Spurs' Bowen tough matchup for Hamilton

[Kori Ellis]

Spurs' Bowen tough matchup for Hamilton

BY HELENE ST. JAMES

http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/sports/11838191.htm


(KRT) - Richard Hamilton has tested his furious scoring pace against Allen Iverson, against Reggie Miller, and against Dwyane Wade in the playoffs. Those three All-Stars, though, have nothing on Hamilton's next opponent.

That's because Iverson, Miller and Wade all liked to score, and so, while they expended energy chasing Hamilton, they also expended energy running off screens and making shots. San Antonio's Bruce Bowen is a different creature.

``He's a guy that comes out and when he plays, don't even look for his offense,'' Hamilton said Monday night after Detroit advanced to meet the Spurs in the NBA Finals. ``He's a guy that just plays defense. He tries to hit you with all different parts of his body, tries to frustrate you and things like that. It's a challenge.''

Hamilton averaged 23.6 points in seven games against Wade and Miami in the Eastern Conference finals. He averaged 18.7 points in six games playing against Miller and Indiana in round two, and 21.4 in five games against Iverson and Philadelphia in Round 1.

Those numbers might fall this round. Bowen held Hamilton to eight points on 4-for-14 shooting in an 80-77 loss at San Antonio. In the March game at the Palace, a 110-101 Pistons victory, Hamilton shot 4-for-12 and had 11 points .

``He's an unbelievable defender, maybe the best in the game as far as one-on-one wise,'' Chauncey Billups said. ``I've known him since he came in the league. We played in Boston together. I know his family; he's a good friend of mine.''

SHOW ME SOMETHING: Shaquille O'Neal called out Ben Wallace during the Eastern Conference finals, challenging him to guard him, though O'Neal outweighed Wallace by more than 80 pounds.

``I think when a guy does that, it's a form of a compliment,'' said Wallace, the NBA defensive player of the year.

Asked if he thought he showed Shaq anything, Wallace replied: ``I'm going back to the Finals.''

NOTEBOOK: Emotion poured forth in the visitors' dressing room after Monday's victory, with Antonio McDyess crying for joy amid the delighted chaos. ``Just celebrating, hugging, shouting, going crazy, some people crazier than others, of course,'' Billups said of the scene immediately afterward .

``You know, it's for the guys that haven't been through it like Antonio or Carlos Arroyo or (Ronald) Dupree. I'm just so happy for them. That's the reason why they came here, to get a chance to play for a championship and make it to the Finals.'' . . . The 76ers traded a second-round pick to Detroit on Tuesday. The Sixers dealt the 60th overall selection to the Pistons to complete a trade made on Dec. 18, 1997, in which they acquired Theo Ratliff and Aaron McKie for Jerry Stackhouse and Eric Montross. The Sixers acquired the pick from the Utah Jazz for a future second-round draft pick. Philadelphia had until June 12 to deliver a second-round pick to the Pistons or they would have surrendered their No. 45 selection.

[Kori Ellis]

I think Rip will get his fair share of points in some games. But he won't shoot a good percentage against Bowen.

[PM5K]

Either way they won't be easy points, he'll have to work for them....

[mavsfan1000]

Bowen doesn't guard off the ball as well as on the ball. Hamilton is smart because he uses alot of picks to get open and works for it. Bowen will not shut Hamilton down. I expect pretty close to the usual stats. Kobe had success against Bowen when he played off the ball instead of having the ball last year.

[leemajors]

i dunno, i think he can hamper him quite a bit. i doubt hamilton will get rattled as easy as ray allen, but they play the same sort of game. bowen should be able to stay with him.

[SilverPlayer]

Bowen and indeed all of the Spurs have been terrific at denying the passing lanes for teams this year. Their entire defense has been predicated upon clogging the passing lanes this year, and much less dependent on their funneling. Its been an interesting progression.

[Rick Von Braun]

Bowen and indeed all of the Spurs have been terrific at denying the passing lanes for teams this year. Their entire defense has been predicated upon clogging the passing lanes this year, and much less dependent on their funneling. Its been an interesting progression. I actually slightly disagree, specifically in these playoffs. The Spurs have been defending very good one-on-one, on the ball type of D. The perimeter players still try to funnel to baseline and play D in coordination with the help D in the paint. I don't see them attacking the passing lanes as much, except when playing Nash off the pick and roll (they did clog him and the passing lanes pretty good).

