Bruce Bowen’s Getting Hated On; more anti-Spurs foolishness
Last week, when the “Best Three-Point Shooters of the Last 20 Years” idea was in its planning stages, a preliminary list was presented to the Dime editorial team. Asked if there were any notable omissions — not necessarily to go in the 16-man field, but on a list of “notable omissions” — Cass suggested Steve Smith. I suggested Bruce Bowen. Cue the Dime office full of Spurs-haters.
“That’s so stupid.” “Are you kidding me?” “Bowen sucks.” Despite my fact-filled arguments and the knowledge that if Bowen played for the Celtics or Sixers (which he actually did at one point in his career), the Knicks or any “fun” team in the West, this wouldn’t even be an argument, my idea was shot down. Meanwhile, Steve Smith ended up making the tournament cut, while Bowen was lumped in with the “preposterous” suggestions.
Of course, I’ve been down this road before. In print and in the office, I’ve spent a ton of time defending the merits of Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili, Robert Horry, Bruce Bowen, and the universally hated-on Spurs in general. I really don’t get it. With every other highly successful team in major pro sports, even the people who hate them the most at least have a grudging respect for them and don’t spout off too many silly falsehoods. You don’t hear Colts fans disrespecting Tom Brady’s talent, or Yankees fans claiming the Red Sox don’t deserve their World Series rings.
Back to Bowen. My main gripe this time is with Steve Smith getting the nod over Bowen. The tangible and intangible evidence that Bowen is simply a better shooter is right there:
Numbers
* For his career, Bowen has shot 39.1% from beyond the arc, currently ranking 41st in NBA history. Smith finished his career at 35%, outside of the Top-50.
* Both players led the NBA in three-point percentage once: Bowen hit 44.1% in the ‘02-03 season, edging out Michael Redd and Wesley Person. In ‘05-06, Bowen finished ninth in the League in percentage, meaning that twice in his 11-year career, Bowen has been a Top-10 shooter from three. Smith led the League the year before Bowen, when he hit 47.1% in ‘01-02, beating out Jon Barry and Eric Piatkowski. That was Smith’s only appearance in the Top-10 in that stat category during his 14-year career.
* One anti-Bowen argument was that he doesn’t take as many threes as Smith, and therefore his percentages aren’t as impressive. While it’s true that Smith shot more threes, it’s not by as big of a margin as you’d think. In their respective League-leading seasons, Bowen took 229 triples, next to 246 for Smith. (FYI, they both played for the Spurs during this time). For his career, Bowen has averaged 2.5 three-point attempts per game. Smith averaged 3.4 attempts. So less than one more three taken per game doesn’t give Smith too much leeway in my opinion.
Clutch factor
* Can you think of one memorable three that Smith hit in his career? How about in the playoffs? Bowen, on the other hand, has stuck numerous clutch shots during his three NBA championship runs with San Antonio — most notable was Game Two of the ‘03 Western Conference semis against the Lakers, when Bowen knocked down 7-of-8 triples.
* In the playoffs, Bowen’s three-point numbers jump up to 41 percent. Smith’s stats improve to 39 percent under pressure, which is good, but also right in line with Bowen’s regular-season stats. And in the year when Smith won his lone NBA ring with the Spurs, he shot a paltry 16% from deep in the postseason in what was his 11th career playoff appearance. Bowen stuck 43% that postseason in just his fourth playoff run.
The other side
I understand where some of the arguments against Bowen came from — he’s only deadly from the corner, he benefits from being wide-open and feeding off Tim Duncan/David Robinson, he’s San Antonio’s fourth offensive option at best, etc. — but that still isn’t enough for me to say he doesn’t deserve to be in the three-point tournament. To wit:
* Isn’t part of being a great shooter knowing your spots? Not to mention, hitting from the corner is one of basketball’s most difficult shots because you can’t get saved by the backboard and you can only get so many bounces off the rim.
* Hasn’t every other shooter on this list had his share of wide-open looks? Not to mention, closing out on a shooter in the corner is easier than any other spot on the floor, so Bowen isn’t as wide-open as you think. AND not to mention, Smith’s best three-point shooting years were when he played for the Spurs, too. So wasn’t he also feeding off Duncan and Robinson’s presence?
* If we’re downing people for being the fourth option on their team, why did Steve Kerr, Dennis Scott and Dell Curry make the list? Offensive versatility — a major factor in being a first or second option on a team — isn’t the question here, it’s pure shooting ability.
The verdict
At the end of the day, ask yourself this question: If you’ve got money on one guy hitting one three-pointer from their preferred spot on the floor in the NBA Finals (Steve Nash from straightaway, Peja from the wing, Reggie Miller from the corner), are there really SIXTEEN guys you’d take before putting your cash on Bowen being cash from the corner?
