The Spurs need not break a sweat for this one. Jeff Green's spearheading the Thunder attack though. Basin taud2x, makaapas ang OKC.
The Spurs need not break a sweat for this one. Jeff Green's spearheading the Thunder attack though. Basin taud2x, makaapas ang OKC.
To quote Sean Elliott, "It doesn't mention how close the games were in the 'W' column."
109-104 Spurs.
Last edited by tackielarla; 12-15-2008 at 10:23 AM.
paytera gud aning spurs.........wait lang ni sa ako team.... na lakers or piston..
^ ^ Ehehehe no comment bro. Though you support the Lakers and I have mine here, at least we understand each other.
Anyways, next game is on Wednesday vs the Hornets. Though we're riding a 7-game winning streak, the Hornets (and Rockets next) would be a good test for our fully-deployed team.
Wrestling with a choice, Spurs' Bonner chooses to shoot
By Jeff McDonald
Finally, after 29 minutes and 33 seconds of grappling and tugging, scratching and clawing, Craig Smith had officially had quite enough of Matt Bonner.
The two were slap fighting for a rebound late in the Spurs' victory at Minnesota on Friday when Smith, the Timberwolves' Rottweiler of a power forward, went Greco-Roman. Smith hooked his right arm into Bonner's left and, in one fell motion, flung the Spurs center back-first onto the Target Center floor.
It was in that moment, staring at the ceiling both bewildered and amused, that Bonner first began to consider his eventual retirement.
“I think I've got a career in WWE coming up after basketball,” Bonner said. “Me and Craig Smith will start a tag team.”
Bonner, whose Spurs host Oklahoma City tonight, chuckled at the audacity of his own joke.
“Hey,” he said, “everybody needs a Plan B.”
These days, Bonner's improbable Plan A — starting center for the Spurs — seems to be working out just fine.
After languishing on the bench for much of his two seasons in San Antonio, causing some in the organization to privately wonder if he would amount to anything approaching a useful player, the 28-year-old Bonner at last seems to have discovered his NBA niche.
In six games since joining the starting five, Bonner is averaging 11.2 points and shooting 28 of 45 from the field — a simmering 62 percent. Bonner is making 51.9 percent of his shots from 3-point range, which means the Spurs' starting center also is the league's leading long-range marksman.
“It's a pretty easy gig, because you've got Tim (Duncan), Tony (Parker) and Manu (Ginobili),” Bonner said, failing to note that he occasionally also has the likes of Smith flying at him. “They attract a lot of attention.”
At 6-foot-10, Bonner isn't a conventional NBA center. He isn't an intimidating defender, and the next post-up basket he scores will be his first.
But Spurs coach Gregg Popovich loves the way Bonner's jump shot can stretch the floor, clearing space for a player who can score from the post, namely Duncan.
As such, Bonner has slid almost seamlessly into the role previously occupied by Robert Horry. In his fifth NBA season, Bonner is averaging career highs in points (7. and rebounds (4.6), while shooting 55.9 percent from the field, also a career best.
“He's finally getting minutes, consistent minutes,” Duncan said. “And he's learned to make the most of them.”
Bonner has played a significant part in the Spurs' five-game winning streak, a whirlwind turnabout from the three-game stretch in mid-November in which he logged a grand total of 42 seconds.
Bonner had fallen out of the rotation, and in private, some team officials wondered if he would be able to play his way back into it. If Bonner heard the whispers, he did his best to ignore them.
“When you start thinking about that kind of stuff, it will drive you crazy in this business,” Bonner said. “For me, it's a game, and I'm just going to work hard at it and do what I can to help the team win.”
Bonner readily admits his problem has always been one of confidence.
A self-flagellating perfectionist, Bonner would often flog himself over every missed shot. Long before Smith came along, Bonner was his own wrestling partner.
Eventually, he would stop shooting altogether, and eventually, he would find himself on the bench.
Bonner says he can't quite pinpoint the moment this season when his confidence began to increase. Popovich can.
“I decided to stop screaming at him and just let him play,” Popovich said.
Bonner disputes that account, at least partially.
“He still screams at me sometimes, but not for shooting,” Bonner said.
Still, Bonner does credit Popovich for clarifying his role earlier in the season. One day in November, Popovich came to Bonner with a simple directive: Shoot or sit.
“He made it clear: If I'm open, I need to shoot the ball,” Bonner said. “And if not, I'm not going to get in the game.”
Bonner has made his choice. He will shoot. And, Popovich willing, he will play.
The WWE's loss is the Spurs' gain.
If you have 5 dollars and Matt Bonner has 5 dollars, Matt Bonner has more money.
Matt Bonner won the slam dunk contest twice without ever joining it.
Matt Bonner is so tough,after going against him in a game Allen Iverson changed his nick name to the Question.
Matt Bonner doesn't get sweaty. The sweat gets Matt Bonner.
Matt Bonner can slam a revolving door !
Matt Bonner knows the last number of pi!
Matt Bonner is the result of when an unstoppable force meets an immovable object.
When Matt Bonner works out, the machines get stronger!
When the Boogeyman goes to sleep at night, he checks under his bed for Matt Bonner.
Matt Bonner can kill two stones with one bird.
You don't meet Matt Bonner; you survive Matt Bonner.
They started putting Matt Bonner's piss into cans and selling it... we now know this as red bull.
Matt Bonner doesn't read books. He stares them down until they give the information he wants.
Matt Bonner does not wear a watch, HE decides what time it is.
When the refs look at videos of Matt Bonner's last-second shots, they're not checking to see if he got it off on time, they just want to bask in it's awesomeness again.
Matt Bonner can dunk from the free throw line: the one at the other end of the court.
Matt Bonner grinds his coffee with his teeth and boils the water with his own rage.
Matt Bonner can make a reverse layup... facing the basket.
Matt Bonner can make a fade away jumpshot... going forward. And feet firmly on the ground.
Matt Bonner once beat the shot clock... with his bare fists.
Vlade Divac doesn't flop. Matt Bonner stares at him.
Coach asked Matt Bonner to take a charge. Latrell Sprewell choked him for that.
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