And Smith has arrived in SA. The 'drama' is over. ------------------ It's a cool site, this clutchcity.net
Ferry is fine as a role player off the bench. Would definitely prefer to see him log minutes at the 4 instead of the 3. Yeah, pretty much crap defensively, though less now, especially with his height and Duncan/DRob backing him up. Don't overlook the defense of AD. At 6'4" and with his large wingspan he'll be great to have defending opposing points instead of 2s like last season. ------------------ It's a cool site, this clutchcity.net [This message has been edited by MrSpur (edited August 01, 2001).]
On 2 foul shots a game. On 5 shots a game. He's a jumpshooter, takes a lot of 3s and longer range shots. But, as I have said, he is the 5th option on offense. He's a role player. His role is not to put up big numbers, it is to defend. The perimeter players whose job it is to score are Smith and Daniels. With AD Smith Duncan and Robinson, Bowen is fine on offense. Players do seem to improve on their perimeter shooting when they join SA. ------------------ It's a cool site, this clutchcity.net
Well the field goal percentage definitely has to step up, but that could change if he is given more shots, but his 33% 3pt shooting shows that maybe his shooting percentage was down because Miami asked him to shoot 3s more instead of going for high percentage shots. As for his 7.6 average, keep in mind that Mario Elie didn't average double digits until a year or 2 AFTER the championship years when he was given a defined role with the Spurs. I mean the guy only averaged about 5 or 6 shots a game! ------------------ What if I say to you that the universe is a three-legged horse, eh? What then? - Russell Hoban
If you're hoping for an effective defensive player in Bowen, then you've found your man. But don't believe that he is even passable offensively. He's got a (slightly below-average) three point shot, but nothing else. He's certainly never going to be as effective as Elie was at one point in his career. Think of him more as a Stacey Augmon or a Keith Askins and you'll get a better picture of his strengths and weaknesses. ------------------ I'm so amazingly cool you could keep a side of meat in me for a month. I am so hip that I have difficulty seeing over my pelvis.
oooooooh, keith askins. you reached waaaaay back in the napsack for that one. and it's purty damn accurate, if i may say so.
The way I look at it, he's the 5th offensive option and anything he provides is gravy. His job is to defend. Now, in the season before last, he shot like 46% on 3s in 27 games. Of course, that was when Miami had Zo playing, and playing well. The 3pt shooting% of players seems to increase when they come to SA. ------------------ It's a cool site, this clutchcity.net
mrspur: You keep hammering us with the fact that he'll be the 5th option on offense. Ok. That works if you're the Lakers and have two guys averaging close to 30pts. But the Spurs don't. Duncan will probably get aroudn 25. Robinson *might* get 15 again, although further decline is possible. Smith might average 15-17. And I seriously doubt Antonio Daniels or Tony Key is going to average more than 10 this year. So you're left with about 30 pts that you need from the rest of your team. That means that someone like a 5th starter is going to make a meaningful contribution. The Spurs are a lot like the Sixers were last year, but with less overall talent. They have a superb defense, and a guy who can really score (Duncan). But they don't have a dynamic offense in which any player can be a threat. ------------------ Clutchcity.net... source for all your Rockets, Astros, political, music, humor, and Gordita news.
OMG, I couldn't have said it better!!! I've taken so much sh*t about our championships, I can't believe a Rockets fan would back up Phil Jackson with the asterisk BS. ------------------ Check out my site: The Steve Francis Fan Site
Haven The Spurs have overall less Talent than the Sizers? I have to disagree on that Well. . . at least the talent on the court Spurs suffer under a Delusional moron for a coach I'm not a Pop hater. . but he was pretty bone headed in my opinion against the Lakers last year. The spurs could and maybe should have run IF they had a DECENT coach Rocket river ------------------
Glad you liked the semi old-school reference, verse. Riley has the knack of finding good 2 diminsional (3 point shooter & defender) guys. Voshon Lenard was also pretty good for awhile... MrSpur, I think those 99-00 numbers may be skewed, since they are a deviation from his career 35% shooting, and he shot fewer than 60 threes in that season - hardly a big sample size. Plus the new zone will mean that teams can guard the post without having to leave men open on the perimeter, which will hurt the Spurs perimeter numbers. I wouldn't hope for 40+% threes from Bowen, but then again I'm betting that the Spurs will consider any offense gravy from him. His job is to make sure that guys like Kobe don't embarrass the Spurs as much as they did last season. ------------------ I'm so amazingly cool you could keep a side of meat in me for a month. I am so hip that I have difficulty seeing over my pelvis.
I bring up the '99-'00 numbers because that is when he definitely played with a strong post presence in Mourning. DA shot roughly 31% on 3s in the season prior to joining the Spurs and then 40% with more attempts when he joined the Spurs. Granted, these are entirely different players, but I thought that 27 games, a little over a 4th of a season, was a decent amount of playing time to get a feel for how he might shoot with a post game like SA's. I've agreed with you...anything from Bowen is definitely gravy...I just think he may shoot a little better in SA, but as you point out, he definitely wasn't brought in for offense. ------------------
Well, assessment of "overall" talent aside, the thing about next season is that a "dynamic" offense is going to lose its value relative to a "smart" offense. Sure, the Spurs are not full of guys who can break people off, but do they need to be? The key, IMO, for a team next season is the boring old fundamentals of ball movement, screens, spacing, and shooting. I know the rules are supposedly set up to encourage more breaks, but so were the rule changes of two years ago, and we still saw the same old halfcourt, pound it in action that we are accustomed to. Now defenses have more flexibility. The value of the cutter/slasher has declined some, IMO. No longer will the floor be spread out as much do to concerns about illegal D calls. The offense may not be dynamic, but was it in '99? That was the last year with as much defensive flexibility as we shall see this upcoming season. AD/Smith/Duncan/Robinson may not be dynamic, but that's definitely not that horrible either. I've posted earlier in this thread that I'd like to see them add another scorer. There are still some decent free agents left...if enough money dries up, the Spurs might be able to land a decent player like a Jim Jackson for the minimum... especially in this day of the 'luxury tax' or whatever. I'm not saying it will, but I've heard that teams like Milwaukee weren't going to even bother to use their MCX. I think the team is pretty solid as is, but it definitely would be nice to have a guy like Jim Jackson on the team. Defense is the name of the game next season, though. ------------------ [This message has been edited by Spurever (edited August 01, 2001).]
Desert--it was hard for Bowen to effectively guard his man in the playoffs when he kept having to come over to help on Baron Davis, who was EMBARASSING Tim Hardaway in that series. With Bowen, Duncan, and Robinson, we may be looking at one of the greatest defensive frontlines in NBA history. That being said, the Spurs need a stellar performance from Steve Smith if they want to even think about winning a championship. ------------------
