MannyIsGod
11-03-2006, 04:51 AM
What this reminds me of is Bruce Bowen. Bowen sucked for a long time but kept working on it. He was nothing until he got under Pat Riley and Riley made him an NBA player. He came to the Spurs and he just exploded from there.When is dude going to start paying LJ royalties????
Buck Harvey: Spurs get a win and a big Bruce
Web Posted: 11/03/2006 12:22 AM CST
San Antonio Express-News DALLAS — This wasn't Game 8. This doesn't change last spring, nor does it necessarily have much to do with next spring. But there were times when Dirk Nowitzki drove or pulled up for a jumper, and a new yet familiar figure entered this rivalry. Look at the skinny legs. Doesn't Francisco Elson look like a bigger Bruce Bowen?
"In that way," said Tim Duncan, smiling, "yes."
Look at what happened, too. With Elson on Nowitzki and Bowen irritating Josh Howard, the Spurs did something in the second half they rarely did against Dallas in the playoffs.
They played like themselves.
This is what the Spurs hoped for when they signed Elson — a big Bruce to go with the original.
Both players didn't make too much of the win. Both have been around, and Bowen, in particular, can see the work ahead. He draws LeBron James tonight in San Antonio.
So these two have the same perspective, as well as the skinny legs. And the similarities don't stop there. Both stay in shape, and both are more athletic than they are skilled with the basketball.
Both also torpedoed that critique in their first NBA game together. They combined to shoot 10 of 13 with one turnover.
Neither has been particularly coveted by other teams, which is how the Spurs managed to sign Elson last summer. Elson, comparable in some areas to Erick Dampier and better in others, has a contract package worth $59 million less.
But Elson has always been intriguing, because few 7-footers are this fast and active. So why hasn't Elson gotten the kind of attention that, for example, Bowen has?
His previous team, Denver, didn't value defense as the Spurs do. "They had their little schemes," Elson said, "but they were more run and gun."
Elson says no one in Denver dedicated himself to defense as Bowen does, and then there's the general attitude he saw in full force Thursday. "(The Spurs) are so professional," he said. "No giggling, no joking around."
No joking especially in Dallas. Last year the Spurs found themselves without the personnel to defend the way they want to defend. Gregg Popovich went small, because his centers were too slow to keep up with Nowitzki, and that created several other issues.
One was Devin Harris, who never looked better in his career than he did driving because the Spurs were short a shot blocker. Another was Howard, free because Bowen was often occupied with Nowitzki.
Early Thursday it looked like little had changed. Dallas shot over 60 percent for most of the first half, and the only issue with the new microfiber basketball was with a ref. With a hard dribble to the face, he left the floor for good to get five stitches.
Somewhere in there, perhaps inspired by the blood, the Spurs began to tighten. One classic confrontation came at the end of the first half, when Bowen tangled with Howard, and Howard reacted with a slam that put Bowen on the floor.
Howard had better learn to control himself. Bowen will defend him now.
That's because Fab Oberto started and did a decent job on Nowitzki, then Elson followed. Neither stopped Nowitzki, and who knows? On another night maybe Nowitzki makes the two jumpers he missed in the final two minutes, thus changing the tone of this discussion.
But it's also true little was easy for the Mavericks, unlike last spring. Harris didn't have driving lanes, finishing 1 for 6. Howard had to work for his 20 points. And Nowitzki, with a taller man on him, didn't get the same open looks.
It won't always be this way, but there were signs. Once Elson ran the floor for a Manu Ginobili pass, dunking and reacting with a primal scream.
That earned him a technical foul, but how many in San Antonio cared? Rasho Nesterovic, most will remember, rarely did primal screams.
And then there was a rebound with about 30 seconds to go, with Elson springing a foot above the rim, far above the crowd.
Big Bruce, all right.
Buck Harvey: Spurs get a win and a big Bruce
Web Posted: 11/03/2006 12:22 AM CST
San Antonio Express-News DALLAS — This wasn't Game 8. This doesn't change last spring, nor does it necessarily have much to do with next spring. But there were times when Dirk Nowitzki drove or pulled up for a jumper, and a new yet familiar figure entered this rivalry. Look at the skinny legs. Doesn't Francisco Elson look like a bigger Bruce Bowen?
"In that way," said Tim Duncan, smiling, "yes."
Look at what happened, too. With Elson on Nowitzki and Bowen irritating Josh Howard, the Spurs did something in the second half they rarely did against Dallas in the playoffs.
They played like themselves.
This is what the Spurs hoped for when they signed Elson — a big Bruce to go with the original.
Both players didn't make too much of the win. Both have been around, and Bowen, in particular, can see the work ahead. He draws LeBron James tonight in San Antonio.
So these two have the same perspective, as well as the skinny legs. And the similarities don't stop there. Both stay in shape, and both are more athletic than they are skilled with the basketball.
Both also torpedoed that critique in their first NBA game together. They combined to shoot 10 of 13 with one turnover.
Neither has been particularly coveted by other teams, which is how the Spurs managed to sign Elson last summer. Elson, comparable in some areas to Erick Dampier and better in others, has a contract package worth $59 million less.
But Elson has always been intriguing, because few 7-footers are this fast and active. So why hasn't Elson gotten the kind of attention that, for example, Bowen has?
His previous team, Denver, didn't value defense as the Spurs do. "They had their little schemes," Elson said, "but they were more run and gun."
Elson says no one in Denver dedicated himself to defense as Bowen does, and then there's the general attitude he saw in full force Thursday. "(The Spurs) are so professional," he said. "No giggling, no joking around."
No joking especially in Dallas. Last year the Spurs found themselves without the personnel to defend the way they want to defend. Gregg Popovich went small, because his centers were too slow to keep up with Nowitzki, and that created several other issues.
One was Devin Harris, who never looked better in his career than he did driving because the Spurs were short a shot blocker. Another was Howard, free because Bowen was often occupied with Nowitzki.
Early Thursday it looked like little had changed. Dallas shot over 60 percent for most of the first half, and the only issue with the new microfiber basketball was with a ref. With a hard dribble to the face, he left the floor for good to get five stitches.
Somewhere in there, perhaps inspired by the blood, the Spurs began to tighten. One classic confrontation came at the end of the first half, when Bowen tangled with Howard, and Howard reacted with a slam that put Bowen on the floor.
Howard had better learn to control himself. Bowen will defend him now.
That's because Fab Oberto started and did a decent job on Nowitzki, then Elson followed. Neither stopped Nowitzki, and who knows? On another night maybe Nowitzki makes the two jumpers he missed in the final two minutes, thus changing the tone of this discussion.
But it's also true little was easy for the Mavericks, unlike last spring. Harris didn't have driving lanes, finishing 1 for 6. Howard had to work for his 20 points. And Nowitzki, with a taller man on him, didn't get the same open looks.
It won't always be this way, but there were signs. Once Elson ran the floor for a Manu Ginobili pass, dunking and reacting with a primal scream.
That earned him a technical foul, but how many in San Antonio cared? Rasho Nesterovic, most will remember, rarely did primal screams.
And then there was a rebound with about 30 seconds to go, with Elson springing a foot above the rim, far above the crowd.
Big Bruce, all right.