timvp
03-04-2008, 02:20 AM
Gifts aren't easily visible in Air Bruce
Buck Harvey
San Antonio Express-News
The anecdote comes from someone in New Jersey. It begins with a Nets fan pleading with Vince Carter during a game to "take over," and it ends with Carter looking back with a sigh.
"I'm tired," Carter said.
Carter will be again. Kobe Bryant has shown more toughness in his broken pinkie, and now Carter is the team veteran who is supposed to carry a franchise that just traded its Hall of Fame point guard.
Tonight, too, could be especially exhausting. Then, Carter will be chased, for the second consecutive game, by Bruce Bowen.
Does Bowen ever get tired?
Bowen will be pressed, because Carter still has the gifts that once made him the next Michael Jordan, complete with the Carolina pedigree. Last week, in the Nets' first game without Jason Kidd, Carter went for 33 points.
Carter has done the same to Bowen before. Two years ago, he scored 34 points against the Spurs, and three years ago, he scored 43. But the Nets lost both games, and the one in 2005 was most telling.
Then, Carter, still angry about tangling with Bowen the season before, came at Bowen so furiously that the ref had no choice but to eject him. Had Carter stuck around, he might have gotten 50.
At least Carter cared that night. There's often been something missing, which is why he's become the symbol of the max-out superstar who doesn't want the responsibility that comes with it.
Those in New Jersey say Kidd was disgusted with Carter's lack of competitiveness, a reason the Nets also tried to trade Carter last month. One NBA coach looks at Carter and uses the word "sad" to describe what he has become.
Marketing execs feel the same. Did the onetime Air Canada help sell one ticket for tonight?
But Carter might as well be blamed for not being 7-feet tall. It's not his nature to see the game as Kobe and Jordan have, and that leads to the talent hidden inside of athletes. Shouldn't inner drive be seen as gift, too?
That would explain Bowen's success, certainly, though this stretch proves again he's not without physical talent. During this nine-game winning streak, he's made nearly half of his 3-point attempts, and his block of Jason Terry sealed the Dallas game.
His goading of Terry, as it was with Carter in 2005, changed that game.
Bowen chased Carter on Sunday, too. But that wasn't the remarkable part of the trip. The Spurs had played in Milwaukee on Saturday night, then got into New Jersey about 3 a.m. The Spurs beat the Nets about 12 hours later and arrived in San Antonio at 1 a.m.
Talk about tired. The Spurs drove home having scheduled a meeting with their pillows.
That is, except for Bowen. He had scheduled an appearance early Monday morning with a junior high school track team. The storm that blew through San Antonio canceled the event, leaving Bowen at a loss.
What do people do when they have a free hour?
Bowen likely filled it with his two sons, or by going over the books of his businesses, or by simply rescheduling another "Get Fit" appearance. He created the program on his own when he took classes at UTSA.
It's in everything he does, from how he treats staff to his marriage. "He's not good at sitting still," said one in the Spurs organization.
It's what he is as a player, too. He sometimes shows at the Spurs practice facility at 7:30 a.m., and he usually gets in his private workout before his teammates arrive.
"Hardest working player in the league," one Spurs assistant calls him.
Carter's goal isn't to be the opposite. Those who know him say he's nice enough, and he likely has the best intentions.
When he led the Nets in that first game without Kidd, for example, he announced he hoped to play that way the rest of the season. "It's about aggressiveness," he said that night.
But that's not him. Not everyone has the drive. Not everyone can be Bowen, who will start his 500th consecutive game next week, and not everyone wakes ready to do something else.
Carter has his gifts.
Bowen has his.
http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/basketball/nba/spurs/stories/MYSA030408.1Dbuck_0304.en.3782746.html
Buck Harvey
San Antonio Express-News
The anecdote comes from someone in New Jersey. It begins with a Nets fan pleading with Vince Carter during a game to "take over," and it ends with Carter looking back with a sigh.
"I'm tired," Carter said.
Carter will be again. Kobe Bryant has shown more toughness in his broken pinkie, and now Carter is the team veteran who is supposed to carry a franchise that just traded its Hall of Fame point guard.
Tonight, too, could be especially exhausting. Then, Carter will be chased, for the second consecutive game, by Bruce Bowen.
Does Bowen ever get tired?
Bowen will be pressed, because Carter still has the gifts that once made him the next Michael Jordan, complete with the Carolina pedigree. Last week, in the Nets' first game without Jason Kidd, Carter went for 33 points.
Carter has done the same to Bowen before. Two years ago, he scored 34 points against the Spurs, and three years ago, he scored 43. But the Nets lost both games, and the one in 2005 was most telling.
Then, Carter, still angry about tangling with Bowen the season before, came at Bowen so furiously that the ref had no choice but to eject him. Had Carter stuck around, he might have gotten 50.
At least Carter cared that night. There's often been something missing, which is why he's become the symbol of the max-out superstar who doesn't want the responsibility that comes with it.
Those in New Jersey say Kidd was disgusted with Carter's lack of competitiveness, a reason the Nets also tried to trade Carter last month. One NBA coach looks at Carter and uses the word "sad" to describe what he has become.
Marketing execs feel the same. Did the onetime Air Canada help sell one ticket for tonight?
But Carter might as well be blamed for not being 7-feet tall. It's not his nature to see the game as Kobe and Jordan have, and that leads to the talent hidden inside of athletes. Shouldn't inner drive be seen as gift, too?
That would explain Bowen's success, certainly, though this stretch proves again he's not without physical talent. During this nine-game winning streak, he's made nearly half of his 3-point attempts, and his block of Jason Terry sealed the Dallas game.
His goading of Terry, as it was with Carter in 2005, changed that game.
Bowen chased Carter on Sunday, too. But that wasn't the remarkable part of the trip. The Spurs had played in Milwaukee on Saturday night, then got into New Jersey about 3 a.m. The Spurs beat the Nets about 12 hours later and arrived in San Antonio at 1 a.m.
Talk about tired. The Spurs drove home having scheduled a meeting with their pillows.
That is, except for Bowen. He had scheduled an appearance early Monday morning with a junior high school track team. The storm that blew through San Antonio canceled the event, leaving Bowen at a loss.
What do people do when they have a free hour?
Bowen likely filled it with his two sons, or by going over the books of his businesses, or by simply rescheduling another "Get Fit" appearance. He created the program on his own when he took classes at UTSA.
It's in everything he does, from how he treats staff to his marriage. "He's not good at sitting still," said one in the Spurs organization.
It's what he is as a player, too. He sometimes shows at the Spurs practice facility at 7:30 a.m., and he usually gets in his private workout before his teammates arrive.
"Hardest working player in the league," one Spurs assistant calls him.
Carter's goal isn't to be the opposite. Those who know him say he's nice enough, and he likely has the best intentions.
When he led the Nets in that first game without Kidd, for example, he announced he hoped to play that way the rest of the season. "It's about aggressiveness," he said that night.
But that's not him. Not everyone has the drive. Not everyone can be Bowen, who will start his 500th consecutive game next week, and not everyone wakes ready to do something else.
Carter has his gifts.
Bowen has his.
http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/basketball/nba/spurs/stories/MYSA030408.1Dbuck_0304.en.3782746.html