Kori Ellis
10-31-2005, 01:46 AM
Bowen is not about to slow down
Web Posted: 10/31/2005 12:00 AM CST
Johnny Ludden
Express-News Staff Writer
http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/basketball/nba/spurs/stories/MYSA103105.3E.Spurs.11c9a9e4.html
Bruce Bowen's 34th birthday came and went June 14 like most have for him in recent years. His teammates didn't give him a cake. Or even bother to serenade him with "Happy Birthday."
The Spurs had their excuses. After all, a 17-point loss in the NBA Finals doesn't make for the most festive of occasions.
But as much as Bowen tries to feign disappointment over the snub, he also knows this: If no one acknowledged his birthday, shouldn't his age also be overlooked?
"It's almost like you're scared to say it," Bowen said. "Because whenever you say that number and you're not Michael Jordan or Reggie Miller, or some big post man, everybody is like, 'Uh-oh we better get on the phone and find somebody else.'"
In Bowen's case, the Spurs are still looking. On Tuesday, he will make his 273rd consecutive start, second only to Minnesota's Kevin Garnett among active players. Include the 67 playoff games Bowen also has started during that stretch, and he trails no one.
About to begin his 10th NBA season, Bowen has distinguished himself not only as of the league's premier defenders but also one of its most durable performers. In his first four seasons with the Spurs, he has had one injury: a right middle finger he broke Jan. 9, 2002, when Boston's Paul Pierce chopped him across the hand.
The Spurs haven't been able to get him out of the lineup since. Last season, Bowen became the oldest player to make the All-Defensive first team since Jordan at age 35 in 1998.
Bowen's goal this season is the same as it has been each year: to be named Defensive Player of the Year.
"If Edwin Moses was still outrunning cats when he was old enough to be their father," Bowen said, "I think I can keep playing."
Other people apparently think the same. Last week, Bowen was voted the top perimeter defender in the NBA's annual general managers' survey.
His reputation only grew during last season's playoffs. In consecutive series, he flustered Denver's Carmelo Anthony, Seattle's Ray Allen, Phoenix's Shawn Marion and Detroit's Richard Hamilton.
"Bruce just never seems to get tired," Spurs assistant coach Mike Budenholzer said. "He outlasts guys."
That includes some of his younger teammates. From Stephen Jackson to Devin Brown to Linton Johnson III, the Spurs have brought in an athletic swingman each summer for Bowen to "mentor." So far, only Bowen has remained.
"I don't take this for granted," he said. "I know each year when somebody comes in here, I have to be on all P's and Q's. I have to dive for that loose ball to set a tone. I want to send a message to the others that, 'Man, Bruce is still going.'"
That said, Bowen, like most of the Spurs, figures to see his minutes drop this season. With Brent Barry and Michael Finley, the team should have more than adequate depth at the swing positions.
"I'm going to be careful with Bruce the way I have with Robert Horry," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. "Even though he doesn't want me to, I have to do it.
"I sat him this preseason and actually told him having other guys here can extend your career ... that he can't keep doing what he's doing forever. It takes too much effort.
"He looked at me like I hurt his feelings to the bone, like I was going to take his life away. He lives for it."
Though Bowen is at an age when most players lose a step, he didn't become an NBA regular until 26. His workout routine, the coaches say, rivals that of Avery Johnson. And in addition to eating well, he doesn't like alcohol.
"I've tasted something with Pop that Napoleon drank," Bowen said, "and it was like, 'Hmmm, who wants mine?'"
Bowen became a dad this summer when his wife, Yardley, gave birth to their first son, Ojani. Neither fatherhood nor age, however, seems to have slowed him down.
Including this season, he has three more years on his contract, the last of which isn't fully guaranteed. He can see himself playing until he's 38 before possibly taking another job with the team.
"In the end, we all want to be remembered," Bowen said. "I want people to think of Bruce Bowen as the guy who epitomized the Spurs: He came to work every day and he played his tail off."
