Bruce Bowen's game can be broken down into three components:
1. Defensive Bruce Bowen: this Bruce works his ass off, takes twelve steps a second and guards the hell out of his man. He had to work hard to get into the NBA and he plays like it, too. I respect this Bruce.
2. Gamesman Bruce Bowen: this Bruce grabs jerseys, flops, hand checks, plays overly physical, etc. Basically, he does as much as the refs will allow. He's not alone in this behavior, and this is the refs' fault, not his. While I don't like this Bruce, he's at least somewhat tolerable.
3. "Bill Laimbeer" Bruce Bowen: this Bruce maliciously fouls players, sometimes with complete disregard for opponents' safety, and sometimes unmistakably with intention to hurt or injure (1). This Bruce has kicked Amare Stoudemire's ankle, kneed Steve Nash in the balls, kicked Wally Szscszscserbiak in the face, stepped on Amare's foot as Amare went up for a dunk, and on Wednesday, March 12th, repeatedly kicked Chris Paul after the two had fought for a loose ball (2). This Bruce Bowen is unlikable except to sociopaths and should have been reined in by the league a long time ago.
Finally, the league got its head out of its ass and decided that they shouldn't allow some asshole to go around occasionally assaulting NBA players. I have a hard time figuring out what took the League so long. Two years ago, when Kobe had a habit of following through on jump shots in search of contact from a defender, he was suspended for making an "unnatural motion", or some bullcrap like that. The League had to step in immediately to address this egregious habit of Kobe's. Meanwhile, two years later, they're finally responding to the 2000's Bill Laimbeer. Way to be on the ball, losers.
(1) Unmistakable to rational minds free of prejudice and familiar with the natural movements of basketball players.
(2) I'm not bringing up Bowen's infamous "foot defense" (placing his foot under airborne shooters so that they land on his foot), because in some of the instances, it wasn't necessarily intentional, at least not as much so as in the cases where he clearly measures himself and his victim before committing some dangerous foul.
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3 comments:
Give me Bill Laimbeer on my team, ill take a little nasty, and toughness + his double double statistics and clutch plays. I want a player who wants to win, and will not back down from anyone, and run over anyone who will get in his teams way to win.
Bowen is a great lockdown defender, and 1 of the better defenders the league has had in the past decade. He is no Laimbeer to be sure as far as all-around player. But I have no issues with his game.
Laimbeer never injured anyone in his playing days. He put some folks on their asses, and many players landed good blows on him. I call that a draw. he could take it (which he used to his advantage) And he could lay the wood as well.
Bowen has done some things that make you feel he is out to injure players. But minus a few sprained ankles (And a kick to the jaw) I cant think of any careers he has ended, or put in legitimate jeopardy. (Laimbeer the same)
Your vile comments towards these 2 players, gives me the assumption that you are simply a fan of a team that has been defeated by the likes of these 2. WAWAWA cry me a river
As Magic Johnson once said. "You may not like, or agree with some of the things Laimbeer has done. But you must respect the way he plays the game. He plays to win) - And so does Bowen.
“Give me Bill Laimbeer on my team, ill take a little nasty, and toughness + his double double statistics and clutch plays. I want a player who wants to win, and will not back down from anyone, and run over anyone who will get in his teams way to win.
Bowen is a great lockdown defender, and 1 of the better defenders the league has had in the past decade. He is no Laimbeer to be sure as far as all-around player. But I have no issues with his game.
Laimbeer never injured anyone in his playing days. He put some folks on their asses, and many players landed good blows on him. I call that a draw. he could take it (which he used to his advantage) And he could lay the wood as well.”
I was careful to separate these aspects (“defensive Bowen” and “Gamesman Bowen”) of Bowen’s game from the dirty aspects. While we both respect Bowen’s hard work and tenacity (and Laimbeer’s too, for that matter), I do not respect either one’s roughhouse tactics. While some of their antics may overshadow their skill, I’m not blind to everything they bring to the table.
“Bowen has done some things that make you feel he is out to injure players. But minus a few sprained ankles (And a kick to the jaw) I cant think of any careers he has ended, or put in legitimate jeopardy. (Laimbeer the same)”
My conclusion that Bowen has tried to hurt or injure players is based on looking at his actions, not necessarily the results of his actions. For example, in both Amare instances I linked to, Bruce committed dangerous fouls whose intention I can’t help but ascribe to malice. Granted, I’m not a fundamentally sound basketball player in every aspect, but I’m pretty sure balls-kneeing, foot-stepping-on, face-kicking, or ankle-kicking, aren’t considered fundamentally sound defense.
“Your vile comments towards these 2 players, gives me the assumption that you are simply a fan of a team that has been defeated by the likes of these 2. WAWAWA cry me a river”
Let’s test this theory. If your theory is accurate, then I should feel the same way about any player who has been on a team who has defeated a team I favored (1). Let’s see: the ’93 Bulls (Suns), and ’94 and ’95 Rockets (Suns), ’02 and ’04 Lakers (Kings and T-Wolves, respectively), ’05 and ’07 Spurs (Suns, and Suns and Cavs) Duke ’01, Oklahoma ’02, Kansas ’03, Illinois ’05 (all Arizona).
Sorry, but I don’t revile any of these teams, or any of the individuals on any of the teams except Bowen. I still love Jordan, respect the hell out of Hakeem Olajuwon, admired the Roy Williams-coached Kansas teams, and am in love with Deron Williams despite his clutch play in The Unmentionable Game of ’05. I don’t hate any of the teams mentioned above, and I don’t go around accusing any of them of being dirty except Bowen.
Furthermore, I wouldn’t say I’m a fan of any team Bill Laimbeer beat, although to be honest, I do think the world would be a better place if the 80’s Lakers had one more championship and Laimbeer had one fewer.
Perhaps you can assume another explanation?
“As Magic Johnson once said. "You may not like, or agree with some of the things Laimbeer has done. But you must respect the way he plays the game. He plays to win) - And so does Bowen.”
Heaven forbid I disobey a decree from Magic Johnson. If he tells me how to think about a certain player, I must suspend independent judgment and adopt his own beliefs as my own. On a serious note, I respect the hard-nosed aspects of their games, but I can’t respect some other stuff.
Which is why I’m glad the League has finally decided to punish Bowen for something.
(1) I’m only including teams I was especially attached to for that year. My interest in teams has wavered over the years.
Bill Laimbeer and Bruce Bowen are both sucker-punching little bitches. Defensive intensity is one thing; roughing up other players for the purpose of roughing them up or intimidating them is garbage, and there's no place for it in my basketball world.
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