Bruce Bowen - Dirty Play

The best part about it all is when Bruce Bowen was just sitting on the scoreboard waiting for Amare to quit his whining so the game could resume play.

It probably was dirty but at the same time who cares.  Amare Stoudemire plays with the flailing elbows of Shaquille O'neal .. stuff like that happens all the time in a game .. man up and knock Bowen down if you want to send a message.

Bruce Bowen does his job and anyone who hates him just despises him because he's not on THEIR TEAM.

Jcat, why are you keep bringing up defense? Of course defenses are up these days. Just because I said there were a lot of Bruce Bowens in the league back then does not mean teams played better defense.

Why do you think Chick Hearn(R.I.P.) always quoted, "No harm, no foul." That means if your not bleeding, than keep playing.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aFvk4qHkT10

let me say something about bowen here.  two times since 2004 we've had the finals here in detroit.  the teams stay not far from the high school where i coach.  they had shoot arounds there when they played the Lakers and Spurs. 

when the lakers were here they were total jerks and acted like you didn't exist.  when the spurs were here they were all the coolest guys.  especially bowen.  he talked to everone who was allowed to come to the gym and had pics, autographs, whatever you wanted. 

so i don't think he's a piece of trash.  i don't even think he's a dirty player.  has he made dirty plays?  sure, but this was not one of them.  again, man up people, including you amare.  amare just made himself look like a pu$$y. 

Sorry but I have to say something on behalf of Amare.  Catching an elbo in the sturnum will not the wind out of anybody.  And it isn't like Bowen let up before hitting him either.  In fact the angle from the far end of the court makes it look like Bowen jumped into the elbow.  The view where the commentator says he doesn't know why Stoudemire doesn't raise his forearm to protect himself.  So don't make it out like nothing happened to Amare.  He took a pretty good shot buy a guy that probably weighs around 200 pounds.  I don't care if you are Rampage Jackson, if you get caught in the chest with an elbow like that you are going to feel it.  Especially if you have been running up and down a basketball court and are a little bit winded.  Don't forget that this happened with only 3 minutes left in the game.  You don't think that after busting your tail against a fierce rival for an entire game you might be a little fatigued?  Comeon guys, ANY of you would be curled up on the floor in fetal position crying for your mom...all the while gasping for air. 

I don't agree with Stoudemire getting upset and going after Bowen, but I think that this was mostly done to show he wasn't gonna take it.  Bruce Bowen is a dirty player.  That is well documented.  As for the guys saying he is the best defender ever?  Really good defenders don't need to use their hands as much as Bowen does.  Bowen uses his hands more than any player in the league....and he gets away with it.  If you have played with somebody that uses their hands like this you know that it is frustrating.  It is just enough weight to make cuts not quite as crisp, and wears you down. 

I don't care how good a person youy are or how stuck up some guys from a different team might be...  When you try to take the legs out from under a shooter or try to make him land on your foot to turn an ankle you are trying to injure him - that is not clasy, that is not cool, that is playing dirty plain and simple.  Playing hard an dplaying dirty are different things and he does both.  A dirty player is someone too lazy to do it the right way or too untalented to.  I would appreciate some things Bowen brings to the table, he's a lunchpail guy that fans should love, but as long as you try to hurt players you are no role model...

But no, this one on Amare was hard, not dirty.  If you are going to set a pick at any level you have to be as prepared ot take a hit as you are to give one...  This is coming from a guy who played the 3, 4, and 5.

Yeah even in street ball settings where I play we throw elbows to the big man who's setting the picks.

It's like secret basketball code.  And let me tell you .. none of them sat there bunched over coughing and crying.  They just came back and sent an elbow in the back next time I went into the paint.  It's how you play basketball .. you don't sit there and complain about it.

The great Tim Duncan once said, "If you show excitement, then you also may show disappointment or frustration.  If your opponent picks up on this frustration, you are at a disadvantage."

And you all wonder why Bruce Bowen is such a valuable commodity.  Basketball is half mental .. he's already in the heads of EVERYBODY in the league because everyone thinks he's going to seriously injure them.  The fans, media, and fellow players do nothing but enhance this belief .. and therefore half the battle is already won.  That's what makes Bruce so good.

Oh .. and the fact that he can play tremendous defense.  And I like dirty players.  You know why?  Dirty players will run through a brick wall to win you a basketball game.  I'd much rather have someone like Bruce on my team as opposed to those players that handles his on the court than those players like Ray Allen, Vince Carter, and Amare Stoudemire who just let little Bruce bully them and then run to the media and whine about it.  Bruce doesn't lose anything in my eyes because of that .. but they sure do.  Be men about it.  Handle your business.

Amen again.