Reply With Quote
Shoulda signed Chuck Hayes when I told them to....
Buck Harvey: Discarded last year, Rose at last was missed
Web Posted: 05/28/2006 12:21 AM CDT
San Antonio Express-News
http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/b...s.816ed85.html
Nazr Mohammed and Malik Rose were part of another deal this month. This time, cards were involved.
Both attended Tony Parker's birthday/poker party.
The two exchanged hands, as well as places. Just as the Spurs needed Mohammed a year ago, this year the Spurs needed Rose.
The outcomes?
As different as winning and folding.
The Spurs don't bring this up, nor do they regret the 2005 trade that sent Rose to New York for Mohammed. Mohammed was vital against big lineups in the le run, and no one would exchange a ring for conjecture.
Besides, the same factor that was in play then would be in play now. Money. The Knicks owe Rose about $7 million in each of the next two years.
That's a lot to pay a bench player in a small market, and that's a lot to gamble with, too. But friendship, not money, is why Rose was one of about 50 invited to Parker's birthday party.
This tells, again, that Rose's relationship with the Spurs wasn't superficial. So imagine how Rose felt last June when his former teammates took the championship. They had gone on nicely without him, hadn't they?
But there are no rules about former Spurs hanging with current ones. And, for this party, Eva Longoria hired the perfect master of ceremonies: Phil muth, a nine-time World Series of Poker champion.
muth now earns money at poker without having to play. He has cashed in on the industry's popularity, having written several books and created a poker fantasy camp.
Making appearances is part of it. Just as muth showed for Alex Rodriguez and Tom Brady, he showed at Parker's party, and muth described the event in his regular column.
"Everyone in the room was playing!" muth wrote. "The Spurs are so into poker that they keep records for the entire year (Michael Finley, another great player, won their last tournament)."
muth wrote that he beat Parker out of a large pot. "Then I carried around the microphone, praising and teasing Parker, Longoria, Tim Duncan, Finley, Malik Rose and Nazr Mohammed."
The teasing could have turned from poker to basketball, except few Spurs likely wanted to laugh about that. Mohammed, especially, had reason to be sensitive. In a contract year, no less, he played only 14 more minutes against the Mavericks than Rose did.
It's not illogical to argue Mohammed should have played more. The Spurs lost, after all.
But two of Gregg Popovich's points are real. One, neither Mohammed nor Rasho Nesterovic could have defended Dirk Nowitzki. That would have left Tim Duncan on him or on a smaller, quicker Maverick.
And, two, not having Mohammed and Nesterovic opened up the other end for Duncan. That created merely the best offensive series of his career.
But what if Rose had remained a Spur? Clues come from when he was one.
Rose was often Popovich's counter when the opposition went small. "He can guard everybody from the 1 to the 4," Popovich once said.
Rose also leaned on the most famous 5, Shaquille O'Neal. But it was his success against small lineups that made him so valuable.
Asked why Rose was so good against little lineups, Duncan had the obvious answer. "Because he's little," Duncan once said.
Then Duncan quickly added: "And because he can jump out on (Dirk) Nowitzki one time, then switch to (Steve) Nash the next."
Ah, Nowitzki.
Granted, Nowitzki is better than he was in 2003, the last time the Spurs met the Mavericks in the playoffs. Still, with Bruce Bowen more occupied on Finley, Rose usually checked in and headed for Nowitzki.
Rose did more than jump out on him. In Game 2 of the Western Conference finals, with Nowitzki on the floor in the first half with two fouls, Rose drove on him — drawing Nowitzki's third. Rose finished with 25 points in 27 minutes.
And in the closeout Game 6? David Robinson played only 16 minutes compared to Rose's 32, and Rose ended with 12 points and 11 rebounds.
The Spurs needed the same this month. They needed someone who could counter the quick Dallas scorers and also rebound with them. They needed someone with a serviceable jumper to make sure defenders didn't leave to double Duncan. And they needed, at worst, someone to relieve an overworked rotation.
Almost 15 months after they traded him, the Spurs needed Rose.
Shoulda signed Chuck Hayes when I told them to....
That's the key to beating Dallas. Dirk isn't a good defender, so if his opponent can score, it nullifies some of Dirk's affect on the game. The Spurs rarely made Dirk pay on D.Rose finished with 25 points in 27 minutes.
Buck steals timvp's content again?
The thing I don't get is why everyone thinks the Spurs couldn't have won it last year without Nazr. Nazr played decent but it was Horry in his place that was winning games. As the playoff went on, his hands got worse and worse and so did his defense.
