http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/200...1/horry/1.html
HONING HIS CRAFT
At 6-feet-10, 240 pounds, Robert Horry is the definition of a tweener, a small forward buried inside a power forward's body. He doesn't like to bang. He doesn't like to mix it up. If it were up to him he probably would have his own water cooler set up outside the 3-point line, just in case he gets thirsty hanging around out there. Go ahead, tell Horry he's soft. Just make sure when you do you're not blinded by the glare from his five championship rings.
Life wasn't always this easy for the Spurs forward. Horry's arrival to the NBA came with as much criticism as it did fanfare. Selected 11th overall by Houston in the 1992 NBA Draft, Horry had scouts salivating over his potential while simultaneously wondering if his lack of consistency was a byproduct of a questionable work ethic. Despite starting 160 games in his first two years with the Rockets, Houston jumped at the chance to acquire veteran forward Sean Elliott at the '94 trading deadline. Why? The feeling in the organization was that Horry was too passive offensively and wasn't sacrificing enough for the team. Two days after the trade was announced, Elliott flunked his physical, sending a rejuvenated Horry back to the Rockets, where he played a pivotal role on Houston's back-to-back le teams.
No matter the championships, Horry couldn't shake his reputation as an impossibly apathetic player. He also came to be seen as increasingly petulant, a label he soon lived down to.
After being traded from Houston to Phoenix as part of a deal that sent Charles Barkley to the Rockets, Horry was involved in the most embarrassing incident of his five-year career. During a road game in Boston, Horry reacted to a quick hook from Suns coach Danny Ainge by shouting obscenities at Ainge before throwing a towel in his rookie coach's face. I was five feet behind Ainge that night and I can say without hesitation Horry's outburst was as disrespectful a display from a player as I have ever seen. Suns owner Jerry Colangelo suspended Horry for two games, calling Horry "a shadow of his former self" while comparing him to an unruly child. Persona non grata in Phoenix, Horry was shipped to the Lakers a few days later.
It was in Los Angeles that Horry began repairing his crippled reputation. The scene in L.A. was a familiar one for Horry, playing alongside a dominant big man (Shaquille O'Neal) and an All-Star swingman (Kobe Bryant), reminiscent of his days in Houston with Hakeem Olajuwon and Clyde Drexler. Horry settled nicely into his supporting role with the Lakers, rarely rocking the boat while quickly earning a reputation as a big game player. In his first postseason with Los Angeles, Horry set an NBA playoff record for 3-pointers made without a miss, going 7-for-7 from behind the arc in Game 2 of the Western Conference semifinals. It was a harbinger of big moments to come
In Game 3 of the Lakers' '02 first-round series, Horry knocked down a 3-pointer with 2.1 seconds left to give L.A. a 92-91 win over the Portland Trail Blazers. Later that spring in the Western Conference finals, Horry delivered a body blow to the Sacramento Kings' championship hopes, hitting a 3 with 0.6 seconds left to lift the Lakers to a 100-99 victory in Game 4. By the time the Lakers had captured their third le in three seasons, Horry had permanently lain to rest the demons of his past and "Big Shot Bob" was officially born.
Though known for his clutch shooting, Horry has developed into more than a one-dimensional player. With the Lakers, Horry often was asked to guard an opponent's best frontcourt player, in part to save Shaq from foul trouble and in part because Horry craftily knew how to use speed and quickness to disrupt the timing of bigger players.
He's done the same thing in San Antonio, where Horry, playing opposite Tim Duncan, has frequently found himself matched against more physical players. While the bruises don't heal as quickly as they used to for the 13-year veteran, Horry has remained reliable from the perimeter, shooting 44.3 percent from beyond the arc this postseason.
Should San Antonio advance to the NBA Finals, Horry would have the chance to play for his sixth NBA le, the highest total among active players. You won't have to look too far to find him either. He's the old guy hanging out at the 3-point line, still breaking people's hearts
..well, Big Shot Rob if by any chance we meet Miami in the finals..YOU ARE GOING TO FACE STEVE SMITH, THE player the Spurs ditched(thank you for that), because of you.
Last edited by milkyway21; 06-02-2005 at 02:29 AM.
come on it happened bec. he was pissed on Ainge for treating bad Mario Elie.....Horry was involved in the most embarrassing incident of his five-year career. During a road game in Boston, Horry reacted to a quick hook from Suns coach Danny Ainge by shouting obscenities at Ainge before throwing a towel in his rookie coach's face.
Detroit tried to trade Sean for Rob.
i think he threw a towel on him...or something..but not necessarily punching him...i'm sorry i mean Horry on Ainge.
i don't know what Danny did to him, really that irked Rob to do that
Pretty unprofessional, but I'd be mad as at Ainge too after the way he disrespected Rob's teammate, Mario, with that shot off the face, point-blank.
[QUOTE=milkyway21]http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/200...1/horry/1.html
HONING HIS CRAFT
At 6-feet-10, 240 pounds, Robert Horry is the definition of a tweener, a small forward buried inside a power forward's body. He doesn't like to bang. He doesn't like to mix it up. If it were up to him he probably would have his own water cooler set up outside the 3-point line, just in case he gets thirsty hanging around out there. Go ahead, tell Horry he's soft. Just make sure when you do you're not blinded by the glare from his five championship rings.
Life wasn't always this easy for the Spurs forward. Horry's arrival to the NBA came with as much criticism as it did fanfare. Selected 11th overall by Houston in the 1992 NBA Draft, Horry had scouts salivating over his potential while simultaneously wondering if his lack of consistency was a byproduct of a questionable work ethic. Despite starting 160 games in his first two years with the Rockets, Houston jumped at the chance to acquire veteran forward Sean Elliott at the '94 trading deadline. Why? The feeling in the organization was that Horry was too passive offensively and wasn't sacrificing enough for the team. Two days after the trade was announced, Elliott flunked his physical, sending a rejuvenated Horry back to the Rockets, where he played a pivotal role on Houston's back-to-back le teams.
