VERY good signing for the Spurs. He is an athletic defensive wing player who shoots over 30% from 3pt range. He'll fit in perfectly at SF. http://espn.go.com/nba/news/2001/0731/1233390.html SAN ANTONIO -- Small forward Bruce Bowen signed with the San Antonio Spurs on Tuesday, but it still wasn't clear if he would be Sean Elliott's teammate or replacement. Elliott, who came back last year from a kidney transplant, hasn't said yet if he will return for another season. He hinted that he might retire after the Spurs were swept by the Los Angeles Lakers in the Western Conference finals last season. "Sean and I have spoken several times and at this point in time, Sean is weighing all of his options and trying to decide if he wants to play again," Spurs coach and general manager Gregg Popovich said. "Personally, I think he's leaning towards trying to play, but he has not said that to me. That's just my own personal feeling." Elliott, the 33-year-old forward, was plagued by a knee injury last season. He hasn't given any public indication of what he will do. In Bowen, the Spurs get a 6-foot-7 free agent who played for the Miami Heat last season and has established himself as one of the NBA's best defensive players. Bowen, one of several free agents who left the Heat during the summer after Miami was beaten in the playoffs by a lower-seeded team for the fourth straight season, averaged 7.6 points, 3 rebounds, 1.6 assists last year. He appeared in 82 games and started 72. He made 33 percent of his 3-pointers, ranking second on the Heat. "He brings something we really needed to get back on our team -- a guy that can go out and stop people the way Sean Elliott has done for so many years. So Bruce is a big addition for us," Popovich said. "He's a big-time defender. On offense, what Bruce is going to bring us is someone who can spread the court adequately." The Spurs previously added shooting guard Steve Smith, who was attained in a trade with Portland for disgruntled guard Derek Anderson and Steve Kerr. San Antonio had already re-signed David Robinson. ------------------ What if I say to you that the universe is a three-legged horse, eh? What then? - Russell Hoban
I agree this is a great acquistion for them. Bowen is a big improvement at SF over Ferry. [This message has been edited by SteveFrancis3 (edited August 01, 2001).]
This is a lot like when the Spurs signed Mario Elie and if things go as well as they did when they signed Elie, we might be lookin at our '01-'02 world champions in the San Antonio Spurs. ------------------ Life quotes:-Statistics are like a bikini;what they reveal is suggestive, but what they conceal is vital. -You can get much farther with a kind word and a gun than you can with a kind word alone. -Anyone who can walk to the welfare office can walk to work. -Budget:A method for going broke methodically. -We've sent a man to the moon,and thats 29000 miles away. The center of the Earth is only 4000 miles away. You could drive that in a week but for some reason nobodys ever done it. -I either want less corruption or more chance to participate in it. -People will accept your idea much more readily if you tell them Benjamin Franklin said it first. -As long as people will accept crap it will be financially profitable to dispense it. -Laugh at your problems,everyone else does. -Sex is not the answer.Sex is the question.Yes is the answer. -If at first you don't succeed,redefine success.
They have no chance. ------------------ "banging Shaq is a whole different expirience"-Pete Babcock Behold the power of quotation
I think the Spurs are more then capable of beating the Lakers as long as they get their heads on straight. ------------------ What if I say to you that the universe is a three-legged horse, eh? What then? - Russell Hoban
A solid signing, but not one to get them over the top. Bowen did nothing defensely or offensively when he team got scorched by guards and a SF with his teams season on the line. Bowen is a fine back-up over the course of a season, but you hate to try to further your standing as an elite team by starting him though.
The Spurs will have a good defense, but let's not get carried away here. I would take Hakeem, Thorpe and Horry in a millisecond over those guys. I'd take Verson and Kenny over Smith and AD too, because two of them suck and Vernon was wicked on D. The Spurs 99 team with DR, TD, Elliot, Elie & AJ was a better defesive team to. Bowen may be good defensively but he is no Elliot, D Rob was younger, and Mario and Smith are from different planets defensively. Also, Mashburn was a huge problem for the Heat, Bowen did nothing versus him. And it is not like Mashburn is a great player or unstoppable player by any stretch. Bowen's 25% 3 and 32% FG didn't help the matters either, which is probably why he didn't get all that much PT. Again, it is a good signing under the circumstance, but you hate to got to war with this guy as a starter. I don't like the Spurs chances for making it through the West if they have to start AD and Bowen for offensive reasons, even if the team might be able to cover Snith's weaknesses on D.
