Dex
05-27-2008, 10:00 AM
Spurs' Barry relishes rare strong playoff game
Web Posted: 05/26/2008 12:33 AM CDT
By Mike Monroe
Express-News
Brent Barry, wide open at the top of the 3-point arc midway through the fourth quarter Sunday, held his right arm aloft, hoping to catch the eye of Fabricio Oberto.
Always looking for open teammates, Oberto hooked a pass out to Barry. Then Oberto turned to watch Barry's quick-release shot slide through the net to give the Spurs a 20-point lead. The Spurs would protect the lead this time, winning Game 3 of the Western Conference finals 103-84 over the Lakers.
Barry always knows when his shot feels right, and he held his right arm aloft for an instant, until the shot settled in the net. Then, he turned, pumped his first, and let out a yell.
After a frustrating playoff run that began with worries about a lingering calf injury, Barry made no apologies for his atypical show of emotion in the Spurs' first victory of the series.
“I'm not normally like that,” he said, “but I think our team needs that sometimes. I think we need to realize the situation. It's not a desperate situation, but we need to realize where we are. We're in the Western Conference finals against a team that wants to take something from us very badly. I don't think we're quite ready to give that up.
“If we show some of that emotion and play with some of that emotion and bring some of that fire and help get the crowd going, so be it. It's not our nature. I don't think a lot of our guys are made up that way, but for a game, at least, it was a good feeling.”
For Barry, what felt best was making a big contribution in a game the Spurs desperately needed. He got his earliest call of the series, entering with 3:12 remaining in the first quarter. He scored only six points, both on 3-pointers, but added four assists in 21 minutes and 21 seconds.
“I thought Brent was really valuable,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. “He really makes the offense tick. Good passer, reads the situations very well, and I thought he played a fine game for us tonight.”
Popovich said he had decided during the day between games to give Barry a bigger role, but he never shared his plan with the 36-year-old shooting guard.
“I'm just like everybody else over there: ready to go in and play, and if the opportunity is there, try to help us out,” Barry said. “It's a mind-set you have to have this time of year, whether it's Ime (Udoka), Fin (Michael Finley), Jacque (Vaughn) or me.
“Who knows what he's thinking? And I don't think Coach does either, and if we all don't know what each other is thinking, then great. If we're all screwed up and we can all deal with that, then let's go ahead and do it.”
Barry's contributions Sunday included some outstanding work at the defensive end. Isolated on a switch against Lamar Odom in the second quarter, he forced the ball out of Odom's hand and recovered it before it went out of bounds. Then, he tracked down a rebound of an Odom miss and fired a long bounce pass to Tony Parker for a layin that gave the Spurs a 27-26 lead.
Finally, he took a charge from Ronny Turiaf, the Lakers' 6-foot-10, 250 pound power forward.
“Two defensive plays in one short stretch of minutes?” said Barry, never mistaken for a Bruce Bowen-like defensive stopper. “Call the Guinness Book (of Records).
“It's good. All those little things that we can do are going to add up to bigger things. We've been talking about that as the bench. We're kind of the others over there, and we're trying to get the job done.”
Web Posted: 05/26/2008 12:33 AM CDT
By Mike Monroe
Express-News
Brent Barry, wide open at the top of the 3-point arc midway through the fourth quarter Sunday, held his right arm aloft, hoping to catch the eye of Fabricio Oberto.
Always looking for open teammates, Oberto hooked a pass out to Barry. Then Oberto turned to watch Barry's quick-release shot slide through the net to give the Spurs a 20-point lead. The Spurs would protect the lead this time, winning Game 3 of the Western Conference finals 103-84 over the Lakers.
Barry always knows when his shot feels right, and he held his right arm aloft for an instant, until the shot settled in the net. Then, he turned, pumped his first, and let out a yell.
After a frustrating playoff run that began with worries about a lingering calf injury, Barry made no apologies for his atypical show of emotion in the Spurs' first victory of the series.
“I'm not normally like that,” he said, “but I think our team needs that sometimes. I think we need to realize the situation. It's not a desperate situation, but we need to realize where we are. We're in the Western Conference finals against a team that wants to take something from us very badly. I don't think we're quite ready to give that up.
“If we show some of that emotion and play with some of that emotion and bring some of that fire and help get the crowd going, so be it. It's not our nature. I don't think a lot of our guys are made up that way, but for a game, at least, it was a good feeling.”
For Barry, what felt best was making a big contribution in a game the Spurs desperately needed. He got his earliest call of the series, entering with 3:12 remaining in the first quarter. He scored only six points, both on 3-pointers, but added four assists in 21 minutes and 21 seconds.
“I thought Brent was really valuable,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. “He really makes the offense tick. Good passer, reads the situations very well, and I thought he played a fine game for us tonight.”
Popovich said he had decided during the day between games to give Barry a bigger role, but he never shared his plan with the 36-year-old shooting guard.
“I'm just like everybody else over there: ready to go in and play, and if the opportunity is there, try to help us out,” Barry said. “It's a mind-set you have to have this time of year, whether it's Ime (Udoka), Fin (Michael Finley), Jacque (Vaughn) or me.
“Who knows what he's thinking? And I don't think Coach does either, and if we all don't know what each other is thinking, then great. If we're all screwed up and we can all deal with that, then let's go ahead and do it.”
Barry's contributions Sunday included some outstanding work at the defensive end. Isolated on a switch against Lamar Odom in the second quarter, he forced the ball out of Odom's hand and recovered it before it went out of bounds. Then, he tracked down a rebound of an Odom miss and fired a long bounce pass to Tony Parker for a layin that gave the Spurs a 27-26 lead.
Finally, he took a charge from Ronny Turiaf, the Lakers' 6-foot-10, 250 pound power forward.
“Two defensive plays in one short stretch of minutes?” said Barry, never mistaken for a Bruce Bowen-like defensive stopper. “Call the Guinness Book (of Records).
“It's good. All those little things that we can do are going to add up to bigger things. We've been talking about that as the bench. We're kind of the others over there, and we're trying to get the job done.”