Reply With Quote
Bowen really deserves to get his number retired. He WAS the Spurs defense imo.
Who deserves their number retired more Bruce Bowen or Avery Johnson?
I didn't watch much of Johnson due to my young age during his career. I was roughly 11 years old when the Spurs won their first le. With that being said I think Bruce deserves to get his number retired more than Avery did. Bowen was a essential piece in three championships. He played lock down defense and hit the three-pointer at a average over 40% for all his years with the spurs. Avery on the other hand played a part in one championship that many point-guards in the league could have done.
What do you guys think?
Bowen really deserves to get his number retired. He WAS the Spurs defense imo.
Bowen's jersey will get retired, don't worry.
By getting upset by Golden State, Avery helped the Spurs win a le in 2007, also.
I think Bruce was the better player overall, was the best in the league at a certain discipline (defense, I don't care who won DPOY) and was part of the most successful period in Spurs basketball and for those reasons deserves his jersey retired more than Avery does.
I also have no problem with AJ getting his jersey retired either.
I thought AJ's jersey was already retired?
It was but the question still stands.
Why does everyone act as if Dallas gets through that they are a key to beat us or it helped us win a le? Sure it made it easier for the Spurs from seeing they had to go through Utah and not Dallas to make it there. The series before the 07 one went 7 and the Spurs should have even won that one pretty much (Some horrible calls that changed a game or two), there was no lock there sides Dallas record. Pistons took us 7 in 05 and they won what 66 games in 07 as well or was that 06? Was the team who made the finals lucky they did not face Detroit or did Detroit burn out like Dallas did during the regular season?
Dallas blew their load for that 67 wins, bet on it.
BTW Bowen on this one, easily.
Like Bowen, what Avery lacked in the boxscore he compensated through intangibles. He was called "Little General" not just because he's short and played alongside the Admiral; but because he was the vocal leader of the team and why its no surprise he's won coach of the year and is back in the coaching game this season. He also was a part of the best team the championship Spurs ever had according to Hollinger and of course was a key member of the first trophy.
Avery Johnson deserved to have his number retired for those reasons and simply for the fact that he retired first. Bowen's jersey should be up there as well imo though; these guys both deserve it through their sheer intangibles and embodying the Spurs mentality (Avery Johnson also won the 1998 NBA Sportsmanship Award FWIW).
Last edited by Cane; 08-26-2010 at 11:48 PM.
Bowen's jersey must be retired
He is a spur legend !
Bowen...and it's not even close. We all have a soft spot for Avery, and I'm sure it would be hard to find a Spurs' fan that doesn't think #6 should be up in the rafters. Bowen is on a whole other level though. Bowen was one of the best perimeter defenders in NBA history. He will go down as one of the 6 best Spurs ever with Gervin, David, Tim, Manu, and Tony.
i thought they called avery little general cause he had a voice of a croach
I would tend to agree with you. I think you could make a case that he is more deserving than Moore, Silas and possibly Sean.
Bowen is easily one of the top ten Spurs players ever.
Pretty remarkable for an undrafted player with career averages of 6 pts 3 rbs and 1 A and 1 stl
However if look at another statistic- minutes played and games played- Bowen is in the top 10 in spurs history
Games
1. David Robinson* 987
2. Tim Duncan 977
3. George Gervin* 899
4. Sean Elliott 669
5. Tony Parker 668
6. Avery Johnson 644
7. Bruce Bowen 630
8. James Silas 618
9. Coby Dietrick 569
10. Manu Ginobili 553
Bowen is more valuable to the Spurs franchise than Avery was. Don't get me wrong. Avery was a loyal Spur and maxed out his abilities. But he only brought us a le and people on this thread would have wanted to get rid of him more than they do Tony Parker.
Bowen and his defense brought the Spurs three les and gave us one of the all time best defensive teams. To me that says more.
As for the community, both these guys were class acts and very involved.
In terms of contribution to le runs, Bowen > Avery.
Avery's job was to run an offense that featured 2 top big men in Duncan and DRob, who just overwhelmed opponents in the paint on both ends of the floor. He did this job well, but his skill-set was by no means irreplaceable. In terms of his leadership et al, if he was that good a leader, then the corpse of Terry Porter wouldn't have been the starting PG of the 00-01 team that got swept by LA. Avery was just good enough to be the starting PG of a team with a once-in-a-lifetime frontcourt - he was never the difference maker.
Bowen OTOH had a skill-set that is as rare as it gets - a 6'7 swingman who could defend 3 positions expertly and knock down the corner 3 at a near-40% clip. We're still searching for a Bowen replacement, and I don't think we'll find him any time soon. Pop could stick Bowen on Kobe one day, on Nash the next, on LeBron another day, and even on Dirk if needed - not many coaches had that kind of luxury. And when it came to leadership, Bowen led with his actions, be it blocking Billups in game 7 of the Finals, or sticking the go-ahead 3 on Phoenix in game 5 of the 2007 WCF, or inducing a crucial turnover from Nash. I prefer that kind of leadership any day over Avery's rants.
they both desreves it!
Why choose?
hang Bruce's jersey and next to it Ray Allen's used maxipad
Given Manu's new contract, if he manages to play 50 games per season he will end up as the Spurs' 4th all-time in games played... that is unless Tony decides to re-up with the silver and black again...
After reading that quadripalegic story in the AJ thread (http://spurstalk.com/forums/showthre...?t=6870&page=3), I'll say AJ. Bowen is just known for having arguments at his salon now.
Bowen so well characterized the championship-era Spurs that I would venture to say that he deserves to have his number retired more than any player outside of Gervin, Duncan, and Robinson, with the possible exception of Manu Ginobili. (My apologies to Tony)
Bowen shut down the best players in the league for many years and he was the core of the spurs defense. He will definitely have his jersey retired! But only after Duncan, Ginobili, and if Parker doesnt go to new york, after him too.
There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)
Posting Permissions