No matter the championships, Horry couldn't shake his reputation as an impossibly apathetic player. He also came to be seen as increasingly petulant, a label he soon lived down to.
After being traded from Houston to Phoenix as part of a deal that sent Charles Barkley to the Rockets
That was a stupid trade.
After being traded from Houston to Phoenix as part of a deal that sent Charles Barkley to the Rockets
That was a stupid trade.
You really think the trade was stupid?
Does anybody really know what happen between Horry and Ainge??? I would like to know...I may be to young to remember
After winning 2 championships why would you make a trade? I think Cassell was in that trade also. Barkley was starting to get old around that time and Horry spread the floor out for Olajuwon. Barkley is a great player but the chemistry didn't work.
detroit and the Elliot trade... what ever happened to poor Bill Curley? We robbed Detroit in repossessing Sean, and he went on to become the first pro-athelete to come back from a major organ transplant, and then hit the Memorial Day Miracle. What a story, huh!
...how about this one?
http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/b...2ae3010d7.html
The Suns had hoped to see the same from Horry when they acquired him from Houston before the 1996-97 season. Instead, he never warmed to Phoenix, particularly Ainge, the coach. Horry cursed at Ainge in a game before famously throwing a towel in his face. The team suspended him for two games. Less than a week later, he was traded to the Lakers.
I just had a lot of animosity toward Danny Ainge for some of the things he did, like hitting Mario (Elie) in the face with the ball, Horry said, referring to an incident during a Rockets-Suns playoff game in 1994. And I never let go.
To this day, Horry will only autograph pictures or cards of him in a Phoenix uniform for children. He claims, however, to have enjoyed the Suns' fans during his short stay.
Even as he continues to give them reason to like him less.
...
i guess Ainge hitting a ball on Elie's face irked Rob that much.
thanks Milky
BTW, Elliot failed Houston physical?
i don't understand...WHY?
He was sick, his kidney. This was before he was on medication, or maybe even before he knew he was sick. I'm telling you he played for years with his diesease before anyone found out.BTW, Elliot failed Houston physical?
i don't understand...WHY?
Give me a hand!
It was definitely stupid...the Rockets should have kept Horry.
You really think the trade was stupid?
The thing about the towel incident...Ainge wasn't a coach to Horry....they had played two heated playoff series just a year or so before...and he knew Ainge the obnoxious punk player...not the rookie coach.
Ainge used to talk as much and be as big a punk as anyone in the NBA when he was a player. Actually, he still kind of does...ask Antoine Walker...it wasn't like Horry bought into the "respected" coach act.
That's an adjustment that's some players struggle to make with coaches that were once opponents OR teamates...
EG: Pop wouldn't hire Terry Porter as an assistant coach because he felt the team would never be able to accept Porter as an authority figure after they were used to him being their teamate...I think Pop has a standing rule that ex players need to go coach somewhere for at least a couple of years before he'll take as a coach.
It kinda makes sense...
Besides...SuperMario taught us how to win les and is one of the great heroes in Spurs history...Good job Horry.
To answer the questions I see in here:
Ainge pulled Horry from the game at a critical point (that's what the "hook" means, not a punch) and Robert went off. Cussing him out, threw the towel in his face and he wanted to go after Ainge but teammates held him back. It was just a really bad time in his life and he's moved on.
Yes, he was traded in 1994 for Sean Elliott and spent a weekend in Detroit, just long enough to get a jersey and then go back home. He was a different player after that, he was incredible during the back-to-back les.
The article makes it seem that Horry learned to play great D in Los Angeles, which is incorrect. His college coach was big on D and Rudy T was big on making them play D in Houston, that's where he learned it. He also didn't suddenly become a clutch player in LA, he did that in Houston as well.
Actually he Hit the memororial day miracle and then had the transplant. He was never the same after the transplant.
Horry really stepped it up on the boards when Nazr got into foul trouble. We would've won by 20 if he hadn't unveiled his Hedo impression going for layups, but his work on D and rebounding more than made up for that.
To me Horry was the 2nd most important player for Spurs last night.
It's really hard to say if it was or wasn't a stupid trade...Barkley blew his knee too soon to really make an informed opinion...before that he brought a toughness in the paint and rebounding that Horry never provided...but he was also known for jacking up threes when there were better options...Barkley was never the long range shooter Horry is/was...After being traded from Houston to Phoenix as part of a deal that sent Charles Barkley to the Rockets
That was a stupid trade.
And if we see Detroit in the Finals, I'd like to see him start and force Ben Wallace out.
Re Hedo impression: Horry must've been having a rah-rah college flashback last night.
As a collegian he was known for his slashing drives to the hoop which were amazing at the time for such a big man. Then he got to the NBA, got hit a few times, and decided to live to play a little longer by hanging out behind the arc.
The article gives a good overview of his career, including the seeming apathy at times which shadowed him. With all his physical talent, people always expected him to do more than make 4 or 5 well publicized shots for a career. To be honest, after watching him a lot during his career I expected more of the same.
But he's really contributed this year in additional ways that are un-Horrylike--rebounding, steals, defense--all the hustle plays that help a team win. Screw the 'Big Shot' monniker--Props to Big Team Bob.
"To me Horry was the 2nd most important player for Spurs last night."
... and when attempting only 2 3G's, and missing them both. He contributed in so many non-BigShot ways. Is why he's the closer and not Nazr.
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