Damn. Spurs have to have AD in their lineup. He can't score. Spurs have to add a second team All-NBA Defense member to their starting lineup. Oh no. [This message has been edited by MrSpur (edited August 01, 2001).]
Gee, the Spurs just signed Shandon Anderson with even less offense. I'm shaking in fear, now. ------------------ Clutchcity.net... source for all your Rockets, Astros, political, music, humor, and Gordita news.
ah, yes. the famed *Championship. quite impressive ----------------------------------------------------------------- shandn has no "o" & neither does bruce bwen.
Bowen's role in SA is defense. As for his placement in the starting lineup, so what? The last time I checked you don't need an all-star at every spot in your starting lineup to win a title. So Bowen is the 5th option offensively. Good. Free agents who have joined the Spurs in previous offseasons have seen their shooting averages improve once they came to SA...namely DA, whose 3point% jumped by 9%, on more attempts. Bowen's a spot up shooter, that fits well within the SA offense. The main void right now is a backup center and perhaps a scorer off the bench would be nice. Philly gets so much hype because of Mutombo, yet SA has two top defensive bigmen of their own. The Sixers deserve credit for their efforts versus LA, but I just don't see a Spurs team that is replacing Porter/DA/Ferry in the starting lineup with AD/SSmith/Bowen and retaining Porter/DFerry for bench duty as regressing, or even falling behind the Sixers. It'll be interesting to see how the rules changes play out. It's not just the elimination of the standard illegal D, it's also the elimination/easing of the handcheck/touch foul rules of the last 2 seasons. Whatever the NBA's motive for the rule changes, defense just increased in its significance again, whereas 2 years ago offense did. Having 2 shotblockers who can play closer to the basket now than ever will be an overlooked plus for the Spurs. DA's athleticism will be missed, but his shot selection won't. Athletes are never bad to have in the NBA, but will a cutter be as effective against defenses that don't have to spread the floor as much because of the threat of illegal D calls? We'll see what happens. LA is the team to beat until proven otherwise, but the Spurs have definitely improved this summer, and have gotten an extra boost with the rules changes. ------------------ It's a cool site, this clutchcity.net
Wow. Now that is really an impressive take. You have really been a positive contributor to the discussion. ------------------ It's a cool site, this clutchcity.net
Bowen is a much better roleplayer then Shandon Anderson. He is capable of scoring more, is a better shooter, and is just as good a defender. He is pretty much a Mario Elie-type player. I'm kind of shocked though that Rocket fans would call someone else's championships an asterick championship considering what we have gone through for years. ------------------ What if I say to you that the universe is a three-legged horse, eh? What then? - Russell Hoban
Bruce Bowen is not a good basketball player. Isn't it fitting that he's now considered a 'defensive specialist' after playing with a very good frontline, and coincidentally, a team whose man to man defense is in actuallity a zone. Ugh, now you could make a case that he'll be equally effective defensively with the inception of the new rules, and perhaps even better now that he'll be playing with the twin towers, but I don't buy it. I'll concede the fact that he's a great on the ball defender... not so sure about team defense, though with the Spurs, even Ferry looked to be a decent defender. Playing with Robinson and Duncan will create that illusion. Let me throw out some career stats on Bruce Bowen... free throw%:60% fg%:37% This is a horrible number no matter how you twist the facts. ppg:5.1, with his career year being a 7.6 per game explosion. I don't buy into the theory that he's a set shooter. Bruce Bowen is, overall, a horrible shooter with an ugly release. Bowen can fit into the Spurs system, and probably fare quite well, but he will still be the weak spot in your starting lineup, without question. ------------------ The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation [This message has been edited by tacoma park legend (edited August 01, 2001).]
If Ron Harper can start for multiple championship teams in his mid -to- late 30s, Bowen sure as heck can. How can you say that DA/Ferry is a better 2-3 combo than Smith/Bowen? Ferry is crap. I had no idea Bowen was all-NBA defensively either. Wow. ------------------ "Is that good for us?" --Rudy T, after Starks missed that 3 in the '94 Finals
Mr Spur, thank you for reposting my post for me, i guess... now can you tell me where i lied in the quote you reposted?? where was i misleading? bruce bowen - ACCORDING TO HIS AGENT - was not a "lock". plain and simple.
now that he's signed, big whoop. congratulations, i guess. either way, i'll be enjoying those 2 seats after this season !!!