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"When starter Matt Bonner comes out"
Very embarrassing that he's our starting center. Won't rebound, bad defense, prefers 3s like Euro big.
http://www.nba.com/2009/news/feature...cdyess.column/
McDyess, Spurs finally capitalize on mutual admiration
Posted Oct 22 2009 10:36AM
The possibilities were plentiful for Antonio McDyess over the summer. With a 13-year NBA resume as a smart player, a good teammate, a guy who can still look smoother than satin sheets and be as unforgiving as a sledgehammer, he could have punched his ticket to any contender.
But to him, there was only one choice. If he weren't wearing a Spurs jersey today, McDyess likely would have retired.
"I was strongly considering it," said the 6-foot-9 veteran, who was a key part of San Antonio's offseason makeover. "I definitely had retirement in the back of my head and wasn't sure if I want to play anymore.
"I looked around at a lot of other teams, other places, considered the options and, to be honest, I felt this was the only one for me."
The truth is, McDyess had been trying to find his way to Texas and to the Spurs for years. He had always watched the way Tim Duncan played, the way Gregg Popovich coached, the way the entire organization simply hummed along doing its business and figured he'd fit like a hand into a custom-made glove.
After he came into the league in 1995 as another of those high-flying phenoms who could dunk everything he got his hands on, McDyess lasted through knee injuries and all those seasons by being a down-to-earth personality who does all of the little things along with the big ones.
He bounced from Denver to Phoenix back to Denver to New York back to Phoenix and Detroit in pursuit of a championship, less the featured star than the invaluable cog in the machinery. Oh, he could still go out and get you 22 points or a dozen rebounds or a handful of blocks. But it's that work ethic that shone through, and that made McDyess and the Spurs mutually attractive.
"We've admired the way he plays for a number of years," said Spurs general manager R.C. Buford. "We've always had the feeling that Antonio would be a good fit on our team. We're just glad that things could finally work out."
The Spurs made their biggest summer splash by trading for wingman Richard Jefferson in hope of giving a jolt to their transition game and offense. But the addition of veterans Theo Ratliff and McDyess were no less critical in the race to keep pace with the Lakers, Denver, Dallas and the rest in the Western Conference.
Just as he did in Detroit, McDyess will likely come off the bench, because he feels more comfortable that way. But it doesn't lessen his role. When starter Matt Bonner comes out, McDyess will provide much more offensive punch and shot-blocking while playing in the middle to allow Tim Duncan to stay at power forward.
The opportunity to play alongside Duncan would appeal to anyone. But it was more than just one player who drew McDyess to the Spurs.
"If you look at the history of this team ever since 'Pop' took over and established the way he wanted to do things, the way guys interact with each other, on the court, off the court, that's what I wanted to be a part of," McDyess said. "I just feel like where I'm at as a player, it was a good fit with these guys. History speaks for itself here. Four championships in the past 10 years are phenomenal to me and everything about the atmosphere of the franchise made it a no-brainer."
There have, of course, been previous links between McDyess and the Spurs. In his first season in Detroit, the Pistons lost Game 7 of the 2005 NBA Finals in San Antonio.
"I remember standing on the floor and watching them celebrate," McDyess said. "Some of these guys took a ring from me that night. I try not to think about that too much now. Still, when I went to Tony Parker's house a few weeks ago, he showed that ring and I would like to have cried. I guess if you can't beat them, join them."
The one bauble that McDyess has that's eluded Parker and Duncan is an Olympic gold medal. McDyess was a late addition to the Team USA roster for the Sydney Olympics in 2000 when Duncan was bogged down in rehabilitation from knee surgery. McDyess wound up getting a key offensive rebound and scored a follow-up bucket to get the U.S. past Lithuania in the semifinals.
"I'm appreciative of the gold medal and the Olympic experience, no question," McDyess said. "I guess Tim and I have done a flip-flop. I got his gold medal and he got my ring. But hey, there's no reason now we can't get another one together."
Fran Blinebury has covered the NBA since 1977. You can e-mail him here.
The views on this page do not necessarily reflect the views of the NBA, its clubs or Turner Broadcasting.
"When starter Matt Bonner comes out"
Very embarrassing that he's our starting center. Won't rebound, bad defense, prefers 3s like Euro big.
dice! i'm routing for ya most definitely!
holy are you kidding me? bonner is our started again? wtf!
yes bonner is the starting center you stupid ing dumbasses
It will be fun to see everyone riding Bonners when he has a good game.
Believe me, this doesn't really happen often enough to get that much humor out of it.
TP Mason Fin TD and Bonner were a pretty damn good regular season team last year, why everyone complaints about TP Fin RJ TD and Bonner?
So when spurs have another great regular season, then lose in the 1st round against the Mavs YET AGAIN because Bonner and Finley are both extreme liabilities on the court sucking up alot of minutes at the expense of other players who are better .... lemme guess your gonna say the same thing?
Parker
Finley
Jefferson
Mcdyess
Duncan
I can deal with this lineup. But Bonner has no business starting next to Duncan....
How can I hate you both? I just can't do it.
so be it
Let me guess someone stole your breakfast?
Take it easy there, its a long season and the goal is to have Dice, Manu and the rest of the players fresh for the playoffs. If you can go through the regular season with Bonner, why risk it?
PLayoffs is another story.
Bonner starting at center is bad coaching!
Which is exactly why Pops starting him. to space the floor and keep teams from double teaming Duncan.
no, bad coaching would be to start dyess and have him log too many minutes in a starters role during meaningless early season games. Bonner has proven he can contribute in that lineup getting looks off of TD and Parker. and as stated here a hundred times who cares who starts...its who finishes that really matters.
and IMO its our second unit thats really going to break games open, as long as the starters keep it close the active bunch of gino, hill, mason and blair are gonna stomp on everyones second squads
Hill, Manu, Mason(/Finley), Blair, McDyess (/Ratliff) are going to be a killer second five. Two solid wing defenders, one rock in the post, a killer spot shooter and two go-to clutch shooters. Energy players outside and inside, and so help whomever decides to hit the boards against the Spurs.
If this is what Pop is trying to do, I'm kinda liking it.
The latest gang of Bonner-haters has me longing for the good old days. You know, when every thread became a Scola thread. Scola threads were way more fun than Bonner threads. I miss those days.
I love it how everyone seems to think that Bonner starting means 30 mpg of Bonner.
Anyone ever think that McDyess will start in the latter part of the year after he gets the system down and is rested up?
Nah.
i guess the only hope is for D. Blair to beat out M. Bonner for the starting spot... i was getting very excited about the season, until i realized that M. Bonner is gonna be starting for us AGAIN!!!
dont watch then pussy
thispego, u really need to stop sucking M. Bonner's , i mean why u getting all into it with anyone who don't think your mancrush is a capable starting C on a team with champion aspiration.
Would you guys rather see Dice start and have Bonner team up with Blair? The interior defense would blow. Duncan and Dice are the 2best interior defenders (I don't count Ratillf because he is not durable...same with Ian). Bonner and Blair are the 2 weakest. It only makes sense to have Bonner and Blair split up. Crunch time Bonner won't be on the court anyways so who cares???
my first option would be to have A. McDyess start with D. Blair and T. Ratliff as our 2 main back up big.
but unfortunately it seems that M. Bonner is going to be in the rotation...
so i would much rather have D. Blair start than M. Bonner, than M. Bonner paired up with A. McDyess. Just imagine D. Blair starting and getting 25-28 MPG, he could very well average a double double.
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