And even if there are 16, one of them wouldn’t be Steve Smith.
August 27th, 2008 at 2:17 pm
Dime Magazine says:
Come on. Ridiculous. Smith’s percentages are no doubt a little lower than Bowen’s because for years he was always one of the two or three guys opposing defenses had to focus on. Part of the game plan of almost every team that plays the Spurs is to leave Bowen open.
And no guy who shoots around 50% from foul line belongs on any type of “best shooters” list.
- PC
August 27th, 2008 at 2:18 pm
Jim says:
Thanks for sticking up for my team Austin, though I disagree with the Bruce v. Tricky argument.
More importantly:
http://www.fannation.com/truth_and_rumors/view/63613
What the hell?
August 27th, 2008 at 2:22 pm
sunni says:
yea, theres 16 guys id take–and that doesnt include steve smith or bowen…if youre talking about a clutch 3..theres 1)kobe 2) bron 3) melo 4) jordan 5) pippen 6) reggie m 7) d wade
larry bird 9) byron scott 10) paul pierce 11) chris mullin 12) peja 13) michael redd 14)joe johnson 15) allan houston 16) steve kerr 17) steve nash 18)robert horry 19) tracy mcgrady 20) jerry west 21) ray allen
seriously, how are bowen and smith considered on the list of clutch 3 point shooters even if you take 5 of my picks out
August 27th, 2008 at 2:23 pm
justice says:
Smith could shoot 3’s from more than one spot, and he was actually a 1st or 2nd option..it’s apples and oranges, bowen is a specialist,leaving him open is part of the defensive scheme lol i have to laugh while i type that…
Neither one should be on the list actually…id take van exel over both
August 27th, 2008 at 2:30 pm
TJ says:
One three pointer per game IS significant. SS shot 36% more threes or 1224 more over his career. Smith also made over 130 three times in his career while Bowen never cracked 104. Steve Smith also averaged ~20ppg for a lot of those years.
Also, DScott averaged twice as many points per game (with a handful of 15+ ppg seasons) for his career and dropped 267 threes one year. Clearly its harder to get open, easy looks when you are a bigger part of the offense.
The point is, you can probably pick to types of shooters for this category: high usage shooters with good percentages or low usage shooters with great percentages. BB has good numbers, but he doesn’t really fall into either category.
August 27th, 2008 at 2:34 pm
TJ says:
Sunni,
12 out of 21 of your examples are current players. You need to get a sense of history son.
The fact that you bring Joe Johnson ahead of Ray Allen is absurd.
August 27th, 2008 at 2:35 pm
doc says:
Austin you dont got no win at all with this one homie.Smith was the SCORER for teams in his career.I wouldnt even call Bruce a 4th option.In Steve Smith time with the Spurs when he had the same advantages Bowen had(Duncan,Robinson,not 1rst option)he shot 47 percent from 3.And his come from all over the court.Bowen is a corner shot specialist not a 3 point shooter.
August 27th, 2008 at 2:38 pm
Ian the statboy says:
sunni
i sure hope that isnt the order ud take them and why lebron?
August 27th, 2008 at 2:39 pm
ali says:
anybody who hates on the spurs just doesn’t know, or appreciate, solid ball. with that said, i like bowen from the corner pocket, but he’s no steve smith.
August 27th, 2008 at 2:47 pm
Boomshakalaka says:
Bowen is automatic from 3 in the NBA Jam for XBox that came out in 04.
August 27th, 2008 at 2:53 pm
Brown says:
Lebron as #2 for a cluth 3-pointer. That has got to be one of the most absurd things I’ve ever read in my entire life.
Worst list ever. Get a clue.
August 27th, 2008 at 3:33 pm
daquest?on says:
austin this i shameful man, u just had to do it since dime dint want to put bowen in the list. And yes it is ridiculous to put bowen in that list.
August 27th, 2008 at 3:43 pm
Ross says:
I agree that Bowen belongs on the list. The only thing that holds him off the list (IMO) is that he’s only great at shooting 3’s from the corners. Is the nature of the list to only include shooters that are good from anywhere beyond the arc?
Other than that, I agree with you, Austin.
August 27th, 2008 at 3:45 pm
ERIC says:
Austin - I respect your opinion and generally think your articles are very insightful.
Unfortunately, this is the exact opposite. All of Bowen’s shots are wide open, he has never been more than the 5th offensive option on the floor.
Steve Smith had been one of the main offensive focuses on his teams and the D was always keyed in on him. Lock them both in a gym together and Smith would destroy Bowen.
It’s like saying Carl Landry is better than Tim Duncan if you do the PER or per 48 minute bulls#l&.
Facts are Bowen sucks and is a dirty player who constantly karate chops and puts his feet under jumpshooters.
