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bad timmy...
this attention is really unnecessary. like what skiles said, it's always going to be a matter of opinion whether it is intentional or not.
Johnny Ludden
Express-News Staff Writer
SACRAMENTO, Calif. – Tim Duncan pushed himself from the chair in front of his locker, felt his right ankle start to buckle and for one brief moment late Friday, the Spurs' championship hopes appeared to hinge on, of all things, the stability of a small, plastic bottle.
Fortunately for Duncan, the bottle underneath his foot gave way just as he started to stumble, spraying red sports drink up the wall of the locker and allowing him to regain his balance. As Duncan stared down at the floor in disbelief, someone wondered aloud if Bruce Bowen, branded in recent days as the NBA's most notorious foot fiend, had somehow played a role in the near accident.
Duncan looked across the room at Bowen. "You're going to be getting a call," he said, "from Stu."
"That's not funny," Bowen replied before laughing.
Stu would be Stu Jackson, the NBA's executive vice president of basketball operations, otherwise known as the league's lord of discipline. It was Jackson who – much to the chagrin of Spurs officials -- phoned Bowen a week ago to tell him he faced a possible fine or suspension should his feet again find their way underneath those of an opponent.
Bowen admits the warning unsettled him and Spurs coach Gregg Popovich doesn't think it's a coincidence that Houston's Tracy McGrady lit up the Spurs for a half two nights later. Or that Charlotte rookie Adam Morrison scored 27 points against Bowen on Wednesday.
"You try to move past and do things where that doesn't necessarily affect you," Bowen said. "I figured with all the new rules changes and all that, maybe I could get past this as well. But it's a little different."
Which is why Bowen was relieved when Popovich pulled him aside Friday morning and told him to forget Jackson's warning. Keep playing, Popovich said, the same way you've always played.
"He told me, 'Hey, I need you to be who you are,' " Bowen said. " 'Not this guy worrying about what someone is going to say or do regarding you.'
"Once I got his word, it was almost like, 'You may marry my daughter.' I was like, 'Well, OK.' "
With Popovich's permission, Bowen returned to the same harassing ways that have made him one of the league's best defenders – and one of its most infuriating pests. On Friday, he helped limit Chicago point guard Kirk Hinrich to 12 points. When Popovich switched him onto Ben Gordon, he helped force a pair of traveling violations and an offensive foul.
It's been a rough start to the season for Bowen. New York guard Steve Francis sprained his ankle after landing on him, which triggered another round of stories questioning whether Bowen is endangering shooters by stepping under them. Francis never made the allegation himself, but when the teams met again four days later, Knicks coach Isiah Thomas threatened to break Bowen's foot.
Bowen is accustomed to scrutiny, much of which has been generated by his run-ins with Seattle's Ray Allen. But Spurs coaches worry that the recent attention has begun to wear on him. One referee recently told Bowen he needed to watch himself because he's now a "marked man."
"It's funny how for somebody that doesn't do a whole in this game," Bowen said, "I'm sure talked about a whole lot."
The league has instructed its officials to call a foul whenever a defender doesn't give a shooter enough room to land. But Popovich didn't think Bowen needed a warning from the league. He was further upset that Jackson never spoke with anyone from the team about the call until Friday.
"I don't agree that he even thought he had to call him for any reason," Popovich said, "let alone that he did call him."
Bulls coach Scott Skiles thinks the league will have a difficult time fairly evaluating whether a defender is encroaching too much on a shooter or whether he's simply doing his job well.
"Pretty much every game, if you challenge a shot properly, there's a possibility a guy could land on your foot," Skiles said. "Now why that has happened to (Bowen) so many times I don't know. But that would be very hard to judge if that is intentional or not. I tend to think it's not.
"It's just an unfortunate thing that happens. Maybe not enough guys challenge shots. Maybe that's the reason you don't see it more."
Bowen wants to be liked and respected for his accomplishments just like anyone else. Few players are more active in the community, and he hopes that work isn't tarnished by the controversy that's followed him on the court in recent years.
But Bowen also said he can't afford to worry too much about what others think. Tonight, he'll probably spend time on both Kevin Martin and Ron Artest. Over the next week, he'll face Dwyane Wade, Dirk Nowitzki and Allen.
"One thing I learned is I can't be somebody I'm not," Bowen said. "So whenever I hear things like, 'Oh he's dirty,' I can't control that.
"I can only control the way I am, and that's about going out and working hard."
http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/b...n.2d09332.html
bad timmy...
this attention is really unnecessary. like what skiles said, it's always going to be a matter of opinion whether it is intentional or not.
LOL...I actually found Tim's sense of humour funny! Besides, Bruce knows Tim is just kidding...lol.bad timmy...
. i also thought it was funny. shows u how comfortable they are with each other for tim to joke about that. actually, before it got to that part, i was really nervous reading about tim's little incident.
Hilarious spurs strikes again
BINGO!
"It's just an unfortunate thing that happens. Maybe not enough guys challenge shots. Maybe that's the reason you don't see it more."
Bowen is the truth!! Nuff said!!
I have a feeling he is going to end up getting suspended...and he deserves it IMO. He does it on purpose to get players thinking when they are shooting. There are other things you can do to mess up a shooter rythm that doesn't hurt someone. What Bowen does is just wrong.
?????? Wtf?
I think this is ing pathetic, they are seriously trying to make this a defense-less league....can you imagine the phantom "not enough space" calls we are going to see in the playoffs?
The spurs are an amazing team, and perennial le contenders, but they are making it nearly impossible for teams like us to pull it off in the playoffs. Sad.
yep, his "great" defense is based on dirty tactics
Just watched an interview with Ronnie Nunn and he basicaly said that Bruce needs to stop getting under people and therefore giving them room to land after a jumper. Everytime he will do it he will get a foul called on him.
"Ronnie Nunn"
He said refs are not to get into "intentions", and mind-reading, just on the what the refs see as actually happening.
We'll see if Bruce, or anybody else, picks up any PFs for being in a shooter's landing area.
What complicates calling a PF is that some girly-man shooters don't shoot 3Gs by jumping straight up and down, but by jumping forward, trying to jump the ball towards the basket rather than staying under the ball and jumping it up into a nice rainbow. The defender is on HIS ground close to the shooter and the shooter jumps forward onto the defender's foot.
Last edited by boutons_; 11-20-2006 at 01:40 PM.
Yep, just like when Rasheed stepped under Duncan. Those guys do that on purpose just to hurt an opponent that's torching them.
YOUR opinion has been noted!
imo Bruce deserve props! TO CHALLENGE THE SHOTS that no one else WILL...
DPOY!
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