average dropped to 7.8. His shooting percentage dropped 10 points, too, and it was a deciding factor in the Spurs series win.
As a Seattle columnist described him in 2002: "Good under ordinary conditions but lacking a clutch for the gear shift to postseason."
The Spurs bet Barry had the clutch when they signed him, along with his trusty shooting touch. And Barry wanted the discipline of the Popovich system, too. He quizzed the one Spur he knew, Sean Marks, and thought San Antonio was the place for him.
Did it turn out as expected?
Barry nodded. "Tim (Duncan) is as boring as I heard."
That's the Barry sense of humor, a reason he was so popular here. Every other Spur was booed Thursday — except for Barry.
The Spurs like him, too. He's proven to be a team guy, willing to compete on defense, and willing to share the ball. He did Thursday with four assists and five rebounds.
But he was signed to spot up and make 3-pointers. Nobody else on the team has his stroke.
That's why the Spurs were confused this season when Barry went cold. When his shooting percentage fell as no one ever thought possible for someone with his history, Barry became this season's Hedo Turkoglu.
How could the Spurs get Barry going?
Start him, as the Spurs did with Turkoglu last season, and bring Manu Ginobili off the bench.
Barry reacted well to that in Game 2 of the Denver series, throwing in four 3-pointers. But he hasn't scored much after that, though Popovich was quick to credit Barry after some defensive play against Seattle.
It appeared Barry could do more Thursday. He opened with a couple of early threes. And as the Sonics collapsed and fouled, there stood Barry, often open, the antithesis of a Spurs team that missed 15 free throws.
And had the Spurs gotten him a few more looks? Had they leaned on a man with the one skill they needed?
Barry could have been at home in this arena.
Web Posted: 05/13/2005 01:00 AM CDT
http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/basketball/nba/spurs/stories/MYSA051305.1D.COL.BKNharvey.26be9c0fd.html
SEATTLE — Brent Barry knows the ushers and the security guards here, as well as the good places to dine.
But he also knows the sight lines of KeyArena. He says he feels comfortable here, and for good reason. In his five years as a Sonic, he attempted about a thousand 3-pointers.
He looked comfortable Thursday night, too, and that's a change. Too often this season, he hasn't.
So when the Spurs missed free throws and Tim Duncan missed at the end Thursday night? While Barry stood unused as a shooter?
The Spurs missed a chance to see what they signed last summer.
Barry missed at the end, too, with an open 3-pointer with less than a minute left. But it's hard to blame him much for that. That was only his fifth shot of the game, and his first since early in the second half.
Is that the passive side of Barry? Some wonder, and this goes back before Barry became a fan favorite in Seattle, and before he wanted to sign up for Gregg Popovich's platoon.
This goes back to Chicago. Barry arrived as Michael Jordan left, accepting a lot of money as the lynchpin of the Bulls' rebuilding. And when things went wrong — when those Bulls were awful — Barry did what he's known to do.
He got down on himself.
On a Bulls charter, flying after a loss, Barry moaned his fate. Did he deserve his contract? Did he deserve to even play in the league?
A Bulls official sitting next to him said: "You got money, looks, age and talent. Exactly what are you worried about?"
Barry isn't the first NBA player who has doubted himself. Even the biggest one has recently. According to Shaunie O'Neal in the Washington Post, Shaquille worries.
"He's harder on himself than anybody," Shaq's wife told the newspaper this week. "Anything anybody writes in the paper, he's told himself things 10 times worse."
But Shaq has hidden his issues well, and Barry always hasn't. When he isn't talking about how badly he feels when he plays poorly — often with teammates — his play suffers.
The 2002 playoffs, against the Spurs, showed that. Bruce Bowen switched to him — secure that Tony Parker could handle Gary Payton — and Bowen dominated him.
Barry's 14.4 regular-season scoring average dropped to 7.8. His shooting percentage dropped 10 points, too, and it was a deciding factor in the Spurs series win.
As a Seattle columnist described him in 2002: "Good under ordinary conditions but lacking a clutch for the gear shift to postseason."
The Spurs bet Barry had the clutch when they signed him, along with his trusty shooting touch. And Barry wanted the discipline of the Popovich system, too. He quizzed the one Spur he knew, Sean Marks, and thought San Antonio was the place for him.
Did it turn out as expected?
Barry nodded. "Tim (Duncan) is as boring as I heard."
That's the Barry sense of humor, a reason he was so popular here. Every other Spur was booed Thursday — except for Barry.
The Spurs like him, too. He's proven to be a team guy, willing to compete on defense, and willing to share the ball. He did Thursday with four assists and five rebounds.
But he was signed to spot up and make 3-pointers. Nobody else on the team has his stroke.
That's why the Spurs were confused this season when Barry went cold. When his shooting percentage fell as no one ever thought possible for someone with his history, Barry became this season's Hedo Turkoglu.
How could the Spurs get Barry going?
Start him, as the Spurs did with Turkoglu last season, and bring Manu Ginobili off the bench.
Barry reacted well to that in Game 2 of the Denver series, throwing in four 3-pointers. But he hasn't scored much after that, though Popovich was quick to credit Barry after some defensive play against Seattle.
It appeared Barry could do more Thursday. He opened with a couple of early threes. And as the Sonics collapsed and fouled, there stood Barry, often open, the antithesis of a Spurs team that missed 15 free throws.
And had the Spurs gotten him a few more looks? Had they leaned on a man with the one skill they needed?
Barry could have been at home in this arena.