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... and Spurstalk goes haywire!"If he continues to play well, it'll be his spot."
Red Rocket returns
Bonner comes home, this time as a starter
By Dave D’Onofrio
As it has over the last couple of years, a group of local basketball fans will board a bus in Concord this morning and head for Boston. As the case has been the last couple of years, San Antonio is there to play the Celtics. And, as he's been the last couple of years, Matt Bonner remains a Spur.
But this trip won't be anything like those over the last couple of years.
For the first time since he was traded to San Antonio in 2006, Bonner returns to his native New England this afternoon not only as a piece of the Spurs' regular rotation, but as a certified starter and an important piece within what the team hopes is a championship puzzle.
Just 364 days ago, he came to Boston and - for the second straight year - didn't get off the bench, but now the busload traveling south to cheer the pride of Concord will get to do so as soon as pre-game introductions, when Bonner is announced as the center in a frontcourt also featuring future Hall of Famer Tim Duncan, and a lineup good enough to own the fifth-best record in the NBA.
"It's been a complete turnaround from years past with the Spurs," Bonner said yesterday. "I've gone from inconsistent playing time to consistently starting and being on the floor. Being able to play through mistakes, and really get out there every night and help our team win."
Bonner has certainly done that, the proof not only evident in his career-best averages of 8.0 points, 4.7 rebounds, and nearly 23 minutes per night, but also in the team's results.
The 28-year-old Concord High product has started 31 of 32 games since the start of December, and after somewhat slumping to a 9-7 start, the Spurs have since gone 24-8. For San Antonio, that's been good enough to get the team to the top of the Southwest Division, as well as to second place in the Western Conference.
And for Bonner, that's been good enough to secure his place with the Spurs - and perhaps in the league as a whole.
"I'm very happy with what he's done at both ends of the court," San Antonio Coach Gregg Popovich said Friday, on the phone as his team awaited its flight to Boston. "He's rebounding at one end and shooting at the other. He's getting better and better defensively, learning people in the league and learning what we want. We've been nothing but very pleased with his performance.
"If he continues to play well, it'll be his spot."
Particularly liking the way Bonner's shooting ability helped stretch the opposing defense, Popovich attempted to give his 6-foot-10 forward that spot earlier in the season, starting him in three of the team's first four games. But in those starts, Bonner hoisted just seven shots, and scored only five points, so the coach ended the experiment quickly in hopes of proving his point.
"I took a little more of a role player's role than he wanted," Bonner said. "I passed up a couple shots that he thought I should've taken, and (he) just made a statement by benching me. The only thing he said to me was, 'When you're open, shoot the ball,' and the message was pretty clear."
Bonner was pulled just 6 minutes, 25 seconds into his third start, then logged a grand total of 42 ticks - including one contest where he didn't play at all - over the next three games.
"I got put in in the second half," Bonner said, "and I made three 3s to help us come back from 10 down and win that game. From that point on, I haven't looked back."
Indeed, Bonner has seized his opportunity by scoring in double figures 16 times since he became a full-time starter, and for the season he ranks as the league's second-most dangerous shooter from downtown.
He's hit 48.9 percent of his attempts from 3-point range, which he's disappointed didn't earn him a spot in next week's 3-point contest at NBA All-Star weekend - "I'm shooting 49 percent, and it's not like I'm shooting one 3 every two games. I'm putting them up there and I'm making them" - but while it wasn't enough to put him in that popularity contest, it has certainly made him popular with the Spurs.
When they traded Rasho Nesterovic for Bonner, Eric Williams and a second-round pick in the summer of 2006, they envisioned Bonner as the eventual replacement for Robert Horry, the sharp-shooting big man whose value has been proven on seven championship teams. So while Bonner didn't have much of a role in his first two seasons, when Horry retired before this year, his role was waiting for the "Red Rocket" to assume.
"We loved what we saw" in Toronto, Popovich said. "Not only his ability to shoot, but he's got a toughness about him. He's a real team player, understands priorities, understands his role. He's just good people to have on a team."
And Bonner is grateful the Spurs saw that in him. He says he's lucky he had the chance to establish himself in the league during his time in Toronto, where his style of play made him a cult hero. But it's one thing to earn minutes, and starts, with a young team looking for its iden y. It's another to earn them alongside three perennial all-stars in an organization that's won four les in the past decade.
And an organization, listening to Popovich's praise, that might be one Concord's hoop fans will have reason to cheer for years to come.
"That was the Raptors; now this is the Spurs," Bonner said. "My first year with the team we won the championship, and now being with the same organization, and starting, and having such a big role - I wouldn't say it validates my place in the NBA, because I don't play for validation - but it is a confident feeling knowing that."
... and Spurstalk goes haywire!"If he continues to play well, it'll be his spot."
I'm going to have to call BS on this. Bonner was basically just a throw-in to make salaries match up with Rasho's contract. RC basically laughed when asked if Bonner could help down the road."We loved what we saw" in Toronto, Popovich said. "Not only his ability to shoot, but he's got a toughness about him. He's a real team player, understands priorities, understands his role. He's just good people to have on a team."
Then again, maybe RC is just out of the loop . . .
Who would have believed Bonner as a starter at center after last year? He got nothing but bad mouthing from most posters here.
Funny how things work out.
are we gonna see the epic battle of Bonner vs. Scalabrine?
going down memory lane------
Wasnt it Bonner who cracked the rotation in 2007, playing well and getting praise from pop when he got hurt in like Feb and didnt heal till late March. By this time, the Mango tree(barry) had entrenched himself as 1st off the bench and we never saw Bonner again.
dude, bonner should not be playing at all against the celtics. wtf?
and quite a first half he is having...
bonner coming through in a big game! finally.
7 of 10 (2 of 3 from 3 pt) for 16 points and 5 boards with 2 assists and 1 steal at the half...
Thanks for the article duncan228, Matt is doing it.
He did say consistency was the key both ways, playing consistency was tied to how his playing time was increased, good for Matt that he's delivered.
that is all.
My first year with the team we won the championship, and now being with the same organization, and starting, and having such a big role - I wouldn't say it validates my place in the NBA, because I don't play for validation - but it is a confident feeling knowing that.
Say what???
You might find that following bowling more your speed. It is obvious the sport of basketball, specifically the NBA, is not your bag. Or were you making an attempt at being funny? Yeah, that must be it.
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