http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/b...s.34ef428.html
Web Posted: 10/24/2006 12:04 AM CDT
Johnny Ludden
Express-News Staff Writer
Michael Finley heard it when he joined the Spurs. So did Brent Barry, Danny Ferry, Stephen Jackson and just about every other shooter to ever play under Gregg Popovich.
Don't predicate your game on your shot.
Matt Bonner is the latest to try to heed Popovich's longtime mantra.
"If he misses a shot, he's a little too concerned about it because that's his major skill," Popovich said of the Spurs' new forward. "We have to get him thinking a little more broadly."
When the Spurs acquired Bonner in June in a trade that sent Rasho Nesterovic to Toronto, team officials said they were glad to get another sharp-shooting big man like Robert Horry to help space the floor. Popovich, however, has also made it clear he expects the 6-foot-10 Bonner to rebound and defend.
"He wants me to stay aggressive at both ends regardless of how I'm shooting the ball," said Bonner, who made 42.1 percent of his 3-pointers in two seasons in Toronto.
For now, Bonner's top concern is learning the Spurs' system. After watching Ferry become a capable team defender, the Spurs think Bonner can do the same.
Horry, meanwhile, has been helping Bonner with the offense, which differs a lot from what the Raptors ran.
"It's a lot of motion, reads, rules, regarding where you should be on the court and what the situation is," Bonner said. "It's coming slowly."
During Sunday's loss in Houston, Bonner contributed 11 points and seven rebounds in 22 minutes, his most of the preseason. He threw in a nice jump hook, but missed four of his five 3-point attempts, dropping him to 4 of 14 in the team's six exhibition games. With defenders mindful of closing out on him, he has worked to improve his in-between game.
"I haven't shot the ball up to my standards all preseason," Bonner said. "But I know as a shooter, some nights you make it, some nights you don't."
Showmanship crackdown: The Spurs had their annual meeting with the officials last week to discuss rules changes and emphases for the upcoming season.
Referees have been told to target three types of traveling: changing one's pivot feet; faking with one foot, then moving the other direction before the ball touches the court; and shooting off the wrong foot after a bunny hop. The league also wants to eliminate a lot of the jostling that goes on between players when they line up along the key for free throws.
The league's biggest crackdown, however, will involve on-court conduct. Referees have been told by NBA commissioner David Stern to lower their tolerance for player complaints and excessive showmanship.
Popovich, who has admonished his players in the past for griping at the officials, agrees with the decision.
"It isn't like you invented the light bulb just because you dunked over somebody," Popovich said. "It's not like you did something anybody in the Western world gives a damn about.
"With what the league's doing, that helps us get rid of this stuff."
Stern issued the directive in his ongoing attempt to improve the league's image.
"If your kids acted the way you looked on the screen, including me — when I go home my wife says why are you chasing this guy? — you'd tell your kids, 'Why are you doing that? You don't need to be doing that,'" Popovich said. "That's what you'd tell your kids, so why are you going to do that?
"Having said that, I don't think we're as bad as written at times. I think the league gets a bad rap in many situations.
"The class of the league is pretty obvious to me. There is somebody here and there who will make a statement that sounds pretty foolish. But when you actually start to compare what people get involved in, in a negative nature off the court, the NBA is pretty clean."
Back to work: The Spurs will resume practicing today after resting Monday. Their final preseason game is Friday against Dallas at the AT&T Center.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[email protected]
San Antonio Express-News publish date Oct. 24, 2006
