When Tmac is droppin 37pts on Bowen, what exactly is his use?

[cornbread]

You guys are actually calling for more Finley and Barry?

Nope. I just want better team defense. No way should Bowen be losing minutes to those guys.

[Kermit]

more beno please...

[VaSpursFan]

You guys are actually calling for more Finley and Barry?

bowen in all of his offensive challenges is still >>>>>>> finley and barry. at least he brings d along with a decent 3 point shot. finley brings nothing on either end and barry brings a little on the offensive end but gets abused on the defensive end. you either have to shut your man down or outscore him to be effective. i'd rather have bruce play shut down d versus brick finley and brent scary trying to outscore guys.

[mardigan]

Finley and Beno suck balls, the Mavs are probably still laughing at us for the Finley pickup

[Kermit]

yeah, but at the time it seemed like a pretty good idea. he is a supreme ball-licker, though. jason terry didn't punch him in the nuts hard enough if you ask me.

[nkdlunch]

terry stated he didn't find any nuts

[polandprzem]

TMAC would have probably had 50+ if not for Bowen.

I do not know if tMac is that great al in all he is not averaging 50pts per game.

wait .. new messge PM

brb

[vanvannen]

Bowen's defense is not shinning so bright this year because the whole Spurs' system was designed to funnel scorers to the middle, where they would meet Tim Duncan and (oh yes) Rasho. Now this team has lost one shot blocker, and on top of that there are newcomers trying to learn the system.
It's not Bowen's fault, but still I think in this scenario his defense is less effective.

[polandprzem]

Another thing with Bowen is that the new rules do not let him do more, and what he was doing previusly.

He is getting old but still he is valuable to this team.
Not a contender but top8 in the leauge

[mardigan]

Its kind of sad how much I am starting to realize Rashos d was a huge help to Tim, although his offense was the worst ever

[Kori Ellis]

Bowen's defense is not shinning so bright this year because the whole Spurs' system was designed to funnel scorers to the middle, where they would meet Tim Duncan and (oh yes) Rasho. Now this team has lost one shot blocker, and on top of that there are newcomers trying to learn the system.
It's not Bowen's fault, but still I think in this scenario his defense is less effective.

This is the key.

Currently, a lot of times, Bowen is funneling to no one.

[v2freak]

As is inevitable with age, I agree that Bowen has lost a step. But he's still our best one-on-one defender IMO.

[mardigan]

Iwas hoping Elson would be able to block some shots, but everyone who said he wasnt a shotblocker turned out to be right. We have no other shot blocker for the 1st time since the Duncan era. , I would take Kevin Willis right now

[polandprzem]

Bowen's defense is not shinning so bright this year because the whole Spurs' system was designed to funnel scorers to the middle, where they would meet Tim Duncan and (oh yes) Rasho. Now this team has lost one shot blocker, and on top of that there are newcomers trying to learn the system.
It's not Bowen's fault, but still I think in this scenario his defense is less effective.

That's the spurs problem on D
They need to have team defense cause on 1-1 they are losing (D) with such teams like Dallas or even Phoenix.

We won't get the shot blocker with the interior D who is able to be in the spots dave was. So where to imrove the defense? As Pop do not want to change the whole concept of it?

[ChumpDumper]

We have no other shot blocker for the 1st time since the Duncan era. , I would take Kevin Willis right now

Also not a shotblocker. I have longer arms than T-Rex.

[Kermit]

i always wondered why willis never used his forehead to block shots. that dome takes up the entire lane.

[mardigan]

Also not a shotblocker. I have longer arms than T-Rex.

He scares the ball from going into the basket by mean mugging it

[ShoogarBear]

Bowen's defense is not shinning so bright this year because the whole Spurs' system was designed to funnel scorers to the middle, where they would meet Tim Duncan and (oh yes) Rasho. Now this team has lost one shot blocker, and on top of that there are newcomers trying to learn the system.
It's not Bowen's fault, but still I think in this scenario his defense is less effective.

Actually, the classic Spurs defense was to funnel players to the baseline to meet the shotblockers. This is the reverse of what most defenses preach, and was the reason why it took some players a long time to learn the system.

[ArgSpursFan]

what about Kobe´s 35 pts and Dirk´s 37 pts against the spurs?

[ChumpDumper]

What about them?

Bruce isn't there to shut down every scorer every time.

[timvp]

With Bowen on the court, opponents score 6.8 less points per 100 possessions. As the season goes on, that number keeps rising. Not too long ago, that number was 4.1.

To compare, opponents score 5.9 more points per 100 possessions when Finley is on the court. And when Barry is on the court, opponents score 9.6 more points per 100 possessions.

Bottomline is Bowen is still an effective defender, while Finley and Barry are two of the worst perimeter defenders in the league. Especially Barry.

[ArgSpursFan]

What about them?

Bruce isn't there to shut down every scorer every time.

so,where´s the catch, of him being out there on the floor???

[Kori Ellis]

what about Kobe´s 35 pts and Dirk´s 37 pts against the spurs?

Bowen wasn't really guarding Dirk. He was guarding Josh Howard for the most part.

But the basic concept is the same. If the system is to funnel players baseline toward the bigs and the bigs aren't there to contest, then it results in easy hoops.

Players are still going to get their points on Bowen, but he still is making them work. When he was on the bench in the Rockets game, TMac didn't miss and really got going. That stretch killed the Spurs where Pop left Manu out there without Tony, Tim or Bruce.

[mardigan]

Bottom line is that if you really think the Spurs are better off with Bowen on the bench and Finley or Barry on T Mac, or whoever, you might not know as much about basketball as you think you do

[ChumpDumper]

so,where´s the catch, of him being out there on the floor???

He's there to make it difficult for scorers work within the team defense. He's doing his job. Others are not.