Spurs forced to wait a little longer for Horry's return
Mike Monroe
Express-News Staff Writer
Like most football fans in South Texas, Robert Horry spent Sunday afternoon watching the battle of the NFL unbeatens.
Relatively neutral about the Indianapolis Colts and New England Patriots, Horry admitted to a slight bias. He had to root for his friend, Peyton Manning. Perhaps a Colts victory might lessen the sting of having lost his annual bet with Horry on the outcome of the Alabama-Tennessee football game.
"I guess I have to root for Peyton," Horry said after returning Sunday to the Spurs' practice facility after nearly three weeks on personal leave. "I already beat him on our annual bet."
The NBA has warned about the dangers of gambling — each player was presented a pamphlet en led "Bad Bet" that details the potential problems that can attach to wagering, legal and otherwise — but friendly bets involving players' colleges are deemed harmless.
Horry has had fun betting Manning on the outcome of the Crimson Tide vs. Volunteers game since meeting him at a sports awards production a few years ago. The two traded stories and phone numbers. A friendship ensued, and it wasn't long before there was a friendly wager.
The Crimson Tide's 41-17 thumping of the Vols on Oct. 20 meant Manning had to send Horry the winnings, along with an autograph under a line that read "Roll Tide."
It was one of the few light moments Horry was able to enjoy during time away from the Spurs to be with a close relative in poor health.
Now the 16-year veteran has returned for what he calls Training Camp II. Unable to focus much on conditioning during his time away from the team, Horry's immediate goal is a return to top condition.
After declaring on Saturday that he hoped to return for Wednesday night's game against Miami, Horry acknowledged Sunday that it will be much longer before he can hope to suit up. He strained a hamstring during his Sunday workout.
"I've got to basically get my rhythm back, get my shot back, get my basketball motion back and get the bio-mechanics going," Horry said. "It's going to take two or three weeks."
Francisco Elson and Matt Bonner have played so well in Horry's absence that Horry feels no need to rush his return.
"It ain't broke," he said, "and we're 3-0."
Horry has watched all three of the Spurs' games and likes what he has seen.
"I've seen a lot of energy, which I'm very happy about," Horry said. "The guys are playing with a lot of energy and enthusiasm. It's almost like we didn't win a championship, like we were so close but we didn't get it, so we're bringing that enthusiasm and that knowledge of how to play the game back to this season to go out and work hard."
Though the Spurs like to joke that Horry views the regular season as a nuisance and doesn't get excited until the playoffs arrive, they understand his value, even in the first weeks of the season.
Coach Gregg Popovich's brow furrows as he ponders the setback Horry has endured recently. That Horry's legs might be a bit fresher in April doesn't minimize his concern.
"Last year we played him more than people realized," Popovich said. "We wanted him to be in shape. We made a conscious effort to play him on a more consistent basis throughout the year. We held him out of back-to-back situations as best we could, but we tried to be consistent with him throughout the year so he'd have a base.
"This year it looks like it could be a little different. Maybe we'll be just hoping for the best at the latter part of the season to get him in shape."
As well as Bonner and Elson have played, Popovich does not want the Spurs to go into the playoffs without an Horry capable of making more big shots.
"Robert does a lot of things on the court that a lot of people can't do because he understands the game so well," Popovich said. "He understands what's important and what's necessary at particular times. You can't replace that basketball knowledge, so we'd like to get that back."
http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/b...n.34eedb6.html
Hopefully Horry isn't really hurt and it's just a ploy to get more minutes for Bonner and Elson. Hamstring injuries can linger all season.
Horry, even though he doesn't do much in the regular season, is such an important part of the Spurs winning in the playoffs that it'd suck to try to repeat without him at near 100%. His off the charts basketball IQ alone make him a player you want on the court at the end of games.
He should have made friends with Brady
LMAO Bio-mechanics........
"This year it looks like it could be a little different. Maybe we'll be just hoping for the best at the latter part of the season to get him in shape."
I think it'll all work out pretty well. As I said before the season, I hoped Bonner would get a lot of Horry's minutes early in the season to show what he's got, and that's exactly what has happened. As long as Rob is back in shape by AS Break, I don't care how much we see of him before then. That's when the season really starts...
As for this: "Robert does a lot of things on the court that a lot of people can't do because he understands the game so well," I knew it already, although it's harder to see on TV. When I sat courtside I got a true indication of just how much Rob is doing off the ball out there - he's always moving, setting screens, jostling people, talking it up. Incredible to see up close! He is the definition of a pro balla!
The guy's been done for awhile now. Time to move on.
Please do. Don't let us keep you, TA.
This sounds like bs..Horry is fine
Pop just wants to make sure he has enough in the tank for the playoffs
hope everything clears up for Horry's personal situations
Not concerned about Mr. Horry as far as basketball goes. Let him come back with 30 games left. Bonner's playing well and the swingman position dosn't need more compe ion and the big man contingent looks pretty interesting at the moment.
he should stop fappin
with his hamstring?
Horry's age seems to be catching up with him . . .
Hmmm. I hope it's just tweaked and not something that really needs attention. That could be bad. I am curious about just how much he needs to get back in shape and be ready to play. And while I'm glad he's around for another year, I would kind of like to continue working with Bonner and Elson early on to see what they can give us and to see how they will do if Rob can't play for some reason or another.
This is not good if this is true. However, Elson and Bonner have been playing good.
As long as he is ready for the playoff, it's not a big deal.
Let's hope won't fail in the category "should have retired one year sooner."
Unless you live in Houston! Texans vs. the ing Raiders! Real ing marquee mother ing matchup there! Woohoo!Like most football fans in South Texas, Robert Horry spent Sunday afternoon watching the battle of the NFL unbeatens.
As for Horry, I have faith that between the Spurs staff already being well versed in geriatric medicine, and how little pressing need there is for his return that he can be back healthy for the run down the stretch. Rest up Rob.
I like Pop's position that Robert and Michael must play significant minutes, esp after the ASB, in order to be in game shape, be familiar with the new players, etc. as preparation for the playoffs.
Rust ac ulates faster and dissipates more slowly at their age. The only sure rust-remover is playing time.
Like most of us, I'm not at all worried about the prospect of Horry coming back during the latter half of the season. I just hope that Bonner can develop enough for him to hang up the jersey for good without the Spurs breaking stride next season.
No matter how well Bonner develops, we will need Horry. Dude is just a playmaker in addition to his cold-blooded clutchness.
Did he ever use them to begin with? Hayuck hayuck..
We're going to need him to put steve nash on his ass again this year.
Give him the month of November to recover and rehab a bit, then start working him into the rotation a bit here and there in December. He does need some time in the regualr season to get his bearings and start to build for the playoffs, but 3 games into 82 isn't the time to rev him up. If Bonner keeps hitting shots and actually begins to be sound on defense then he'll eat up a lot of those minutes in the regular season.
I think this is one of those "Mahinmi" hamstrings. I was laughing, because Rob said something about 2-3 weeks, right about when the D League starts up.I'm guessing Vaughn's whatever is also going to get magically better in 2-3 weeks.
Why on Earth are we worried about Robert Horry on November 5th?
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