Posts Tagged ‘Spurs’
George Gervin, The most underrated…EVER
I grew up in San Antonio, as a kid back in the 1980’s, therefore, I am a George Gervin. (Shut up! that’s how my mind works.)
To this day, I have always been one of many who think Ice Man is the most underrated player in the NBA ever. If only ESPN and the internet was around when he was playing…
There is a new sports site in town. It’s called www.thegoodpoint.com . There is an article written by Austin Kern about his interviewing Ice Man. Go here to check it out.
Bruce Bowen Knows The Score
By J.A. Adande | ESPN.com
SAN ANTONIO — There aren’t many NBA players who can walk out of the arena with their heads held high when their man outscores them 30-5. For Bruce Bowen that counted as a quality day at the office Sunday. Sure, Kobe Bryant got 30 on him. But only one of those points came from the free-throw line, it took 23 field goal attempts for Kobe to get there, none of Bryant’s teammates had a big night, and the Spurs won.
“People will look at me like, ‘Yeah, Kobe killed you,’” Bowen said. “That’s part of the game. He’s the MVP. Michael Jordan did it to me early in the league, and look at him. Whatcha gonna do?
“My thing is just not putting him on the free-throw line. That’s what I don’t want to do …. He’s good, but you don’t want to give him everything.”
In the previous series against Utah, Bryant feasted at the free-throw line, taking 96 attempts in six games. Now the free throws are as hard to come by as food on an airplane these days: six in three games versus the Spurs.
Bowen’s thinking is that fewer free throws means more field goal attempts for Bryant. “If he’s taking all those attempts, then others aren’t getting involved,” Bowen said. “Now, some of those guys can’t operate on seven shots, especially when they only hit two of them. Now it becomes more difficult, now they get it, it’s like ‘I’ve gotta hit this.’”
Think of it as Bowen’s version of help defense, even though he has to stay on his man. The better play by the supporting cast this season makes Bowen’s job harder, because his teammates aren’t free to come double-team Bryant. No complaints from Bowen. Just another night of work.
Yes, you can count Bryant among the Lakers’ collection of international players that also includes Sasha Vujacic from Slovenia, Pau Gasol from Spain, Vladimir Radmanovic from Serbia and Montenegro, DJ Mbenga from the Congo and Ronny Turiaf from France.
From age 6 to age 13, Bryant lived in Italy while his father played professional basketball in Europe.
Bill Russell once said of Bryant, “I came to the conclusion he’s a foreign player. You can’t talk to him like he’s from L.A. Because if you do, you’re going to have difficulty.”
Maybe that explains why Bryant is more integrated with this team than with any other Lakers squad in his 12 seasons in L.A. Not only was he a teenager among grown men when he came into the league as an 18-year-old, he also was a cultural outsider on a roster made entirely of Americans. Bryant’s curiosity and hunger for knowledge are just as insatiable as his desire to be the best basketball player ever to lace ‘em up, and foreign players have something to offer Bryant: new words, new customs and new information. Bryant likes to speak to them in their native languages, showing an ever-increasing vocabulary. It’s as if he’s adding a new move to his repertoire.
“What we have is a collection of players that come from all over the place; everybody wants to learn about the culture, the language,” Bryant said. “It makes things more fun in the locker room.”
It’s a little counterintuitive. More people from different backgrounds improving unity? Well, that’s the way it’s working.
“Every guy is bringing something different,” Radmanovic said. “Once you put it all together, you get a nice atmosphere and guys just enjoying being around each other. Once you have that, that’s one of the biggest and most important parts of playing well.
“You can have the 10 best players in the world on the floor, but if they don’t get along with each other, I don’t think it’s going to work out. What we have right now, it’s beautiful.”
The Best and The Worst NBA Playoff Games Last Night
If you tuned into the NBA playoff games last night, you are probably feeling the same way I did last night. I saw the “ying” and the “yang” of playoff baseketball.
First, the worst…Cleveland vs. Boston….boy, I hope the advertisers get some kind of refund or credit. That was one of THE WORST PLAYOFF GAMES EVER!!! I actually got more enjoyment sorting my socks out of the laundry while watching that garbage they called a game last night.
Now…for the Best!!!…New Orleans vs. San Antonio.
Thank God for Tivo!!! I wasn’t able to watch the game when it started, due to getting the kids to bed for the night and other things that needed to be done. But when I sat down to watch the game, everything else in my universe ceased to exist (except for that halftime snack that had to be made and consumed.)
I can not remember the last time that I saw so many elements in one game that caught my attention.
Tony Parker and Chris “CP3″ Paul – both had comparable offensive numbers. Chris Paul had 35 points and 9 assists. Tony Parker went for 31 points and 11 assists. Now there stats pretty much offset each other, but the matchup could be considered one of the best of all time. Tony Parker played at the same level that garnished him the MVP award for the finals last year. Jon Barry said it best that Chris Paul “plays with the mind of Magic Johnson and the body of Isiah Thomas”.
The energy level of this game by both teams was one for the ages. What I mean by that is watching both teams not only on the fastbreak, but when they were in their half court offense. Neither team never stopped moving, constantly running their offensive play without ever getting flat-footed. New Orleans ran more give and go’s than I could count.
The Spurs winning came down to a couple of issues. One, the Spurs were able to hit their open shots, something they had problems with in the first two games of the series. Second, out side of Chris Paul and D-west (23 points, 12 rebounds) they were able to contain the rest of the team. Bruce Bowen did what he does best…he shut down Peja Stojakovic. Peja had only 8 points in 35 minutes, way below his norm. Bonzi Wells was his usual self, a waste of space and a waste of money.
The Spurs are the oldest team in the league, but they are also the defending chanps, and they showed that last night. The old crew did what they were brought in to do. Michael Finley was hitting his 3 pointers, Bowen was a defensive monster with HIS 3 pointer on target, and Kurt Thomas providing valuable minutes and rebounds.
Oh yeah, a couple of guys Duncan and Manu pitched in also.
But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Those Hornets are no joke. They are for real!!! Chris Paul is the real deal. D-West has turned into a basketball monster this playoff year; a defensive power forward body, with the skills of an offensive small forward. the Spurs still haven’t figured out how to slow him down. The rest of the team, save Bonzi Wells, compliments those two with knowing what their rolls are.
Three games down, and I hope there are four to go. Next game is Sunday evening, on TNT. I’ll be there.
NBA Playoffs Picture
Two weeks until playoffs, and no one team had clinched a birth out in the West!!!
And the possibility of a team with 50+ wins not making it in? Did anyone ever consider a 50+ team entering the lottery for next draft, let alone getting the number one pick??!!!