I cannot stand him and he is the most hated player in the league.
August 27th, 2008 at 3:54 pm
ERIC says:
and he shoots like 50% from the stripe. cant be labeled a top shooter with a stat like that.
August 27th, 2008 at 3:55 pm
Austin Burton says:
@ERIC — I’m not saying Bowen is a better basketball player, I’m saying he’s a better three-point shooter. (And if we want to get into that, Bowen’s D is obviously much better than Smith, while Smith’s all-around offense is much better.) And is he really the 5th option? How many shots does Oberto take?
August 27th, 2008 at 4:08 pm
sunni says:
just to reply to posts: no, the 21 listed is not in any particular order; just came into my head when thinkin of guys id trust taking the last shot…ray allen should be ahead of jj, and lebron should not be number 2
August 27th, 2008 at 4:21 pm
Austin Burton says:
@Cass — Ask the rest of the League how that “Leave Bowen open” strategy has worked out. I’m sure if teams had the dilemma of guarding Jordan, Pippen and Kukoc they’d leave Steve Kerr open too, but that doesn’t take anything away from his shooting ability.
August 27th, 2008 at 4:31 pm
MSkittle says:
Bowen had no shot when he came in the league! But he should be on a list of guys who worked hard to make themselves great shooters (as should Michael Redd)
But he’s not a “natural born shooter”.
August 27th, 2008 at 4:40 pm
ERIC says:
touche, Austin.
would have michael redd, dirk, nash and kobe over bowen as well. agree with MSkittle, that bowen has improved his 3pt shot, but he would barely make the “next 20″.
i just think bowen is a cheapshot artist who has put his foot under many jump shooters including ray allen, kobe, vince, steve francis, jamal crawford. while that has nothing to do with his shooting, im just giving my 2 cents while drinking a nice cool serving of bowen hatorade.
August 27th, 2008 at 4:40 pm
sans says:
AUstin, you got sold out by your boys…the real question here is: WHY DOES ANYONE THINK STEVE SMITH WAS SO DAMN GREAT? he wasn’t. Not as the first or fourth option. In big games he disappeared, and I don’t even want to look up his playoff scoring. None of his squads did anything with him at the helm (minus the Olympic squad, where he was the Boozer of the bunch) not even the Jail Blazers, where he was overshadowed by every player on the floor. Seriously, name one time, outside of Michigan State, where his team was a threat because of Steve Smith. Give me Mike Miller’s erratic ass any day.
I hate the Spurs like everyone else hate’s Duke, but I’d take Bowen on the playground over Smith any day of the week. Legitimately, I would take Steve Logan over him.
Where was Steve Nash on this list? Joe Dumars?
August 27th, 2008 at 4:46 pm
Batman says:
Who gives a crap what Bowen shoots from the FT line? This is about 3 point shooting only. And it doesn’t matter if he’s only good from the corner, the corner 3 is worth the same amount of points as a 3 from the top of the arc.
A lot of guys in the list were big scoring guys, the main or 2nd options for their teams. As a role player I’d love to have Bowen knowing that my 4th or even 5th best offensive player is reliable when he gets the open 3 look.
August 27th, 2008 at 5:08 pm
Tha Boddy says:
Gilbert Arenas is a clutch 3pt shooter also he will destroy Micheal Redd from beyond the arc and thats real talk
August 27th, 2008 at 5:14 pm
justice says:
oberto has the green light before bowen..
August 27th, 2008 at 6:27 pm
doc says:
And Kurt Thomas
August 27th, 2008 at 6:27 pm
doc says:
And Mike Finley
August 27th, 2008 at 6:27 pm
doc says:
And Brent Before he left
August 27th, 2008 at 6:32 pm
dagwaller says:
Not going to debate this, but suffice to say, Austin, that I have been waiting literally YEARS to see this post.
After he won the regular season 3 pt. shooting crown, my d bag roommates all asked me who I thought the best 3 pt. shooter in the League was. “Bruce Bowen,” I responded casually. They were incredulous. It was like I had grown a third head. I don’t get it - he was the best 3 pt. shooter that year…right? They all thought I was an idiot, but there are at least 2 of us.
Oh yea, and Nash deserved to be on this list, too.
August 27th, 2008 at 6:39 pm
doc says:
Best 3 point % dont mean best 3 point shooter.Its to much involved like being contested shots, open shots things like that.The best shooter rarely leads the league in percentage.Dwight probaly top 5 in FG % but we know he cant shoot.Bowen a damn good baller but he not fucking with Steve Smith shooting-wise.It aint about Smith getting teams far in the playoffs.He got his chip with Timmy also AND led the league in % that year.Just shows how valuable having that top player is(Kerr too).We all know what would happen if Bowen was a number 1 or even number 2 option for a whole season.Worst record in history with a low percentage clip.
