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lol recruiting. The threats regarding defense would scare off most free agents.
Fact is he doesn't do that anymore. It's not Spurs basketball. They don't all have to be Bruce. But him acting like he doesnt give a damn about D anymore is a problem. And yes recruiting, when bring a player over they used to emphasize D from the start.
lol recruiting. The threats regarding defense would scare off most free agents.
Pop stopped believing in defense back in '06 when he went with Finley over Mohammed. When AJ would do it the next year against the Warriors he would be rightfully crucified for it but when Pop did it no one said anything.
Complete and utter bull .
How old is Nash? How's he looking?
Bowen was a gym rat and was in better shape than guys half his age...probably still in better shape than a lot of current NBA players...
If you remember the days when Pop was on his game he would call a timeout and remove anyone----ANYONE--- who ed up on defense...he would do this consistently...and believe me...when players knew this they would work their asses off----talented or not---at least they gave 100% effort...
Fast forward to Finleys arrival....all of a sudden...Pop could watch Finley miss rotations...get scorched...over and over...no timeout...no accountability....
all of a sudden...it was...well Finley gives us more offense...the rules/league is changing...we need to improve offensively, blah in' blah....
all because of Pop's mancrush on Finley...who pretty much sucked and was done BEFORE he became a Spur...
So, of course Bowen couldn't play forever...but if Pop had maintained that DEFENSIVE STANDARD and didn't start his in' double standards for different players...then the Spurs would have at least gone after players who were defensive minded and mentally tough...
Instead we signed garbage like Bonner....Finley....RJ....
Trace it back and you can see where Pop's dementia began to set in....
I just remember being very frustrated with Michael Finley.
Yep, your right, but I'll respond to yea anyway.
Since when did Nash become a defesive player?
True. But Father time does not discriminate. So Bowen could still play, but chose not to. Now why is that? Lack of desire maybe?
I was no fan of Finley, nor Bonner being overused. I'd love for the old days of Spurs dominating their foes defensively, but thats no longer the case. You and some others think its so easy to find these above average defensive players, like they are just out there waiting to be scooped up by some team. Do you think dynasties like the Spurs had just keep rolling along? Do you understand the Spur's dynamics, finiancial wise, their inability to land marquee free agents? You still didn't answer my question, regarding these young studs(your words) that Pop and RC failed to land in recent seasons. Where are these guys? If the team as a whole, lacks defensive talent, its kinda hard to maintain defensive standards. Yes Pop is responisble for bringing in talent, but again these defensive players you scream for, are not out there in bunches. Without lottery picks, and an owners deep pockets, how do you realistically expect Pop and RC to overhaul this Spur's roster?
Lots of revisionist history here. Bruce clearly lost a step and wasn't stopping anyone in his final year. He went from being effective to being ineffective, and then retired.
He may have lost a couple of steps, but he was still far and away the best defender not named Tim Duncan on the team in 09.
Sure, but he wasn't shutting people down any more, and he wasn't even forcing them into inefficiency, otherwise he would have kept playing. And when you think about what it takes to be an elite perimeter defender, all you have to lose is half a step and you're average. That he could still destroy people at age 37 was a credit to him, but he clearly fell off the cliff as a player in 2009.
All the conspiracy nuts in this thread make me laugh... as if Pop would somehow try to sabotage the guy who helped him to 3 rings. Morons.
Big 4 for life!
PS I'd like to have my Bowen avatar up but the site won't allow it (even though it has worked before).
I can not disagree with this. ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Bruce got in Pop's doghouse and that was that. Bruce wasn't done, while he had lost a bit, he still had some left in the tank. Other than Hill, Bruce in limited minutes was the best player in that Mavs series...hated to see Bruce disrespected like that. IMO, one of Pop's lowest moments.
we got our new bowen
If Bruce still had some left in the tank at the end of 2009, why did he retire and not try for a contract elsewhere? He was done athletically, and he knew it.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ +1
No such thing. Players who can shut down NBA all-stars night-in and night-out are about as rare as they come.
indeed most players have the tools but not the desire to play all out defense and not worrying about the offensive end.I feel kawhi is a rare bird like bowen.Will he be Bowen of course not but hes gonna do his best to try and fill that role for this team
and yeah bowen was getting abused his final season something spurs fans hadnt seen before
Indeed. For eg, there's no-one like Bruce in the NBA today.
Even if Kawhi is 80% of the defender Bruce was he'll be great, because he's also an elite rebounder and has an offensive game, both of which were anathema to Bruce (except the corner 3s, of course).
I agree. Most players save their energy for offense. True defensive players consider their offense an after thought. The ironic thing is that alot of times being aggressive on defense can help get your offense going.
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