Popovich has always adapted, changed. The first championship teams in San Antonio were defensive behemoths, funneling everything inside to Robinson and Tim Duncan — who, just as quickly, sent everything back out. The next iteration ran everything through Duncan in the half court. The next version leaned into Tony Parker’s and Manu Ginobili’s offensive gifts and embraced the 3 — even though Popovich personally hated leaning so much on that shot – and made guys like Bruce Bowen threats in the short corner. Then came a title team built around the emerging superstardom of Kawhi Leonard. Popovich has always, to use one of his colloquialisms, gotten over himself.
Bruce Bowen Rumors
All NBA Players
#0
Bruce Bowen
Position: -
Born: 06/14/71
Height: 6-7 / 2.01
Weight:199 lbs. / 90.7 kg.
Earnings: $30,338,350 ($46,132,711*)
Born: 06/14/71
Height: 6-7 / 2.01
Weight:199 lbs. / 90.7 kg.
Earnings: $30,338,350 ($46,132,711*)
In San Antonio, taking a lead role in an H-E-B commercial is akin to following Laurence Olivier as Hamlet. Johnson said he is aware of the Duncan-sized shoes he is being asked to fill. “It is an honor and a blessing to go and put on a jersey for the Spurs and to be in those commercials,” Johnson said. Thematically, the commercials traditionally range from silly to comically absurd — think Ginobili and Parker wearing Greek togas, Bowen playing bongo drums or Leonard overpronouncing the word “indubitably.”
“If I can be a little physical with him and make him work a little bit more, a lot like [defending] Steve Nash. Now when it comes time to finish plays, maybe he’s not as geared to finish the plays quite like he was in the beginning, because he’s being pressured a little bit. Now he has to worry about what I’m doing from the standpoint of making him work, work, work while he has the ball and bringing it up the floor. “It’s not something comfortable. Yes, he can do it. But does he want to do it? Probably not.”
Robert Covington: Coach [Brett] Brown and Coach [Lloyd] Pierce, they saw how good I could shoot and how things came for me on the offensive end, but they said you’ve gotta turn into Bruce Brown, Kawhi Leonard, Tony Allen, all these different people that can be things on both ends of the court. The main person that I watched was Scottie Pippen because that was my favorite player. Coach Pierce was so adamant about watching film and teaching me and it became a thing of habit. When we didn’t watch film I’d be like ‘yo what are we doing? What’s up? You good, coach?’ But those are the types of habits that we built, and he liked to see that I was on him as much as I was.
RJ Marquez: Another powerful account in the #SpursVoices series to highlight of racial injustice and inequality. Sean Elliott discusses being called the N-word while golfing with Bruce Bowen in San Antonio. #Spurs
