missmyzte
11-06-2005, 01:13 PM
Running out of clutch time?
http://www.cleveland.com/sports/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/sports/1131273391101500.xml&coll=2
Sunday, November 06, 2005
Branson Wright
Plain Dealer Reporter
Time is catching up with Robert Horry. Thirteen years in the NBA, including six championship rings and some memorable 3-point shots, are memories that will one day be put on the shelf. Horry has reached a point where he must make a decision about retirement - willingly or unwillingly.
"It's always about the rings and about the competition, the camaraderie and trying to accomplish a goal," Horry said. "You don't want to let guys down."
Horry, averaging 8.0 points off the bench in the first two games of his third season in San Antonio, has not let many of his teammates down over the years. "Big Shot Rob" is considered one of the best clutch shooters in league history. In Game 5 of last year's finals against the Pistons, Horry drilled a 3-pointer with 5.8 seconds left in overtime to give San Antonio the victory.
But there always comes a time when those shots will not fall. Horry knows his time is near.
"When I retire depends on which day it is," said Horry, who turns 36 next summer.
"I have those days when I wake up and say this is my last season, and then I'll wake up another day and say that I can play five more years."
Whenever that day to retire comes, Horry would like to leave on his own terms, but "If I'm forced out, that's OK. I had a good career and a lot of fond memories."
Objective:
Many athletes who leave the court for the television booth remain loyal to their former team. Not Reggie Miller. :lol Last week on TNT, Miller criticized his former Indiana teammates and he picked the Pistons to win the East.
"Until Indiana shows me they've solved their chemistry problems, you have to go with a team that doesn't argue, that gets the job done at the end of the day," Miller said on the air. "Any little thing can set Indiana off."
Like a brawl in Auburn Hills.
Of course, several of his former teammates disagreed. Guard Stephen Jackson told the Indianapolis Star: "Everybody is entitled to their opinion. I respect Reggie too much to degrade his statement, but I don't agree with it. We're the best team in the league. We know it. Our biggest thing that we have been saying for the last month is that we're not trying to prove that to nobody else. We're trying to prove it to ourselves.
Still skeptical:
Lakers coach Phil Jackson and Hall of Fame coach Red Auerbach are the only two in league history to have won nine NBA championships. For years, Auerbach has said that Jackson won his titles with ready-made teams, while Auerbach had to develop his teams from scratch.
"I think Phil Jackson, they've got a pretty good ball club out there, but he's got a built-in excuse," Auerbach said to the media last week in Boston. "You could have taken - I won't say anybody - but you can take any knowledgeable coach and put [him] in [that] position and [he] can't do any worse. If L.A. doesn't make the playoffs, it's building."
Will Jackson ever win a 10th title and surpass him: "What's ever? Who knows what 'ever' is?" Auerbach said. "Phil obviously is a good coach. You don't win that many games without being a damn good coach. Remember one thing: He's been very fortunate. He picks his spots. That's all I can say. Larry Brown [doesn't] pick his spots. He's a great coach."
Frequent flyer Miles:
Darius Miles continues to mature physically and mentally. The former Cavaliers player was phenomenal last week against Minnesota with 32 points, 11 rebounds, five assists and five steals.
Miles, however, was pleased with his play but not with the final score.
"Overall, my performance was real good, but it really don't matter if you got an 'L' behind it," Miles said to the media. "You can't tell anyone, 'I scored 32, but we lost.' It [doesn't] sound right."
Retired number:
Recently, Chris Webber went back to Detroit Country Day High School for a ceremony to retire his No. 44. Webber was the first athlete in school history to have his number retired. Webber was surprised by the gesture, especially because at one time he did not want to attend the private school. Most of his close friends and AAU teammates - Jalen Rose, Voshon Lenard, Howard Eisley - all were at Southwestern High.
"The school knew I didn't want to be there," Webber told reporters. "My mother's a teacher. She was like, 'I don't care what you say about basketball, I want you to get an education.' "
Globetrotting:
Former Cal-State Bakersfield coach Henry "Hank" Clark was hired this week to coach the Globetrotters. Clark, a Cleveland native and a 1974 graduate of Max S. Hayes High School, led Cal-State Bakersfield to a 163-58 record and five NCAA Division II Tournament appearances during his eight seasons.
He said it:
"People say Indiana is the best team, or Miami or Cleveland. All right, come on and play us. Let's step into that 94-by-50 [-foot court] and we'll see what happens. That's what we're about." - Pistons guard Chauncey Billups to the Detroit media last week on predictions that Miami and Indiana are the best in the East.
