Buck Harvey: Dear Jon: Oh, brother, it's time to start shooting
Web Posted: 04/26/2005 10:31 PM CDT
San Antonio Express-News
http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/b...218d5b91d.html
After the Rockets beat the Mavericks in the first game of their series, Brent Barry did what all brothers do in this Verizon/Cingular age. He sent a congratulatory text message to Jon.
Firing back to Brent's cell phone before the Spurs' opener Sunday, with dreams of a very-Barry Western Conference finals, came the return text.
"See you in a couple of weeks!"
Since then a few things have changed. The Spurs lost, and another text message from Jon wouldn't have been appropriate. How can you comfort family in less than 25 characters?
Instead, Jon communicated with his brother through another transmission, this time via a television screen. Brent watched Monday night when Jon's Rockets played through their stars, swung the ball and created some open shots for their role players.
Did the Spurs get the message?
The Rockets got their Barry for insurance in mid-season, and he's become a vital part of that franchise's late-season run. Last week, when the Rockets held a pre-playoffs dinner and players were asked to say something, Jon came across like the crusty journeyman he is.
According to reports in Houston, Jon said: "This is the most confident I've ever felt about a group of guys. This is the best team I've ever been on. Understand what we can do."
Jon can be too crusty; there's likely a reason he's played for eight teams in his career. But he's always been a battler, and he was a year ago on the Nuggets.
The Spurs' Barry arrived in Texas with a better pedigree. Some in the league thought in October he could be a more significant off-season acquisition than Steve Nash was for Phoenix. And Sunday should have been one of those times when he made a difference.
Then the Spurs missed 17 consecutive shots. Brent would be pressed to miss 17 consecutive while balancing Earl Boykins on his shoulders.
But it's hard to blame Barry for missing shots he never took. He didn't play during that stretch in the fourth quarter and, more telling, he got only two shots in his 19 minutes on the floor.
Brent, ever trying to fit in, still ended with four assists.
Bruce Bowen also took only one shot, and that was a short runner. The reason Bowen didn't get an open look from the corner, when he often gets a half dozen, relates to what affected Barry. The other Spurs didn't move the ball as they did earlier in the season.
The Rockets showed them how, but their formula isn't easy to copy. When Tracy McGrady is demanding double teams, others will be open. When Yao Ming misses only one shot, free throws included, on his way to 33 points, others will be outrageously open.
But even while McGrady and Yao were dominating the Mavericks, they made sure to get the ball to their open shooters. Jon threw in three consecutive 3-pointers on his way to 16 points, and Bob Sura was good on four of his five attempts.
"I know I'm a role player," Jon told a Houston newspaper. "I know that for me to be good, I need to play on a team with great players. I think I can make them better. They make me better, but I have to hold up my part of the deal."
That defines Brent's role with the Spurs, too, and he lives within the system. When Brent found Boykins guarding him Sunday, his ego didn't get in the way.
Shouldn't he have posted up a player a foot shorter? That's exactly what George Karl would have wanted, because the Spurs then would have been abandoning what they normally run.
As Brent said Tuesday, "That's not something we do."
Brent instead ran to his spots and stayed within the system. But others didn't. When Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili weren't determined to drive inside, Glenn Robinson was going one-on-one.
If the passes don't come to Brent, how can he be what he was supposed to be?
Jon answered that Monday within the same state. He reminded the Spurs of the possibilities. If they are smart and patient, if they swing the ball to the open man, and if their best shooter gets a few looks, then anything is possible.
As text messages suggest.
dead on.
Hes got to shoot more, and the Spurs have GOT to move the ball around.
Robinson posting up, and Parker and Ginobili driving and hanging in the air and waiting for a open player do NOTHING for this team.
Move the ball around. MOVE AROUND PERIOD.
And dont freakin turn the damn ball over.
Hilarious
Someone be sure to tell Buck that it most certainly is not hard to blame Barry for shots he never took(or never got the chance to take)...
Your job as a shooter is to shoot. If someone is the greatest shooter the world has ever seen but doesn't shoot, it means nothing.
The ball is in Barry's court.
Will he shoot it?
Do you guys actually read the articles?
But anyway...I disagree...we need to leave Barry's gutless heartless choking ass on the bench...because he causes us to lose when he is on the court.
Bench him and his pussy ass pass to the open man mentality...let the real men who aren't afraid to shoot play.
I read the article. It basically says that Parker (not naming him) needs to do a better job moving the ball, so that his teammates can get looks. Barry and Bowen not taking shots had more to do with ball movement than it did with them just not taking shots.
My article says something very similar.
Don't leave Beno out...what gets me is that this has happened all season long and now everyone is just figuring it out.