One interesting fact is that the Spurs have drastically reduced the number of steals per game. This is mainly due to the fact that Pop has probably asked Manu (the Spurs' player with most steals per game and one of the leaders in the league) not to gamble, and consequently he has dropped his regular season average steals/game in half. In the Seattle and Suns' series, based on the comments made in the press, Manu said that he went for steals during certain games because he thought the team needed that from him at some point of the game. It was clear that he was making a conscious decision to go for steals in lieu of Pop's game plan/orders.

[Wallace ²]

Rip will average about 20 - 22 points a game. With all of the screens that he gets, he will get about 15 halfway open shots, converting about 7 or 8 of them. He is also usually good for about 5-7 free throws a game, putting him somewhere in the 20 - 22 points per game range.

[SouthernFried]

Bowen doesn't guard off the ball as well as on the ball. Hamilton is smart because he uses alot of picks to get open and works for it. Bowen will not shut Hamilton down. I expect pretty close to the usual stats. Kobe had success against Bowen when he played off the ball instead of having the ball last year.

Are you on crack??!!

Bowen is the best "off-the-ball" defender in the freakin' league. That's where the majority of his defense is, and why he didn't get MVP Defensively...people don't notice is as much.

Bowen is best known around the league at sticking with his guy...when his guy DOESN'T have the ball. Denying him the ball in the first place. That's why scorers all hate him so much, they have to work so hard just to get the ball, that by the time they finally do get it, they've expended a ton of energy. Guys he guards usually get their points early in game...cuz they are exhausted late in the game.

I dunno how many times Bowen gets someone like Ray Ray to foul him outta frustration when they try to push him away from them...when the ball is somewhere else on the court.

Bowens 1 on 1 defense when his man has the ball is good. But when a scorer gets the ball, they can do their thing against him as well as most other good defenders. Bowens defense when his man DOESN'T have the ball is what Bowen is known for.

[spurs_fan_in_exile]

Rip is going to have his work cut out for him. How many touches did Anthony get when Bruce was working on him in the paint? Bruce knows how to deny a pass. Or at the very least make someone work like a mule to get one. Hamilton won't get rattled like Allen, that's true, but I also don't think he's quite the shooter that Allen is. He's good, don't get me wrong, but he doesn't have that "dangerous from anywhere" quality that Allen has. Bruce won't stop him but he will slow him down noticeably.

[spur219]

RIP will average less than 20ppg in the finals. Bowen guards players at best when they run around screens and look for an open shot like that. The thing with RIP is that he is not very good at putting the ball on the floor and taking it to the hole. Bruce will win this matchup.

[samikeyp]

Rip will average about 20 - 22 points a game. With all of the screens that he gets, he will get about 15 halfway open shots, converting about 7 or 8 of them. He is also usually good for about 5-7 free throws a game, putting him somewhere in the 20 - 22 points per game range.

He scored 11 and 8 in the two previous meetings with the Spurs. What will Detroit do differently in the finals? (asking a serious question)

[Wallace ²]

They are more focused, obviously. He is more of a go to guy in the playoffs rather than the regular season. He will play a lot more minutes than he did (33 and 28). That last point is the main reason. You can expect Rip to play atleast 45 minutes a game in the playoffs.

[SouthernFried]

Every coach loves a player like Bowen. I mean...how cool is it when deciding matchups to be able to say this...

"Who's the best perimeter player they have? Ok, Bowen, you take him.

Now, how are we gonna guard these other guys??"

A coaches wet dream.

[duncan_21]

Are you on crack??!!

Bowen is the best "off-the-ball" defender in the freakin' league. That's where the majority of his defense is, and why he didn't get MVP Defensively...people don't notice is as much.

Bowen is best known around the league at sticking with his guy...when his guy DOESN'T have the ball. Denying him the ball in the first place. That's why scorers all hate him so much, they have to work so hard just to get the ball, that by the time they finally do get it, they've expended a ton of energy. Guys he guards usually get their points early in game...cuz they are exhausted late in the game.

I dunno how many times Bowen gets someone like Ray Ray to foul him outta frustration when they try to push him away from them...when the ball is somewhere else on the court.

Bowens 1 on 1 defense when his man has the ball is good. But when a scorer gets the ball, they can do their thing against him as well as most other good defenders. Bowens defense when his man DOESN'T have the ball is what Bowen is known for.


