Manu20
06-10-2007, 12:38 PM
Emotional Elson content with bench booster role
Web Posted: 06/09/2007 10:17 PM CDT
http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/basketball/nba/spurs/stories/MYSA061007.04S.BKNspurs.elson.31635d4.html
Mike Monroe
Express-News
The text message on Francisco Elson's cell phone after Game 1 of the NBA Finals was from former teammate Marcus Camby, the Denver Nuggets center and reigning Defensive Player of the Year.
"He told me to stop making that face after you get the lucky dunk," Elson said. "Camby isn't going to give you your props right off the bat. He's going to say something smart so you don't get big-headed or carried away."
Said Elson: "He always clowns around. I had to laugh when I got the message. I can hear his laugh — ha, ha, ha, ha — so I was laughing. As soon as I turned on the phone, he was the first one of 30-something text messages."
The face Elson made was one of pure joy and enthusiasm. No wonder — it was the first Finals basket of an eight-year pro career that has included stops in Europe and Denver. It may have been an un-Spur-like thing to do, but nobody in the organization was upset, especially since it was part of a critical 9-0 run that re-established control of the game after the Cavs had taken a brief lead.
"It even seemed to get the crowd really back in the game," Spurs general manager R.C. Buford said, "so that was great."
Elson went into the Finals unsure what role he might — or might not — play against the Cavaliers. He had lost his starting center position to Fabricio Oberto during the Western Conference semifinals against Phoenix. He dropped out of the rotation altogether for the final two games of the Western Conference finals, although he played the entire fourth quarter of a blowout victory in the series-clinching Game 5 against Utah.
Elson sat the entire first quarter of Game 1 against Cleveland, but Spurs coach Gregg Popovich put him in with 8:37 left in the second quarter, and his energy and rebounding kept him on the floor the rest of the quarter. He got another shift in the second half and ended the game with five points and six rebounds in 15:47.
Popovich liked Elson's energy, but it was his dunk that electrified the crowd.
"I was just trying to get my emotions out," Elson said of the histrionics that accompanied his power dunk off a slick feed from Tony Parker with 3:22 left in the first half. "Coming off the bench, you have to try to give a spark. Like Marcus said, I got a lucky dunk. I'm glad it was a lucky dunk. I got the crowd and the team going a little bit. That's what we need. I was trying to start something."
Elson's length and foot speed make him a good matchup against the Cavaliers' big men and he hopes for more opportunities to play in the rest of the Finals. Though he started 54 games during the regular season, he has no problem coming off the bench.
"I don't think they are going to change," he said. "We're here and we're playing well. Fabricio has been playing well since the Utah series. He's been doing a good job since Phoenix. He's been rolling. There is a chemistry he has going on right now. It's better to have my energy coming off the bench."
Elson is one of three Spurs on the 12-man active roster Popovich has used throughout the playoffs who never had played in the Finals. The weight of the occasion did not hit Elson until he saw the large NBA championship trophy likenesses stenciled on the AT&T Center court when he arrived Wednesday for practice.
"When I came the first day we had practice, I was like, 'What the hell?'" Elson said. "I saw all the TV cameras. All the (Finals) stuff was all put up. I walked out here and said, 'Wow.' That's when it hit me, walking on the trophy, that sticker on the floor."
Web Posted: 06/09/2007 10:17 PM CDT
http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/basketball/nba/spurs/stories/MYSA061007.04S.BKNspurs.elson.31635d4.html
Mike Monroe
Express-News
The text message on Francisco Elson's cell phone after Game 1 of the NBA Finals was from former teammate Marcus Camby, the Denver Nuggets center and reigning Defensive Player of the Year.
"He told me to stop making that face after you get the lucky dunk," Elson said. "Camby isn't going to give you your props right off the bat. He's going to say something smart so you don't get big-headed or carried away."
Said Elson: "He always clowns around. I had to laugh when I got the message. I can hear his laugh — ha, ha, ha, ha — so I was laughing. As soon as I turned on the phone, he was the first one of 30-something text messages."
The face Elson made was one of pure joy and enthusiasm. No wonder — it was the first Finals basket of an eight-year pro career that has included stops in Europe and Denver. It may have been an un-Spur-like thing to do, but nobody in the organization was upset, especially since it was part of a critical 9-0 run that re-established control of the game after the Cavs had taken a brief lead.
"It even seemed to get the crowd really back in the game," Spurs general manager R.C. Buford said, "so that was great."
Elson went into the Finals unsure what role he might — or might not — play against the Cavaliers. He had lost his starting center position to Fabricio Oberto during the Western Conference semifinals against Phoenix. He dropped out of the rotation altogether for the final two games of the Western Conference finals, although he played the entire fourth quarter of a blowout victory in the series-clinching Game 5 against Utah.
Elson sat the entire first quarter of Game 1 against Cleveland, but Spurs coach Gregg Popovich put him in with 8:37 left in the second quarter, and his energy and rebounding kept him on the floor the rest of the quarter. He got another shift in the second half and ended the game with five points and six rebounds in 15:47.
Popovich liked Elson's energy, but it was his dunk that electrified the crowd.
"I was just trying to get my emotions out," Elson said of the histrionics that accompanied his power dunk off a slick feed from Tony Parker with 3:22 left in the first half. "Coming off the bench, you have to try to give a spark. Like Marcus said, I got a lucky dunk. I'm glad it was a lucky dunk. I got the crowd and the team going a little bit. That's what we need. I was trying to start something."
Elson's length and foot speed make him a good matchup against the Cavaliers' big men and he hopes for more opportunities to play in the rest of the Finals. Though he started 54 games during the regular season, he has no problem coming off the bench.
"I don't think they are going to change," he said. "We're here and we're playing well. Fabricio has been playing well since the Utah series. He's been doing a good job since Phoenix. He's been rolling. There is a chemistry he has going on right now. It's better to have my energy coming off the bench."
Elson is one of three Spurs on the 12-man active roster Popovich has used throughout the playoffs who never had played in the Finals. The weight of the occasion did not hit Elson until he saw the large NBA championship trophy likenesses stenciled on the AT&T Center court when he arrived Wednesday for practice.
"When I came the first day we had practice, I was like, 'What the hell?'" Elson said. "I saw all the TV cameras. All the (Finals) stuff was all put up. I walked out here and said, 'Wow.' That's when it hit me, walking on the trophy, that sticker on the floor."