fred33
06-06-2007, 01:03 AM
Spurs-Cavs notebook: Parker not worried about glamour shots
Mike Monroe
Express-News
The image is the stuff of a basketball nightmare — Cleveland's 6-foot-8, 250-pound LeBron James, at full speed on a drive to the basket, and you are the Spurs' lone remaining defender, with no choice but to try to foil his shot by standing still and taking a charge.
If you are 6-2, 180-pound Tony Parker, with a high-profile wedding just weeks away, would you do it?
"If it can give me another ring, I will," Parker said after the Spurs' practice session Tuesday. "We have to do whatever we can to contain him and slow him down. It's going to be very hard to try to stop him. We're going to do our best."
What about protecting his face for all those wedding photos with Eva Longoria?
"I don't care about that," said Parker, set to wed the "Desperate Housewives" actress in Paris in July. "I'd rather have another ring and be messed up in the picture. That's fine."
Even Manu Ginobili, who takes more charges than most NBA players, admits fearing a full-force charge from James.
"If he's going full speed, it is (frightening), to tell you the truth," Ginobili said, "because of all the strength and power that he has. But you've got to do what you've got to do. If it's for the best of the team, you've got to step in there."
Ginobili has not volunteered for defensive duty on James.
"I think it's going to be Bruce (Bowen) mainly," Ginobili said. "He's on the All-Defensive team for the NBA, so he's got to earn it."
Poster-ized: Anyone who covered a game in Cleveland this season saw the photo James posted inside his locker stall at Quicken Loans Arena: A nasty dunk James threw down over Tim Duncan during the Cavaliers' 88-81 victory at the AT&T Center in the Spurs' regular-season home opener Nov. 3.
Asked if he had a photo of himself dunking over anyone in his locker stall, Duncan professed ignorance of James' celebrated photo.
"I don't," Duncan said. "Does somebody else?"
Told about James' locker decoration, Duncan continued to play it coy.
"Oh, yeah?" he said. "Dunking over me? I've seen the highlight enough; it's right in my head. Maybe I'll get a chance to sign it for him."
Don't forget the legends: While acknowledging that James' 48-point performance against Detroit in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference finals was "impressive," Bowen says fans and the media shouldn't forget about a couple of other legendary playoff performances.
"Michael Jordan's 60-something-point game in Boston was incredible," Bowen said. "Now, do I think it got this much media coverage? No. Did it deserve it? You could say it did. Magic Johnson, his rookie year in the NBA, the show he put on in Philly, that is huge. But it goes to show you that if you are not playing anymore, it's OK. We're looking for the next-best thing.'"
Jordan scored 63 points for Chicago in a double-overtime game against Boston in the 1986 playoffs. Johnson had 42 points, 15 rebounds, seven assists and two steals in a series-clinching victory over Philadelphia in the 1980 Finals.
Flip-flop: Duncan praised the Cavaliers' defensive intensity, but his choice of descriptive for Anderson Varejao's contribution begged another question.
"They cover for each other, and they rotate well," Duncan said. "They're a young team and have a system they believe in, and they're sticking with it. From what film we've watched and what they've done, they do an excellent job.
"They contest every shot you take. Varejao is a very good charge taker. They've got some size in there and can switch it up, so they've got a very good combination of guys."
Is "very good charge taker" euphemism for a flopper, a charge Detroit's Rasheed Wallace leveled at Varejao during the Eastern Conference finals?
"I'm not going to start in that direction this early in the series," Duncan said. "I'll save that for a couple of games."
Mike Who? Former Spurs assistant coach Mike Brown, the Cavs' head coach, came in for some good-natured ribbing from some Spurs.
"I vaguely remember him being with the Spurs at some point," said Duncan. "I thought it might have been as an equipment manager, but he might have been a coach."
T-shirt giveaway: The Spurs and H-E-B will distribute white T-shirts emblazoned with "Go Spurs Go" and the team logo to each fan who enters the AT&T Center for Game 1.