That cracked me up too. Everytime a mavs fan comments about the spurs it's usually something ignorant like that bowen thought. I think it's the same guy, can't remember.

[spurs_fan_in_exile]

Actually I think a coaches wet dream is having enough quality perimeter defenders that they can say, "Can you guys sort out who you want to guard? I'm having lunch with Lebron James today."

[duncan_21]

He averaged about 10 ppg and 30 minutes per game in the previous 2 matchups.I look for hamilton to either average 15 ppg and shoot around 45% or see him score about 20 ppg and shoot lower then 40%.

At 38-42 minutes I think I'm correct, the former would mean rip is being patient and only taking shots when he's slightly open, meaning he's not getting many touches and being denied at the rim with the spurs many shot blockers. The latter would mean that the spurs will allow him the chance to score and not create for his teammates.

So my guess is about 17 ppg shooting in the low 40%.

[SouthernFried]

Actually I think a coaches wet dream is having enough quality perimeter defenders that they can say, "Can you guys sort out who you want to guard? I'm having lunch with Lebron James today."

:lol :lol

I stand corrected.

[spur219]

It is very convenient to have a player like Bowen. The same thing was done to me in highschool. I always guarded the other team's best player. So then the coach would worry about the other matchups. Or if we would go zone we would always go box and 1.

[wildbill2u]

I think Rip will get his fair share of points in some games. But he won't shoot a good percentage against Bowen.

The article makes a good point about Bowen being relatively fresh because he concentrates defense and doesn't put forth nearly the effort that Hamilton has to (and does) on both ends of the court.

Rip should also get fewer shots because Bowen will try to deny him the ball by sticking to his jersey like a burr. :spin

[geerussell]

Ok, I can see where Spurs fan is optimistic because Bowen is one of the premier defenders in the league. However, I will say this, if he shuts Rip down for a series it will be a first.

Rip has averaged better than 20ppg in each of his three post-seasons with the pistons. All three of those went at least to the conference finals so you're talking about a substantial number of games. He's as consistent as they come and has put up those numbers against some teams that aren't too shabby on defense. He's going to run and come off a screen, if that pass isn't open, he'll have two more screens waiting for him on the other side of the court. Ball-denial just doesn't work against him. In the fourth quarter, he's still sprinting. In the fourth quarter of a game seven when everyone has tired legs, he's still sprinting.

As the focal point of detroit's offense, they're going to look for him all the time. The basic "run rip around and see what happens" play is probably 70% of their half-court offense.

His off nights usually come because he decides to put the ball on the floor and drive, where lots of bad things happen for him. Also, he can be prone sometimes to pick up a lot of ticky tack fouls on defense which can take him out of his game.

I expect Rip to average 20ppg against the Spurs and that's no knock on Bowen, just a compliment to Rip and a reflection of the degree to which the piston offense revolves around him.

[duncan_21]

Ok, I can see where Spurs fan is optimistic because Bowen is one of the premier defenders in the league. However, I will say this, if he shuts Rip down for a series it will be a first.

Rip has averaged better than 20ppg in each of his three post-seasons with the pistons. All three of those went at least to the conference finals so you're talking about a substantial number of games. He's as consistent as they come and has put up those numbers against some teams that aren't too shabby on defense. He's going to run and come off a screen, if that pass isn't open, he'll have two more screens waiting for him on the other side of the court. Ball-denial just doesn't work against him. In the fourth quarter, he's still sprinting. In the fourth quarter of a game seven when everyone has tired legs, he's still sprinting.

As the focal point of detroit's offense, they're going to look for him all the time. The basic "run rip around and see what happens" play is probably 70% of their half-court offense.

His off nights usually come because he decides to put the ball on the floor and drive, where lots of bad things happen for him. Also, he can be prone sometimes to pick up a lot of ticky tack fouls on defense which can take him out of his game.

I expect Rip to average 20ppg against the Spurs and that's no knock on Bowen, just a compliment to Rip and a reflection of the degree to which the piston offense revolves around him.


What about the reg. season vs the spurs? He didn't do to well then.

[mavsfan1000]

It was 2 games. That is not enough games to say that Bowen will slow down Hamilton.

[geerussell]

What about the reg. season vs the spurs? He didn't do to well then.

I don't view the regular season as being all that relevant. What happens on night x out of 82 and what happens over the course of a seven game series, especially the finals, are two completely different animals.

