never gonna see another one like him imo. If Bowen had been on the floor in game 6 of the Finals, he'd have kicked Ray Allen in the face before the shot was taken
Imagine Kwahi and Bowen at the 2/3 spot... Offensively it would be difficult as neither excels as a 2, but defensively ..
You know, for all the ing and crying Allen and Carter did about him, Kobe actually always respected Bruce and his D and never once called him a dirty player. Kobe actually said he was the toughest one on one defender he's ever faced.
Good nba defense is mostly about team defense these days. Nobody can shut down another player one on one in this day and age.
My favorite Spur of all time. The guy was pure grit. I would have hated his guts though if he had played against us.
Is he died?
Probably the most overrated Spur of all time. Then again, he was already old by the time he went to SA. Had the Spurs had him his whole career, who knows?
Overrated? He would literally change a playoff series by switching over to a guy and making their life ! 05 when he switched onto Billups is just one example of this here, plus the times when he would guard Nash and cut off the head of the snake as Pop would say. Most overrated hardly, one of the more valuable for three of our runs (Still remember his HUGE shot in game 5 against PHX in 07 too, clutch as ). I don't see how you can say this, old or not when he got here he had some great years and was key to a few runs.
You could switch this guy onto positions 1-4 man, thats rare.
Yeah, and now the Spurs have two series-changing players who are both better offensively. The Spurs took out the Clippers in 2012 by switching Green on Paul in crunch time. Last WCSF, the New Two destroyed the Splash Bros. And are we really going to act like Bowen would have played James any better than Kawhi did in the Finals?
That's not to say Bowen wasn't good or even superior at his craft. But he was a man for a different league. I like the new Spurs defense which can get into players' heads without cheap tactics. The New Two just go in, shut down their men, get steals, protect the rim AND score points for 48 minutes and then call it a day.
I think replacing Bowen with the New Two in 2003-2007 probably yields more than three rings.
I am not going to argue his importance to this team during his years here because it's pretty much a no brainer he was alot more than numbers and a huge part of the Spurs and I am sorry if you don't agree but I am not changing my mind there.
I agree Green is key too, never said he was not a key in a few series and he is a big part of this team. I agree on a man for a different league too, he served his role at that time so he was not overrated for his role in that era he was in. Cheap tactics was called hard D in the 80's and most of the 90's etc. man, only later on did players whine and put about that there and Rules changed. Bowen was good for his time here and is a Spurs all time defender IMO, we needed him for the duties of guarding the hottest players out there 1-4 and he could deliver.
Chinook with the goods. love Bruce and apreciate everything he did for us but his D is overrated by fans. Kobe, Dirk, Tmac etc all had no problem droping 30 with bruce guarding them.
Yeah... I appreciate everything Bruce did for us but he's overrated by fans...
at his jersey being retired
I agree on the jersey retirement, but his D won series before or helped out alot, believe that.Yeah
alot of times they had to take a TON OF SHOTS Though, he made them work for their points, period.
Somewhat true but don't forget there was a laterally quicker prime Tim Duncan anchoring the defense.
I guess he could deliver by letting his guard score near his average but on lower efficiency.
I'm not saying Bowen's overrated because he wasn't good. But I do think his impact relative to what the New Two bring is overrated. I think hard defense is and always was overrated in comparison to good clean defense. That is very much my bias for growing up watching the NBA after 1999, though.
I look at Chicago and Indiana's defenders, and I have no idea why they are such hotheads. None of them can guard Lebron like Kawhi can, and Leonard doesn't have to say a word to do it. Green can shut down Curry and Paul without fouling out like Beverly seems to always do. Were players in Bowen's era really that much better that the only effective defense on them was to hit them or to slip your foot under them while they were in the air?
I'm not trying to change anyone's mind on Bowen. He's clearly a Spur at heart and stays involved with the community. But I think people are failing to appreciate the defenders the Spurs have.
Lets not mention the GOAT PF ever man, you will always make me smile when mentioning that guy in his prime! He is my fave player ever.
eh, yeah he made them work but most of the star players he guarded were still efficient
Take steve nash in the 05 wcf's for ex. Bruce guarded nash for the bulk of the series iirc and he still scored 23pts a game on 52% shooting while dishing out 10ast a game. Bruce made him work no doubt but he still got his
I see what you are saying, I watched the Pistons in the 80's and 90's and Knicks as well when they had a tough team so yeah my idea of cheap and tough D might be different than yours is because they were allowed to play D then and YES their D was considered DIRTY but thats how the NBA was then (Bowen would fit in well then IMO). I agree on what you said mostly up there, can't argue because you speak some good stuff and appear to be a good fan of the game.A great scorer is always going to get his! YOU JUST have to pray to slow him down and make life tough for him. A great O player though usually can get what he wants when he wants it but if you are an elite defender as I said you make life getting those numbers.
Could you imagine the fest that would insue from westbrick if Bowen had ever guarded him?! Would have been a sight to see.
Lol, if Bowen was still young and on the team Allen wouldn't have even been in the game. Bowen might have shattered Allen's ankle back in game 2 or 3.
What?
2007 Finals, what happened when Bowen guarded LeBron again? Oh yeah. . .he pretty much had the worst series of his life.
So yes, as good as Kawhi (and Diaw, and Green) were, yes, Bowen would always make a defensive difference.
You know, 22/7/7 is horrible...
Anyways, that was really early James. He's 10, 20, 50 times better now. I'm not saying James would have destroyed Bowen or anything. But trying to use 2007 stats to suggest Bowen was a superior Lebron defender is disingenuous.
wow just wow
How many tricks did Bowen have again?
wow just wow
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