To reach this Plain Dealer reporter:
[email protected], 216-999-6136
http://www.cleveland.com/sports/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/sports/1131273391101500.xml&coll=2
Sunday, November 06, 2005
Branson Wright
Plain Dealer Reporter
Time is catching up with Robert Horry. Thirteen years in the NBA, including six championship rings and some memorable 3-point shots, are memories that will one day be put on the shelf. Horry has reached a point where he must make a decision about retirement - willingly or unwillingly.
"It's always about the rings and about the competition, the camaraderie and trying to accomplish a goal," Horry said. "You don't want to let guys down."
Horry, averaging 8.0 points off the bench in the first two games of his third season in San Antonio, has not let many of his teammates down over the years. "Big Shot Rob" is considered one of the best clutch shooters in league history. In Game 5 of last year's finals against the Pistons, Horry drilled a 3-pointer with 5.8 seconds left in overtime to give San Antonio the victory.
But there always comes a time when those shots will not fall. Horry knows his time is near.
"When I retire depends on which day it is," said Horry, who turns 36 next summer.
"I have those days when I wake up and say this is my last season, and then I'll wake up another day and say that I can play five more years."
Whenever that day to retire comes, Horry would like to leave on his own terms, but "If I'm forced out, that's OK. I had a good career and a lot of fond memories."
Objective:
Many athletes who leave the court for the television booth remain loyal to their former team. Not Reggie Miller. :lol Last week on TNT, Miller criticized his former Indiana teammates and he picked the Pistons to win the East.
"Until Indiana shows me they've solved their chemistry problems, you have to go with a team that doesn't argue, that gets the job done at the end of the day," Miller said on the air. "Any little thing can set Indiana off."
Like a brawl in Auburn Hills.
Of course, several of his former teammates disagreed. Guard Stephen Jackson told the Indianapolis Star: "Everybody is entitled to their opinion. I respect Reggie too much to degrade his statement, but I don't agree with it. We're the best team in the league. We know it. Our biggest thing that we have been saying for the last month is that we're not trying to prove that to nobody else. We're trying to prove it to ourselves.
Still skeptical:
Lakers coach Phil Jackson and Hall of Fame coach Red Auerbach are the only two in league history to have won nine NBA championships. For years, Auerbach has said that Jackson won his titles with ready-made teams, while Auerbach had to develop his teams from scratch.
"I think Phil Jackson, they've got a pretty good ball club out there, but he's got a built-in excuse," Auerbach said to the media last week in Boston. "You could have taken - I won't say anybody - but you can take any knowledgeable coach and put [him] in [that] position and [he] can't do any worse. If L.A. doesn't make the playoffs, it's building."
Will Jackson ever win a 10th title and surpass him: "What's ever? Who knows what 'ever' is?" Auerbach said. "Phil obviously is a good coach. You don't win that many games without being a damn good coach. Remember one thing: He's been very fortunate. He picks his spots. That's all I can say. Larry Brown [doesn't] pick his spots. He's a great coach."
Frequent flyer Miles:
Darius Miles continues to mature physically and mentally. The former Cavaliers player was phenomenal last week against Minnesota with 32 points, 11 rebounds, five assists and five steals.
Miles, however, was pleased with his play but not with the final score.
"Overall, my performance was real good, but it really don't matter if you got an 'L' behind it," Miles said to the media. "You can't tell anyone, 'I scored 32, but we lost.' It [doesn't] sound right."
Retired number:
Recently, Chris Webber went back to Detroit Country Day High School for a ceremony to retire his No. 44. Webber was the first athlete in school history to have his number retired. Webber was surprised by the gesture, especially because at one time he did not want to attend the private school. Most of his close friends and AAU teammates - Jalen Rose, Voshon Lenard, Howard Eisley - all were at Southwestern High.
"The school knew I didn't want to be there," Webber told reporters. "My mother's a teacher. She was like, 'I don't care what you say about basketball, I want you to get an education.' "
Globetrotting:
Former Cal-State Bakersfield coach Henry "Hank" Clark was hired this week to coach the Globetrotters. Clark, a Cleveland native and a 1974 graduate of Max S. Hayes High School, led Cal-State Bakersfield to a 163-58 record and five NCAA Division II Tournament appearances during his eight seasons.
He said it:
"People say Indiana is the best team, or Miami or Cleveland. All right, come on and play us. Let's step into that 94-by-50 [-foot court] and we'll see what happens. That's what we're about." - Pistons guard Chauncey Billups to the Detroit media last week on predictions that Miami and Indiana are the best in the East.
To reach this Plain Dealer reporter:
[email protected], 216-999-6136