[mookie2001]

not as tough as carmelo, ray allen and shawn marion

[duncan_21]

I don't view the regular season as being all that relevant. What happens on night x out of 82 and what happens over the course of a seven game series, especially the finals, are two completely different animals.

That's what the suns fans said. I believe right now they've gone fishin'.

[NoMoneyDown]

Hamilton's #'s vs. the Spurs in the regular season ...

Dec 3, 2004
Mins: 33
FGs: 4-14 (28.6%)
Pts: 8

Mar 20, 2005
Mins: 28
FGs: 4-12 (33.3%)
Pts: 11

:owned

[spur219]

So it was just a coincidence that RIP happened to have 2 bad games against Bruce Bowen.

[mavsfan1000]

Most people that are predicting that the Pistons will win this series are really ignorant by how well San Antonio is playing. I could see it be a close series but saying that Detroit will win is ignoring how dominant San Antonio has been.

[duncan_21]

Hamilton's #'s vs. the Spurs in the regular season ...

Dec 3, 2004
Mins: 33
FGs: 4-14 (28.6%)
Pts: 8

Mar 20, 2005
Mins: 28
FGs: 4-12 (33.3%)
Pts: 11

:owned

Thank you nomoneydown. Does that look like 20 ppg or even good shooting? NO would be the answer.
:owned

[mavsfan1000]

Why are his minutes so down? Was he injured?

[Wallace ²]

He was injured for a few games here and there during the regular season, so that could be. If you look at the second game, Arroyo played 24 mins and Delfino played 21 mins. Brown was probably just trying to get the other guards into the game more. This could have possibly thrown off Rip's rhythm too.

[boutons]

geerussell,

1. the EC is a basketcase, don't trot out Rip's playoff performances against the EC as being meaninful, season or playoffs.

2. the only playoff team that played defense that Rip faced in the last 3 playoff was the 04 Pacers.

Rip and offensive friends haven't faced any defense in the last 3 years of playoffs as tough as the Spurs defense.

Detroit went 19-11 vs WC, while the Spurs went 36-16 vs WC. Large advantage to Spurs.

Spurs went 23-7 vs EC while Pistons went 35-17 vs EC, another large advantage to Spurs.

ie, Pistons did worse against their own, much weaker conference than the Spurs did against the EC.

one mitigating stat I'd like to see is how many total season games missed by the starters for Pistons and Spurs. I have feeling the Spurs superior season record was in spite of the Spurs starters missing many more games than the Pistons starters.

Of course, the "season don't mean shit" for the playoffs, but it sure beat the dumbshit coming from Pistons fans in the Spurs board.

[DisgruntledLionFan#54,927]

I don't recall if Bowen was even guarding Rip that much in the 2nd game. Bowen played 19 minutes.

Plus, they don't play each other enough to establish any sort of trend.

Do you expect Manu to turn the ball over 6 times like he did in the first game? Or Brent Barry to miss all his shots like he did during the season series(0-6)?

[Kori Ellis]

I don't recall if Bowen was even guarding Rip that much in the 2nd game. Bowen played 19 minutes.

Plus, they don't play each other enough to establish any sort of trend.


I know he didn't play a lot in that game, but Bruce always guards Rip when they are on the floor at the same time. Rip doesn't always guard Bruce, but Bruce guards Rip unless he gets switched onto someone else late in the game who is hot (i.e. Billups).

[geerussell]

geerussell,

1. the EC is a basketcase, don't trot out Rip's playoff performances against the EC as being meaninful, season or playoffs.


Compared to the sonics and suns, the nets, pacers and heat all play better defense. The EC is a basket case when it comes to offense and superstars however there's a lot of down and dirty defense played in the conference.



2. the only playoff team that played defense that Rip faced in the last 3 playoff was the 04 Pacers.


See above. The 05 Pacers while diminished still maintained 100% of their work ethic on defense. Miami too put forth a credible defensive effort.



Rip and offensive friends haven't faced any defense in the last 3 years of playoffs as tough as the Spurs defense.


True. Spurs and Pistons are the top two defenses in the league. Your comment applies 100% to both teams.



Detroit went 19-11 vs WC, while the Spurs went 36-16 vs WC. Large advantage to Spurs.