August 27th, 2008 at 8:18 pm
Austin Burton says:
@doc — Smith led the League in ‘02, when the Lakers won the title. But if you’re gonna say Bowen lives off wide-open shots from Duncan, what do you think Smith was doing when he was in San Antonio? Like I said, those were his best years shooting the three.
The FG% argument doesn’t work, because we all know the guys with high percentages are the ones who get a lot of dunks (unless you’re Tony Parker or Monta Ellis). With threes, you have to be a good shooter to hit a high percentage. There’s no way around it.
August 27th, 2008 at 10:27 pm
dagwaller says:
Amen.
August 27th, 2008 at 11:40 pm
changster says:
“So less than one more three taken per game doesn’t give Smith too much leeway in my opinion.” That’s 36% less 3’s than Smith.
By your arguments, Sasha Vujacic is better than Steve Smith and on-par with Bruce Bowen. He’s a career 38.1% 3-point shooter and shot 43.7% from 3 last year.
If that’s not enough, Jason Kapono is a 46.4% career shooter from downtown and shot 51.4% from 3 in the 2006-2007 season.
Are you still telling me the number of shots in a season/career doesn’t matter??
August 28th, 2008 at 1:21 am
Austin Burton says:
Bowen gets the nod over Vujacic and Kapono because of the clutch factor. It’s not all about numbers, but they do play a role. When you combine stats and clutch, I don’t see where Smith is a better three-point shooter than Bowen.
August 28th, 2008 at 1:41 am
MJ says:
haha.. are you serious?
No, really. Are you serious? Clearly you’ve attached yourself to this and you aren’t gonna back away from it no matter what anybody says, but deep down, you have to know this is ridiculous.
Bruce Bowen in a field of 16 shooters to determine the best of the last 20 seasons? You’re kidding, right?
No, really.
August 28th, 2008 at 1:43 am
dagwaller says:
No offense to MJ in particular, but post 34 is exactly what I ran into for an entire year.
August 28th, 2008 at 2:18 am
J Tok says:
@ sunni
sorry my dude, but that was the worst top 25 i have ever heard of.
and Peja can’t be mentioned, he was the last person that wanted the ball in sacto with the game on the line. he never made a clutch three
August 28th, 2008 at 4:48 am
MJ says:
Dude averages 6 points a game! 6! And his career % is .391. He was 90-215 in 82 games last season. That’s 1 make per 2.5 attempts (rounded to the nearest half) or averaged out, he essentially goes 4 for 10 on 3’s every 5 games.
Name me one starting shooting guard/small forward that couldn’t go 4 for 10 on wide open 3’s every 5 games. (Seriously, do it.) And from 2 spots, which is effectively the same shot. He’s only had to practice/shoot one damn shot. For 8 years. And he’s made less than 40% of them. Also, the majority of them are uncontested (no way to prove this with numbers, but you watch as many Spurs games as I do.) Stop me when I reach the bit that makes him top 16 for the last 20 SEASONS.
Basically, he gets paid to stand in either corner and shoot and he because he succeeds 40% of the time, he’s “great.” Please.
He’s expected to score 6 points a game 30-35 minutes per. The Spurs have designed a system where he can be proficient at one skill and get away with it. Dude can’t shoot free throws. Can’t put it on the floor. Can’t go in the post. If he was a great shooter, he’d flourish all over the floor.
Like say.. Steve Smith.
August 28th, 2008 at 4:49 am
MJ says:
And for what it’s worth, I’ve got nothing against the Spurs. I’m the first one to stick up for Timmy D when he gets ragged on.
August 28th, 2008 at 8:00 am
SparkyJ23 says:
6 points a game does not make you the best anything offensive in the last 20 YEARS.
August 28th, 2008 at 9:35 am
Big V says:
You give Bowen a good look from the top of the key or the wings for the trey and it’s PROBABLY NOT GOING IN.
That, IMO is what keeps him off of this list. You can’t say the same about any of these other guys on the list from ANYWHERE on the floor.
Also, what makes anyone think that Bowen’s a better corner shooter than anybody on this list?
August 28th, 2008 at 1:31 pm
Meica says:
Here’s the deal:
Bruce Bowen has made 776 3’s in his 13 year modern-day career.
It’s just not enough shots in this day and age where three’s are taken at a much higher rate than in the past to call him “one of the best three point shooters of all time.”
Take Michael Redd (also not on the list). Granted he shoots something like 38% but he’s made 911 3’s in eight years, five less years than Bowen.
Bruce Bowen just doesn’t have the volume to be called one of the greats.
August 28th, 2008 at 1:38 pm
dukesman2000 says:
Bowen takes fewer shots than anyone else.