Web Posted: 10/31/2005 12:00 AM CST
Johnny Ludden
Express-News Staff Writer
http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/basketball/nba/spurs/stories/MYSA103105.3E.Spurs.11c9a9e4.html
Bruce Bowen's 34th birthday came and went June 14 like most have for him in recent years. His teammates didn't give him a cake. Or even bother to serenade him with "Happy Birthday."
The Spurs had their excuses. After all, a 17-point loss in the NBA Finals doesn't make for the most festive of occasions.
But as much as Bowen tries to feign disappointment over the snub, he also knows this: If no one acknowledged his birthday, shouldn't his age also be overlooked?
"It's almost like you're scared to say it," Bowen said. "Because whenever you say that number and you're not Michael Jordan or Reggie Miller, or some big post man, everybody is like, 'Uh-oh we better get on the phone and find somebody else.'"
In Bowen's case, the Spurs are still looking. On Tuesday, he will make his 273rd consecutive start, second only to Minnesota's Kevin Garnett among active players. Include the 67 playoff games Bowen also has started during that stretch, and he trails no one.
About to begin his 10th NBA season, Bowen has distinguished himself not only as of the league's premier defenders but also one of its most durable performers. In his first four seasons with the Spurs, he has had one injury: a right middle finger he broke Jan. 9, 2002, when Boston's Paul Pierce chopped him across the hand.
The Spurs haven't been able to get him out of the lineup since. Last season, Bowen became the oldest player to make the All-Defensive first team since Jordan at age 35 in 1998.
Bowen's goal this season is the same as it has been each year: to be named Defensive Player of the Year.
"If Edwin Moses was still outrunning cats when he was old enough to be their father," Bowen said, "I think I can keep playing."
Other people apparently think the same. Last week, Bowen was voted the top perimeter defender in the NBA's annual general managers' survey.
His reputation only grew during last season's playoffs. In consecutive series, he flustered Denver's Carmelo Anthony, Seattle's Ray Allen, Phoenix's Shawn Marion and Detroit's Richard Hamilton.
"Bruce just never seems to get tired," Spurs assistant coach Mike Budenholzer said. "He outlasts guys."
That includes some of his younger teammates. From Stephen Jackson to Devin Brown to Linton Johnson III, the Spurs have brought in an athletic swingman each summer for Bowen to "mentor." So far, only Bowen has remained.
"I don't take this for granted," he said. "I know each year when somebody comes in here, I have to be on all P's and Q's. I have to dive for that loose ball to set a tone. I want to send a message to the others that, 'Man, Bruce is still going.'"
That said, Bowen, like most of the Spurs, figures to see his minutes drop this season. With Brent Barry and Michael Finley, the team should have more than adequate depth at the swing positions.
"I'm going to be careful with Bruce the way I have with Robert Horry," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. "Even though he doesn't want me to, I have to do it.
"I sat him this preseason and actually told him having other guys here can extend your career ... that he can't keep doing what he's doing forever. It takes too much effort.
"He looked at me like I hurt his feelings to the bone, like I was going to take his life away. He lives for it."
Though Bowen is at an age when most players lose a step, he didn't become an NBA regular until 26. His workout routine, the coaches say, rivals that of Avery Johnson. And in addition to eating well, he doesn't like alcohol.
"I've tasted something with Pop that Napoleon drank," Bowen said, "and it was like, 'Hmmm, who wants mine?'"
Bowen became a dad this summer when his wife, Yardley, gave birth to their first son, Ojani. Neither fatherhood nor age, however, seems to have slowed him down.
Including this season, he has three more years on his contract, the last of which isn't fully guaranteed. He can see himself playing until he's 38 before possibly taking another job with the team.
"In the end, we all want to be remembered," Bowen said. "I want people to think of Bruce Bowen as the guy who epitomized the Spurs: He came to work every day and he played his tail off."