Spurs went 23-7 vs EC while Pistons went 35-17 vs EC, another large advantage to Spurs.

ie, Pistons did worse against their own, much weaker conference than the Spurs did against the EC.

one mitigating stat I'd like to see is how many total season games missed by the starters for Pistons and Spurs. I have feeling the Spurs superior season record was in spite of the Spurs starters missing many more games than the Pistons starters.

Of course, the "season don't mean shit" for the playoffs, but it sure beat the dumbshit coming from Pistons fans in the Spurs board.

Like you said, the season don't mean shit. Playoff performance does. Like I said originally, if Rip gets shut down for a series it will be a first. Bowen has a playoff track record of superlative defense. Rip has a playoff track record of stepping up his game and scoring in the face of whatever is thrown at him.

[TMSKILZ]

" SHOW ME SOMETHING: Shaquille O'Neal called out Ben Wallace during the Eastern Conference finals, challenging him to guard him, though O'Neal outweighed Wallace by more than 80 pounds.

``I think when a guy does that, it's a form of a compliment,'' said Wallace, the NBA defensive player of the year.

Asked if he thought he showed Shaq anything, Wallace replied: ``I'm going back to the Finals.''


LMBO! That is classic!

[Kori Ellis]

Bowen does defensive heavy-lifting for Spurs

T.A. BADGER
Associated Press


SAN ANTONIO - Bruce Bowen already has done a lot of defensive heavy-lifting this postseason.

In the first round, the San Antonio Spurs' perimeter ace covered Carmelo Anthony, and after that, it was Ray Allen and then Shawn Marion. The result has been the same - each of these prolific scorers saw his production drop, which helped the Spurs win each series and advance to the NBA Finals.

Now he has what may be an even tougher assignment - Detroit's wiry and elusive Richard Hamilton.

"He runs very well and he understands the game well," Bowen said of Hamilton, who has scored 20 or more points in seven of the Pistons' last eight playoff games. "He's doing things that Reggie (Miller) did early in his career."

Hamilton knows what he's in for from Bowen, whose physical approach to defense has inspired more than one opponent to call him a dirty player. A frustrated Allen once took it even further, accusing Bowen of playing "sissy basketball."

"He's a guy that really comes out and tries to use every part of his body," Hamilton said. "He'll try to bump you with his hips, his legs, his knees and everything else."

Bowen's teammates, of course, see it another way.

"Inevitably, Bruce finds a way to stop somebody," said Brent Barry, who subs for Bowen at small forward. "It might not even be a way we talked about before the game. He just comes at you relentlessly with his athleticism, and he's smart. What higher compliment can you give a defensive guy who just keeps getting the job done?"

This season Bowen was named to All-Defensive first team and he was runner-up to Detroit's Ben Wallace for the league's defensive player of the year.

The achievement is all the more impressive given that Bowen went undrafted out of Cal State Fullerton in 1993 and kicked around pro leagues in Europe and Latin America before catching on with the Boston Celtics in 1997-98. There were brief stops in Philadelphia and Miami before he was signed as a free agent by the Spurs in 2001 and immediately became a starter.

He has made an All-Defensive team for five straight years, yet in his mind he's a journeyman who never will win the same type of accolades as the offensive stars he often shuts down.

"I'm committed to do what I have to do to stay on the court," Bowen said. "It's not a matter of getting upset that I don't get all the glory. Guys would give their right arm to be where I am right now."

He played in Philadelphia for then-coach Larry Brown, who said Wednesday that the 76ers loved Bowen but traded him to Chicago in a salary cap-related deal. The Bulls then waived him, and he quickly was signed by the Heat.

"He was one of the best defenders I had seen yet," said Brown, now the Pistons coach. "He had some deficiencies offensively, but I never would have imagined he would be a starter on a championship team."

Bowen still has offensive deficiencies, but there are fewer of them than when he joined the Spurs.

In 2002-03, when San Antonio won its second NBA title, Bowen made 44 percent of his 3-point attempts, best in the league. His shooting is particularly accurate from the deep corners, and he also has developed a reliable pull-up jumper and gotten better at driving to the basket.

This season he averaged a career-best 8.2 points and 3.5 rebounds, and he hit 40 percent of his 3-pointers. In the playoffs, he's 16-for-38 (42 percent) behind the arc - nearly all of them from the corners.

"I don't think you can leave him alone like you can maybe four years ago," said Spurs point guard Tony Parker. "If he's open and that's Detroit's strategy, we're going to try to look for him because we have confidence in Bruce that he's going to make that shot."