ducks
06-12-2005, 06:48 PM
Minister of Defense
By Joe Lago, Yahoo! Sports
June 12, 2005
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SAN ANTONIO – With Shaquille O'Neal nowhere in sight to stir things up and Rasheed Wallace finding his PSP video game more interesting than the media, the following will have to qualify as controversy at this year's NBA Finals: Richard Hamilton's reluctance to give Bruce Bowen full credit for a 7-for-21 "off night" in Game 1.
Sorry, but that's the best the Detroit Pistons and San Antonio Spurs can offer regarding trash talk. But what do you expect when the head coaches are best friends and the teams take more pride in forcing shot-clock violations?
As for Bowen getting dissed, that's nothing new. He's been searching for respect in the pro ranks since being passed over by every NBA team in the 1993 draft. The Cal State Fullerton standout paid his dues in France and the CBA before getting his first real NBA gig with Boston in 1997, and he didn't begin to make a name for himself until he landed in Miami in 2000 when he earned a spot on the all-defensive second team.
For five straight seasons (the last four with the Spurs), Bowen has remained a fixture on the league's all-defensive squad, but that success as a lockdown perimeter defender has only brought his methods into question by some of the league's top scorers, most notably Vince Carter and Ray Allen. Really, the fame Bowen has received in his nine NBA seasons has been notoriety.
"People are entitled to say what they want. We have a free country; we have freedom of speech here," said Bowen, who was accused by Carter of dangerously sticking his legs underneath the Nets star in mid-jumper. "But I'm not a player that looks to intentionally hurt anyone."
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Bowen hardly looks like a bully. A sinewy 6-foot-7 and 200 pounds, he resembles a defensive-oriented Reggie Miller more than Ron Artest, tirelessly running around screen after screen to keep up with the opposing team's best shooter. That said, teammate Brent Barry, who had to elude Bowen during his days in Seattle, said being guarded by Bowen is about as enjoyable as getting stuck by "a hot poker."
The postseason has been no vacation for Bowen. His list of defensive assignments is a who's who of NBA scorers – Denver's Carmelo Anthony, Seattle's Allen and Phoenix's Shawn Marion – but Bowen helped hold each one below 44-percent shooting.
"And now he's got Rip Hamilton, so it's certainly gotten easier," Barry joked.
Despite being held to 14 points – seven below his postseason average – in the Pistons' 84-69 loss, Hamilton refrained from calling Bowen his toughest challenge yet. He did regard the task as unique.
"[Bowen] is not worried about offense at all," said Hamilton, who shot 30.8 percent (8 for 26) against San Antonio in the regular season. "There are times when he's on offense but he's still playing defense."
To help Hamilton handle that relentless pressure, Lindsey Hunter has given his teammate tips on how to give himself room to operate. Hunter should know a few tricks, having excelled as Detroit's designated defensive stopper on Miami's Dwyane Wade in the East finals.
"Bowen is one of the best at getting rid of space," Hunter said. "So I've been telling Rip that you can't catch the ball and wait for him. You've got to catch the ball and shoot it – or go. Because once he gets close to you, he does a great job of not letting you do what you want to do."
San Antonio's offense revolves around Tim Duncan and the ball usually ends up in Manu Ginobili's hands during crunch time, but the Spurs will tell you that the source for their success comes from the defensive end – namely from Bowen's energy.
That explains why the Spurs, as well as Pistons coach Larry Brown, hailed Bowen for pitching his version of a perfect game Thursday despite missing all six of his shots from the field – including one ugly fourth-quarter air ball – and scoring zero points in 35 minutes. For San Antonio, Bowen's constant harassment of Hamilton meant every bit as much as Duncan's double-double and Ginobili's fourth-quarter heroics.
"I missed those shots and if it happens to go that way again, so be it. But that can't take away from my contribution to our team defensively," Bowen said. "They need me to defend every night. They could care less if I go for 21 [points] one night and zero the next night. It's about what I do [defensively] on the court."
"He's the key to everything we do," Duncan said.
Bowen is by no means offensively inept. He led the NBA in 3-point percentage (.441) in 2003 shooting threes from the deep corners, and he averaged a career-best 8.2 points a game this season. But while most players thrive on being gym rats to hone their offensive skills, Bowen plants himself in front of a TV to make sure he's poured over every inch of game tape to analyze his opponent's every move and tendency.
"[Defense] is Bruce's whole mentality," Spurs assistant coach P.J. Carlesimo said. "He studies the other team and knows the other team's offense, and he has a tremendous positive image about his defensive ability."
"Bruce could be working against a guy who has 38 points and it's the last possession of a tie game … but Bruce is the guy we want on him. And Bruce wants to be that guy. Some guys want no part of it. That is his mentality."
The Spurs fully expect the Pistons to make the proper adjustments to help Hamilton, Detroit's leading scorer, bust loose Sunday in Game 2. Maybe Hamilton will be proven right about his Game 1 analysis – that he merely missed jumpers he usually sinks with his eyes closed. The only thing he can count on, though, is Bowen's persistence to make Hamilton's night as uncomfortable as possible.
"I'm a guy who doesn't quit, no matter how the game is going," said Bowen, who turns 34 on Tuesday. "I look at it like this, either you're going to score 40 or I'm going to make it difficult on you if you get a lot of shots. That's the thing that I have learned in this league. Some guys take a lot of shots during the course of the game and they still get their numbers, but if they're taking all the shots and their teammates aren't getting as many touches as they normally would, then I think I'm doing my job."
Joe Lago is an NFL and NBA editor at Yahoo! Sports. Send Joe a question or comment for potential use in a future column or webcast.
