Kori Ellis
05-13-2005, 02:23 AM
Spurs notebook: Bowen, Duncan make top defensive team
Web Posted: 05/13/2005 01:00 AM CDT
http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/basketball/nba/spurs/stories/MYSA20050513.07D.BKNspurs.notebook.26be285fa.html
Bruce Bowen and Tim Duncan were selected to the NBA's All-Defensive first team Thursday, the second time the Spurs have had two players receive the honor.
Bowen, runner-up for Defensive Player of the Year, received 23 first-place votes, matching Detroit center Ben Wallace for the most. Duncan received 16 first-place votes.
Minnesota's Kevin Garnett and Washington's Larry Hughes were the other two first-team selections.
The league's head coaches voted on the teams.
The only other time the Spurs have had two players named to the first team was the 1994-95 season when David Robinson and Dennis Rodman were selected.
"It's a great honor," said Bowen, who had made the second team four consecutive years prior to last season. "It's something that you can look back on and see what I have accomplished as a player. It's a reward for defense, even though it's only coaches who really, really, appreciate it.
"Some people don't look at it as much of a big deal, but I know it's very important."
Manu Ginobili received nine votes. Tony Parker picked up five, including a pair of first-team votes.
Parker "takes a lot of pride in it and does a good job on other point guards," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. "It's paid off for both (Parker and Ginobili). I'm hoping they will continue to be recognized for that."
Stern 'hopeful': NBA Commissioner David Stern uttered the first discouraging words heard about the league's collective bargaining talks with its players' union since vowing at the All-Star Game there would be labor peace by the end of the regular season.
Stern said there had been no progress in recent talks and he was prepared to "downgrade" his outlook from optimistic to "hopeful."
"See me in a week," Stern said when asked about the prospects for a settlement before the playoffs end.
League and union negotiators have a session scheduled for Tuesday in New York.
"I would say I have been optimistic we would have made a deal by the end of the regular season" Stern said. "We're still talking, but if we don't have any news to give you about progress by the end of next week I'm downgrading my optimistic to only hopeful. But we continue to talk and we'll see what happens."
If there is no agreement by July 1, when the collective bargaining agreement now in place expires, Stern said "we all know what happens in sports when you don't have a new collective bargaining agreement."
Presumably, that means a lockout by the league.
Tough talk: Much like Ginobili was in Denver, Bowen was booed nearly every time he touched the ball Thursday.
Bowen has heard worse. When he was with Miami, the Heat played New York in the playoffs. Bowen was jeered as he walked the streets of Manhattan.
"I heard some foul things coming my way," Bowen said. "You would swear I did something to somebody's family member the way they were talking to me. And this was on the street and not at the arena." :lol
Thanks for the memories: Brent Barry played the previous five seasons in Seattle, but he doesn't plan to spend too much time this week reminiscing.
"I enjoyed the opportunity to get a chance to play and enjoyed the city and the people here," Barry said. "There's a lot of memories outside of the game that I hold dear about being here in the Northwest, but it's really not about those things at this point. I'm just trying to play and get through the series."
Web Posted: 05/13/2005 01:00 AM CDT
http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/basketball/nba/spurs/stories/MYSA20050513.07D.BKNspurs.notebook.26be285fa.html
Bruce Bowen and Tim Duncan were selected to the NBA's All-Defensive first team Thursday, the second time the Spurs have had two players receive the honor.
Bowen, runner-up for Defensive Player of the Year, received 23 first-place votes, matching Detroit center Ben Wallace for the most. Duncan received 16 first-place votes.
Minnesota's Kevin Garnett and Washington's Larry Hughes were the other two first-team selections.
The league's head coaches voted on the teams.
The only other time the Spurs have had two players named to the first team was the 1994-95 season when David Robinson and Dennis Rodman were selected.
"It's a great honor," said Bowen, who had made the second team four consecutive years prior to last season. "It's something that you can look back on and see what I have accomplished as a player. It's a reward for defense, even though it's only coaches who really, really, appreciate it.
"Some people don't look at it as much of a big deal, but I know it's very important."
Manu Ginobili received nine votes. Tony Parker picked up five, including a pair of first-team votes.
Parker "takes a lot of pride in it and does a good job on other point guards," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. "It's paid off for both (Parker and Ginobili). I'm hoping they will continue to be recognized for that."
Stern 'hopeful': NBA Commissioner David Stern uttered the first discouraging words heard about the league's collective bargaining talks with its players' union since vowing at the All-Star Game there would be labor peace by the end of the regular season.
Stern said there had been no progress in recent talks and he was prepared to "downgrade" his outlook from optimistic to "hopeful."
"See me in a week," Stern said when asked about the prospects for a settlement before the playoffs end.
League and union negotiators have a session scheduled for Tuesday in New York.
"I would say I have been optimistic we would have made a deal by the end of the regular season" Stern said. "We're still talking, but if we don't have any news to give you about progress by the end of next week I'm downgrading my optimistic to only hopeful. But we continue to talk and we'll see what happens."
If there is no agreement by July 1, when the collective bargaining agreement now in place expires, Stern said "we all know what happens in sports when you don't have a new collective bargaining agreement."
Presumably, that means a lockout by the league.
Tough talk: Much like Ginobili was in Denver, Bowen was booed nearly every time he touched the ball Thursday.
Bowen has heard worse. When he was with Miami, the Heat played New York in the playoffs. Bowen was jeered as he walked the streets of Manhattan.
"I heard some foul things coming my way," Bowen said. "You would swear I did something to somebody's family member the way they were talking to me. And this was on the street and not at the arena." :lol
Thanks for the memories: Brent Barry played the previous five seasons in Seattle, but he doesn't plan to spend too much time this week reminiscing.
"I enjoyed the opportunity to get a chance to play and enjoyed the city and the people here," Barry said. "There's a lot of memories outside of the game that I hold dear about being here in the Northwest, but it's really not about those things at this point. I'm just trying to play and get through the series."