Mike Monroe
Express-News
The image is the stuff of a basketball nightmare — Cleveland's 6-foot-8, 250-pound LeBron James, at full speed on a drive to the basket, and you are the Spurs' lone remaining defender, with no choice but to try to foil his shot by standing still and taking a charge.
If you are 6-2, 180-pound Tony Parker, with a high-profile wedding just weeks away, would you do it?
"If it can give me another ring, I will," Parker said after the Spurs' practice session Tuesday. "We have to do whatever we can to contain him and slow him down. It's going to be very hard to try to stop him. We're going to do our best."
What about protecting his face for all those wedding photos with Eva Longoria?
"I don't care about that," said Parker, set to wed the "Desperate Housewives" actress in Paris in July. "I'd rather have another ring and be messed up in the picture. That's fine."
Even Manu Ginobili, who takes more charges than most NBA players, admits fearing a full-force charge from James.
"If he's going full speed, it is (frightening), to tell you the truth," Ginobili said, "because of all the strength and power that he has. But you've got to do what you've got to do. If it's for the best of the team, you've got to step in there."
Ginobili has not volunteered for defensive duty on James.
"I think it's going to be Bruce (Bowen) mainly," Ginobili said. "He's on the All-Defensive team for the NBA, so he's got to earn it."
Poster-ized: Anyone who covered a game in Cleveland this season saw the photo James posted inside his locker stall at Quicken Loans Arena: A nasty dunk James threw down over Tim Duncan during the Cavaliers' 88-81 victory at the AT&T Center in the Spurs' regular-season home opener Nov. 3.
Asked if he had a photo of himself dunking over anyone in his locker stall, Duncan professed ignorance of James' celebrated photo.
"I don't," Duncan said. "Does somebody else?"
Told about James' locker decoration, Duncan continued to play it coy.
"Oh, yeah?" he said. "Dunking over me? I've seen the highlight enough; it's right in my head. Maybe I'll get a chance to sign it for him."
Don't forget the legends: While acknowledging that James' 48-point performance against Detroit in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference finals was "impressive," Bowen says fans and the media shouldn't forget about a couple of other legendary playoff performances.
"Michael Jordan's 60-something-point game in Boston was incredible," Bowen said. "Now, do I think it got this much media coverage? No. Did it deserve it? You could say it did. Magic Johnson, his rookie year in the NBA, the show he put on in Philly, that is huge. But it goes to show you that if you are not playing anymore, it's OK. We're looking for the next-best thing.'"
Jordan scored 63 points for Chicago in a double-overtime game against Boston in the 1986 playoffs. Johnson had 42 points, 15 rebounds, seven assists and two steals in a series-clinching victory over Philadelphia in the 1980 Finals.
Flip-flop: Duncan praised the Cavaliers' defensive intensity, but his choice of descriptive for Anderson Varejao's contribution begged another question.
"They cover for each other, and they rotate well," Duncan said. "They're a young team and have a system they believe in, and they're sticking with it. From what film we've watched and what they've done, they do an excellent job.
"They contest every shot you take. Varejao is a very good charge taker. They've got some size in there and can switch it up, so they've got a very good combination of guys."
Is "very good charge taker" euphemism for a flopper, a charge Detroit's Rasheed Wallace leveled at Varejao during the Eastern Conference finals?
"I'm not going to start in that direction this early in the series," Duncan said. "I'll save that for a couple of games."
Mike Who? Former Spurs assistant coach Mike Brown, the Cavs' head coach, came in for some good-natured ribbing from some Spurs.
"I vaguely remember him being with the Spurs at some point," said Duncan. "I thought it might have been as an equipment manager, but he might have been a coach."
T-shirt giveaway: The Spurs and H-E-B will distribute white T-shirts emblazoned with "Go Spurs Go" and the team logo to each fan who enters the AT&T Center for Game 1.