This is why we have been a better offensive team with Barry on the court all season long...regardless of what he shot...because he understands ball movement...he's played his whole career in an offense where that had to be done to be sucessful, even with the ball hogs he's played with. He's played his whole career on teams where guys had to make quick passes to beat the defense.
It's not going to change...We're going to change Barry into a worse offensive player...why? Because we don't let him on the court unless he plays that way.
I've never seen someone be such an apologist for a player. whotttt is treating Barry like taruky treated Turkoglu.
Barry got scared and didn't shoot enough in game one. The Spurs needed him to hit some shots. Barry came up with 0 points in 19 minutes.
Only Whotttt can twist that around to where Pop is wrong and how Barry is the one who should have kept playing becuase eventually he might have scored.
Give it up. You are backing a shook player who sucked in the beginning of preseason and who sucked in the beginning of the regular season due to pressure. I expected him to curl up into the fetal position come playoff time.
Luckily, I think he'll snap out of it. Until then, you are only making yourself look bad by defending him with your life.
Barry will eventually get into the flow and stop being nervous.
Believe.
Look in the mirror, AJ.
And Hedo was babied beyond all belief...Barry has been the team this entire season. I want the dude to get traded...he deserves bettter...I sincerely believe that. I defend the guy because he deserves to be defended and I have backed up my reasoning time and time again.
I want the Spurs to get a guy that actually deserves to be the scapegoat for the offensively ignorant Spurfandom and team.
Would I have preferred he hit those shots? yes...but the 4th quarter speaks for itself.
Scared? What do you call that 4th quarter? Sacking up?Barry got scared and didn't shoot enough in game one. The Spurs needed him to hit some shots. Barry came up with 0 points in 19 minutes.
Watch this many games this season?Only Whotttt can twist that around to where Pop is wrong and how Barry is the one who should have kept playing becuase eventually he might have scored.
Barry has done well basically when Pop has been forced to play him, and he's been great in the 4th quarter all season...ironically just about every time Pop was forced to play him was one of our most impressive wins of the season.
But let's keep giving the ball to the rookie to close out quarters..because he's better than Barry.
Players don't snap out of being heartless.Give it up. You are backing a shook player who sucked in the beginning of preseason and who sucked in the beginning of the regular season due to pressure. I expected him to curl up into the fetal position come playoff time.
Luckily, I think he'll snap out of it. Until then, you are only making yourself look bad by defending him with your life.
Barry will eventually get into the flow and stop being nervous.
Believe.
You people are insane you blame a guy for the loss that wasn't even on the court when we lost.
Don't blame Barry for that loss...he wasn't the one who lost the game.
Pop's the one that gets scared. His choice of rotation was the one that choked and got asswhupped by a team that wanted it more when it mattered most.
I can sit here and look at what has happened all season when Pop has gotten scared...it started with the first Detroit game.
http://www.82games.com/04SAS4E.HTM
For the 1,056,789,234 time...The above are Barry's statistics in clutch situations this season...he's by far the best PCT shooter on the team in those situations, he's the best FT shooter on the team in those situations, he's the least TO prone on the team in those situations.
But hey...losing is better because he went 0-2 and wasn't a ball hog...teach him a lesson.
Last edited by whottt; 04-27-2005 at 02:47 AM.
...exactly
+ ball rotation.
'Nuff said
Barry needs more Scooby Snacks to shoot better
Seriously, what is your deal with Barry? Everyone but you sees that Parker is not moving the ball around...Barry sat the bench basically the whole second half...and touched the ball twice. He plays WITHIN Pops system...Not some system that just allows him to cast off whenever he wants to or can. I question your rational time and time again, because all you do is spout off about he should do this or do that. When Barry was on the floor the team was winning...when he came off...they blew the lead. THe ball stopped moving, and TP ended up with 2 more assists than Barry did in over twice the minutes...If you want to keep dropping "minutes" like you like to do...He really only played about 17 minutes...When you check into an NBA game... for instance 10 seconds left in the first half, THAT counts as a minute...So if you really want to start nit picking about time on the floor and what a player does, you need to know what "counts" as minutes.
Are you going to tell me that Barry last 3 weeks where he was playing the best he has all season was a fluke? It wasn't a fluke, it was because without Tim in the line up, Tony and Manu had NO other option BUT to move the ball around, there fore getting Barry the opportunities to set up people for easy shots, as well as get some for himself. His minutes where up, and all his stats came up as well. PPG, Shooting %, Assists...you name it. So for you and a few others who keep bashing him...stop looking at stat lines, and watch a basketball game for once...
Good articles. Reminds me of that Gretzky quote someone posted here a few days ago: you miss 100% of the shots you don't take. As long as we have Nazr the Rebounding Monster Mohammed under the basket, I think they should chunk the ball at the basket as often as possible.
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