By Joe Lago, Yahoo! Sports
June 12, 2005
Headshot
Logo
SAN ANTONIO – With Shaquille O'Neal nowhere in sight to stir things up and Rasheed Wallace finding his PSP video game more interesting than the media, the following will have to qualify as controversy at this year's NBA Finals: Richard Hamilton's reluctance to give Bruce Bowen full credit for a 7-for-21 "off night" in Game 1.
Sorry, but that's the best the Detroit Pistons and San Antonio Spurs can offer regarding trash talk. But what do you expect when the head coaches are best friends and the teams take more pride in forcing shot-clock violations?
As for Bowen getting dissed, that's nothing new. He's been searching for respect in the pro ranks since being passed over by every NBA team in the 1993 draft. The Cal State Fullerton standout paid his dues in France and the CBA before getting his first real NBA gig with Boston in 1997, and he didn't begin to make a name for himself until he landed in Miami in 2000 when he earned a spot on the all-defensive second team.
For five straight seasons (the last four with the Spurs), Bowen has remained a fixture on the league's all-defensive squad, but that success as a lockdown perimeter defender has only brought his methods into question by some of the league's top scorers, most notably Vince Carter and Ray Allen. Really, the fame Bowen has received in his nine NBA seasons has been notoriety.
"People are entitled to say what they want. We have a free country; we have freedom of speech here," said Bowen, who was accused by Carter of dangerously sticking his legs underneath the Nets star in mid-jumper. "But I'm not a player that looks to intentionally hurt anyone."
ADVERTISEMENT
Bowen hardly looks like a bully. A sinewy 6-foot-7 and 200 pounds, he resembles a defensive-oriented Reggie Miller more than Ron Artest, tirelessly running around screen after screen to keep up with the opposing team's best shooter. That said, teammate Brent Barry, who had to elude Bowen during his days in Seattle, said being guarded by Bowen is about as enjoyable as getting stuck by "a hot poker."
The postseason has been no vacation for Bowen. His list of defensive assignments is a who's who of NBA scorers – Denver's Carmelo Anthony, Seattle's Allen and Phoenix's Shawn Marion – but Bowen helped hold each one below 44-percent shooting.
"And now he's got Rip Hamilton, so it's certainly gotten easier," Barry joked.
Despite being held to 14 points – seven below his postseason average – in the Pistons' 84-69 loss, Hamilton refrained from calling Bowen his toughest challenge yet. He did regard the task as unique.
"[Bowen] is not worried about offense at all," said Hamilton, who shot 30.8 percent (8 for 26) against San Antonio in the regular season. "There are times when he's on offense but he's still playing defense."
To help Hamilton handle that relentless pressure, Lindsey Hunter has given his teammate tips on how to give himself room to operate. Hunter should know a few tricks, having excelled as Detroit's designated defensive stopper on Miami's Dwyane Wade in the East finals.
"Bowen is one of the best at getting rid of space," Hunter said. "So I've been telling Rip that you can't catch the ball and wait for him. You've got to catch the ball and shoot it – or go. Because once he gets close to you, he does a great job of not letting you do what you want to do."
San Antonio's offense revolves around Tim Duncan and the ball usually ends up in Manu Ginobili's hands during crunch time, but the Spurs will tell you that the source for their success comes from the defensive end – namely from Bowen's energy.
That explains why the Spurs, as well as Pistons coach Larry Brown, hailed Bowen for pitching his version of a perfect game Thursday despite missing all six of his shots from the field – including one ugly fourth-quarter air ball – and scoring zero points in 35 minutes. For San Antonio, Bowen's constant harassment of Hamilton meant every bit as much as Duncan's double-double and Ginobili's fourth-quarter heroics.
"I missed those shots and if it happens to go that way again, so be it. But that can't take away from my contribution to our team defensively," Bowen said. "They need me to defend every night. They could care less if I go for 21 [points] one night and zero the next night. It's about what I do [defensively] on the court."
"He's the key to everything we do," Duncan said.
Bowen is by no means offensively inept. He led the NBA in 3-point percentage (.441) in 2003 shooting threes from the deep corners, and he averaged a career-best 8.2 points a game this season. But while most players thrive on being gym rats to hone their offensive skills, Bowen plants himself in front of a TV to make sure he's poured over every inch of game tape to analyze his opponent's every move and tendency.
"[Defense] is Bruce's whole mentality," Spurs assistant coach P.J. Carlesimo said. "He studies the other team and knows the other team's offense, and he has a tremendous positive image about his defensive ability."
"Bruce could be working against a guy who has 38 points and it's the last possession of a tie game … but Bruce is the guy we want on him. And Bruce wants to be that guy. Some guys want no part of it. That is his mentality."
The Spurs fully expect the Pistons to make the proper adjustments to help Hamilton, Detroit's leading scorer, bust loose Sunday in Game 2. Maybe Hamilton will be proven right about his Game 1 analysis – that he merely missed jumpers he usually sinks with his eyes closed. The only thing he can count on, though, is Bowen's persistence to make Hamilton's night as uncomfortable as possible.
"I'm a guy who doesn't quit, no matter how the game is going," said Bowen, who turns 34 on Tuesday. "I look at it like this, either you're going to score 40 or I'm going to make it difficult on you if you get a lot of shots. That's the thing that I have learned in this league. Some guys take a lot of shots during the course of the game and they still get their numbers, but if they're taking all the shots and their teammates aren't getting as many touches as they normally would, then I think I'm doing my job."
Joe Lago is an NFL and NBA editor at Yahoo! Sports. Send Joe a question or comment for potential use in a future column or webcast.