tinman

Is this the end ? or is he waiting to rescue a team?




http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/...s/29984294.html
Mike Monroe - Express-News

At 11:30 Tuesday morning, the Spurs were finishing up the first day of training camp, shouting and sweating their way through a zone defense drill that stressed vocal intimidation as a viable tactic.

About the same time, some 140 miles to the East, Robert Horry was on his way to a health club in Katy, where he intended to get in a good cardio workout and a few pick-up games with lunchtime basketballers.

“Sometimes,” confided ‘Big Shot Rob', “I let the guys on the other team win, just so they can go home and tell their friends they kicked my butt.”

This is the first time in 16 years that NBA training camps opened without Horry, the league's all-time leader in postseason games played and owner of seven championship rings. After they were eliminated by the Lakers in the Western Conference finals, the Spurs concluded they had to head into the future without Horry, who helped them win two titles in his five seasons in silver and black.

A few days into July, Horry got a call from Gregg Popovich. The head coach's message was short, and to the point:

“He told me there were some other guys they wanted to bring in,” Horry said. “He said that was the direction they wanted to go, but he'd let me know if that didn't work out.

“I thanked him for the honesty. I said, ‘You're a man, and I'm a man. No use pushing it.'”

It was not an easy conversation for Popovich.

“Robert was somebody who helped us win championships,” he said. “He exhibited great work ethic. He was a wonderful teammate and a wonderful player to coach. He always had a smile ready for everybody. He was part of the fabric of our family.

“Telling him that we weren't going to bring him back was very difficult, but he appreciated the honesty. At some point, it happens to everybody.”

Popovich will be heartened to know that Horry seems perfectly content being out of the game, at least for now.

“Not being in camp doesn't feel strange at all,” Horry said. “I thought it would, but, honestly, it doesn't.”

What it feels like is liberation.

“I've been playing 16 years,” he said, “and counting four years of playoff games, my body has told me I need more than three months of rest between seasons. I haven't felt this good for a long time, physically and mentally, too.”

Teams with the most experience win championships, and that explains why Popovich annually delights in reminding the world that the Spurs are “older than dirt.” Even now, with a 22-year-old rookie and a replacement for Horry who is 11 years younger, the Spurs will be among the league's oldest teams.

But Horry is right: As players get on the far side of 35, three months isn't enough time to refresh bodies battered by a season that is too long and playoff runs that extend to mid-June.

No wonder, then, that Michael Finley, who will turn 36 before season's end, showed up for Spurs camp having dropped significant weight since that Game 5 loss to the Lakers in the Western Conference finals ended the Spurs' hopes of defending their 2007 NBA title. Pushing through two-a-days is a lot easier for a 35-year-old who has gone from 235 to 220, even one who never has been thought of as even a few pounds overweight.

Finley can't wrap his mind around the notion of not being in a training camp as October arrives, but he understands Horry's sense of renewal.

“My body just knows when it's time for training camp,” he said. “Physically and mentally, it's still there. I couldn't see not being a part of one.”

What Horry can still see is a call, perhaps in February or March, from a title contender in need of a savvy veteran for the stretch run. The Celtics signed 38-year-old P.J. Brown out of retirement last season on Feb. 28. He helped them win the 2008 title.

Horry's playoff savvy and proven ability to make a big shot should make him every bit as valuable an addition next February as Brown was then. He promises to stay in good enough shape to come out of retirement if the call comes.

“I won't be filing official retirement papers any time soon, that's for sure,” Horry said. “You'll probably see me on somebody's roster before the season is over.”

Who knows? It might even be the Spurs.

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rox4lyf

rest easy tinman. save the champagne bottles because rob's never making a return appearance.

opticon

after seeing what happened to keith vanhorn if i was a player i would never file those papers

DcProWLer277

Well if our PF rotation was still Weatherpoon, Bowen, and Howard I'd welcome him back with open arms.

tinman

I don't want to spoil anything for you, but Hancock doesn't die at the end of the movie. He's been there for centuries and he was sent here to save us.. first the Rockets .. then the NBA .. then the human race

The_Yoyo

horry could log spot minutes at center --i think he did at times for the spurs.


it would be fitting and his career would come full circle imo that if deke isnt available or decides to retire to take a look at horry.


if anything he can teach the other guys on the team on how to throw an entry pass to yao

nWo34Life

I would like to see Horry on this team. It would be awesome to stick it to the Spurs when we kick their ass in the playoffs w/ their former guns.

BleedsRocketRed

Believe me, as much as I want to relive 94 and 95, but I just dont see a good reason to bring in Horry at this point in his career other than nostalgia. I loved him as a Rocket, but the guy just isn't that good anymore. 5 fouls, and the occasional 3 pointer here and there. Thats it

Originally Posted by rockets934life YOU CAN'T STOP CHUCK HAYES YOU CAN ONLY HOPE TO CONTAIN HIM!

tinman

Horry can do this for another 4 years, not play and wait for a call in February or March.

tinman

the Spurs made it to the WCF last year..
and that was with an INJURED ROBERT HORRY!

BleedsRocketRed

Exactly, they didn't need him.

Originally Posted by rockets934life YOU CAN'T STOP CHUCK HAYES YOU CAN ONLY HOPE TO CONTAIN HIM!

tinman

they would have won the finals if he was not hurt.

the nba finals would have been triple overtime
between the Spurs vs the Celtics

Sam Cassell vs Robert Horry in epic buzzer beaters
Garnett comes flying at Horry in the corner, but too late

Swish.. Game over!

Instant ESPN Classic

xiki

The man isn't even NBA ready earlier than then; more like early spring.

Rockets Red Glare

Wonder where he plays in Katy...Lifetime I am guessing.

Groogrux

I see him in our office building every couple months. I'll give him a shout out next time I do, tell him to be ready for his third championship run with the Rockets come March.

AroundTheWorld

I'd love to bring him back if we had space on the roster. I just don't see anyone right now (if we bring back Deke and get rid of Head) that we could drop for him.

pmac

I would like to see the Rockets pick him up...specifically for the rights to his DNA. They need to figure out whatever it is that he has and inject into our team, immediately.

KDavis

Robert Horry is an exceptional human being!

He is always a team player!

KingCheetah

Good God bring Horry back for one year -- talk about your mega karma.