HoopsHype: "Catching up with Bruce Bowen"

[FlAVaK]

"It's been five years since the last championship ring for the Spurs. The franchise still has faith in the Big Three to win it all one more time. Has it been a good decision?

Bruce Bowen: Yeah, absolutely. I think when you have those players that have been together that long, what they do is they enhance other people's game. You look at Danny Green; he had a great season, the best season of his career, but a lot of it was because of the Big Three – Manu, Tim and Tony – being able to understand the game and set guys up to be successful. You look at Kawhi Leonard, who had a fantastic rookie season... You know, when you're able to blend in guys with a core like that, it's not about the egos, it's more about helping the other guys become better. You know, Tim Duncan is no longer the Tim Duncan of five years ago. His role has changed a bit. So if you're able to sustain groups longer, then you have guys that are willing to no longer be the man and do whatever they can in order to help the team.

David Robinson told me recently that the Spurs should have won it last year but the supporting cast failed against the Thunder. Now you have the Thunder with one more year of experience and the Lakers again looking mighty with Kobe Bryant, Dwight Howard, Pau Gasol and Steve Nash. Do the Spurs have a chance?

BB: I think they will always have the chance to be in the Top 3 of the West. I think it was a telltale situation last year as far as experience winning out over everything else. As Robinson said, the supporting cast of the Spurs didn't have that kind of playoff experience. They weren't really tested in the previous rounds. With the Thunder they needed to do some necessary adjustments. Green and Leonard, they had never been in that position before... It was a little different. In this game you can't just say 'Oh well, next year we'll get it'. You have to take advantage of your opportunities when you have them. And that was a huge opportunity for the Spurs. They just got beat by a younger version of them in Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and James Harden. They are a Big Three, defensive minded, young athletic team. You can't teach youth in the NBA. In essence, the pupil surpassed the teacher.

Will the Spurs regret that missed opportunity down the line?

BB: Well, that last year is in the past. Now you have to try to take advantage of every opportunity you have."

...

The whole interview

[Capt Bringdown]

Good stuff:

Did you ever think during your early years as a pro that one day a team like the San Antonio Spurs would retire your jersey?

BB: It's funny because so many times I remember Tony Parker used to talk about it. He was always saying "They have to! We've accomplished so much, they gotta retire our jerseys". I tried to stay in the moment. It was one of the greatest honors that I've ever had in basketball and I'm very much appreciative to the organization and the city of San Antonio for that. I know it was a little different as far as what I did. I think I brought a whole new meaning to the word defense and how necessary it is in order to win championships. So to be recognized for my contribution among my teammates, that was fantastic.

[Riverwalkman]

Recently, Jalen Rose admitted he tried to stick his foot when Kobe Bryant took a jump shot during the 2000 Finals between the Lakers and the Pacers. Back in the day the media talked a lot about some similar plays that happened during your career with Steve Francis, Jamal Crawford... Also, there was a statistic that you likely contested around eight hundred shots per yearLuck_The_Fakers_during your 13-year career. What's your take on that?

BB:Luck_The_Fakers_I can't control what others say or think. The only thing that I can do is control what I do, and I know that for me there was no malicious harm involved, I didn't try to purposely harm someone. It just happened that I was a very aggressive player and those guys that came down on my foot, it was just a byproduct of me being close to them. I never intentionally tried to allow someone to come down on my foot. I came down on people's feet before as well, but I never read anything about that. That happens in the game of basketball. All those All-Stars that I've competed and played against, whenever they started complaining in the media saying that I'm dirty, that just made me feel that much better because I knew I was starting to set up my process as far as limiting them and have them think about something else when they should be focusing on the game.

Like Rodman did.

BB:Luck_The_Fakers_Yep, absolutely [laughs].

Very diplomatic...

[Riverwalkman]

Injuries are just byproducts of those guys playing basketball.

[Drom John]

Good interview ruined by the tired junior high "Luck_The_Fakers_"
Recode please.

[Fabbs]

BB: I think they will always have the chance to be in the Top 3 of the West. I think it was a telltale situation last year as far as experience winning out over everything else. As Robinson said, the supporting cast of the Spurs didn't have that kind of playoff experience. They weren't really tested in the previous rounds. With the Thunder they needed to do some necessary adjustments. Green and Leonard, they had never been in that position before... It was a little different.

Why the ____ would he infer Leonard had anything to do with SpursChoke '12?

(I get it that sometimes what *jounalist* publishes and what actually was said are oft time different.)

[ChumpDumper]

Why the ____ would he infer Leonard had anything to do with SpursChoke '12?

He would be implying it.

(I get it that sometimes what *jounalist* publishes and what actually was said are oft time different.)

Are you implying this wasn't what Bruce actually said?

[Drz]

I don't think Bruce was inferring or implying anything about choking. He was just talking about inexperience and picked the youngest, most inexperienced players as examples.

[therealtruth]

Why the ____ would he infer Leonard had anything to do with SpursChoke '12?

(I get it that sometimes what *jounalist* publishes and what actually was said are oft time different.)

I agree. Leonard did his best considering not enough of his teammates wanted to step up. Jax too. Green could have stepped up more. He's got a better overall game than Sefalosha but he let Sefalosha have a bigger impact on the game. Manu never stopped turning it over and TP disappeared once they put Sefalosha on him. TD allowed Perkins/Ibaka to get in his head. Pop panicked. It was a complete team choke effort.

[weebo]

Bruce, great guy but dirty as they come.