Nazr didn't do anything Rasho or any other average center couldn't have done.
Malik was overpaid.
I'd want to keep Rasho and Barry too if they didn't cost so much.
Rasho is overpaid too and the Spurs didn't give him away.
"couldn't give him away" you meant....
The Knicks wanted Rasho but the Spurs insisted on Malik.
Yeah, you called that. Props.
Now I want the Spurs to steal him from the Rockets. He's the type of player the Spurs need.
All part of my master plan in the other thread. Houston has to spend heavily to replentish their guard core, so it could be possible.
POP's never liked under-sized PF or athletic SF's who don't play D first. POP loves players who help spread the floor.
Wait, wasn't the deal Nazr/Thomas for Rose/Rasho?
I'm on record as being in favor of that after deliberation, IIRC.
seriously who cares
Dumb article from Buck.
A bench scrub that played his best basketball over three years ago and can't even get off the bench on a piss poor New York Knicks team was the missing piece against the Mavs?
Agreed, we dont need Malik, his best basketball is way behind him. But, we do need a player like the Malik of 5 years ago.A bench scrub that played his best basketball over three years ago and can't even get off the bench on a piss poor New York Knicks team was the missing piece against the Mavs?
Yawn, there are so many "what-ifs" that could've won that series for the Spurs. What if Duncan doesn't foul out of Game 3? What if Manu doesn't foul out of Game 4? What if Duncan makes the shot at the buzzer of Game 4? What if we don't fold both time the game goes to OT? What if Ginobili didn't foul Dirk in Game 7? What if Spurs Basketball didn't end when the last regular season game ended?
Point is we lost. Get over it buck. Look forward to 06-07 with the rest of us.
Is no one willing to admit he has a point? Malik would have helped in the series. Malik helps in small ball situations, Spurs played small ball against the Mavs, therefore Malik would have helped the Spurs against the Mavs.
That's the question that should be asked, but no writer in SA has the balls to ask.What if Spurs Basketball didn't end when the last regular season game ended?
Pop damnit. If Dirk was confident shooting over 6'7" Bowen, and 6'5" Finley, you think the guy would have had problems with 6'4" pissant Malik Rose?Is no one willing to admit he has a point? Malik would have helped in the series.
If we could have had the Rose of 2000-2002, maybe, but after Malik signed his fat contract he was never the same player. Too many people get caught up in nostalgia when they talk about Malik Rose.
He was great in his time, but these days he's a lot like Van Exel - useless. I suppose the same people who think Malik would have made a difference also think that if we could have gotten Avery to somehow suit up and play backup point that woulda worked out well too.
Buck Harvey was totallly out to lunch on this article. It is ridiculaous to think that we would have beat Dallas with Malik. Had Malik been on the team all season, we would never have had a 63 game season. Has everyone forgotten how he threw the ball away every other time he got his hands on it during hte past two seasons he was here? C'mon. Harvey is rarely right about regarding basketball, an this article is no exception. I haven't found the question to which Malik Rose is the answer.
AHF, does Dirk get a game winning rebound over Rose?
he started 35 times even though most of it was down the stretch of the seasonDumb article from Buck.
A bench scrub that played his best basketball over three years ago and can't even get off the bench on a piss poor New York Knicks team was the missing piece against the Mavs?
Don't be mad because Baby Hakeem didn't exactly turn out like you hyped up.Dumb article from Buck.
A bench scrub that played his best basketball over three years ago and can't even get off the bench on a piss poor New York Knicks team was the missing piece against the Mavs?
If the Spurs still had Malik on the books and not Nazr coming off the books would they be willing to use the MLE this year to retool the roster a bit?
Malik Rose sucks.
Malik Rose was re-inserted into the Knicks starting lineup around the All Star Break and promptly pulled down 3 consecutive double doubles for the Knicks.
Wake me the next time one of our Centers has 3 consecutive double doubles....
Wake me the next time one of them shows they can play in the post season anywhere near as well as Malik has...
Wake me the next time either of them shows the ability to get to the FT line half as well as Malik could...even in his last year here.
Malik fit in well on this team, he was a better fit than either of our Centers.
He played D and shot better than Nazr, and he was more agressive offensively than Rasho...and is as good a rebounder as either of them...plus he is faster and capable of guarding more types of players. About the only thing he can't do that they can is block shots...but he more than makes up for that with hustle.
There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)
Posting Permissions
