In his more than 10 years in the league, San Antonio’s Bruce Bowen has seen plenty of impressive players and breakout performances – most of them just a few inches from his face.
So when his matchup with LeBron James of the Cleveland Cavaliers is billed as the top confrontation to watch in the upcoming NBA Finals, Bowen is neither fazed nor impressed.
“The No. 1 assignment in the league?” Bowen repeated back when asked about guarding James. “That’s your opinion. … There’s a lot of other scorers in this league, too.”
The Spurs’ Bowen, who turns 36 on June 14, has been voted to the NBA all-defensive team the past seven years and was selected for the first team the past four. He has been runner-up for defensive player of the year the past three seasons.
The 6-foot-7, 200-pound Bowen likely will get much of the time against the 6-8, 240-pound James, who scored a career playoff high 48 points in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference finals against Detroit.
Since then, James’ offensive prowess has dominated most talk about the Finals. But Bowen isn’t necessarily buying into it, especially not when the Finals start Thursday in San Antonio.
“I think Michael Jordan’s 60-something points in Boston was incredible. Now do I think it got this much media coverage? No. Did it deserve it? You could say it did,” Bowen said. “I think it was impressive what he did.”
Bowen is used to the position he’ll be in for the next couple of weeks. As a defender who doesn’t always put up the big numbers of Spurs teammates Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili, Bowen is often seen as the antagonist to favorites such as Steve Nash and Allen Iverson.
“Bruce’s challenge is huge, but he can’t make LeBron work by himself, it’s got to be our team effort,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. “Nobody stops LeBron. He’s an unstoppable player.”
Wade supports LeBron
A year ago, James was one of Dwyane Wade’s biggest supporters during the NBA playoffs.
Now Wade is returning the favor.
Wade, MVP of the Finals last year with the Miami Heat, is sure his close friend can handle the pressure that comes with leading a team into the championship round.
They entered the league together in the 2003 draft, James at No. 1, Wade at No. 5.
“He’s one of the best players in the world,” Wade said Tuesday. “There’s not much you have to say.”
Wade offered James some counsel during this year’s Cleveland-Detroit series for the East title. The Heat played the Pistons the past two years for the conference title, splitting those matchups.
“It’s been rumored out there that I talked to him throughout the Detroit series a little bit, kind of what he did for me last year,” Wade said. “I just gave him some pointers from my point of view on what I’d seen and from playing Detroit before. He knows what to do.”
