Pro Basketball: Spurs’ Bonner works for more minutes
Forward begins his second season hoping to fill in for Horry often.
Web Posted: 10/11/2007 12:25 AM CDT
Jeff McDonald
Express-News Staff Writer
Early in the first half of the Spurs’ preseason-opening defeat at Dallas, forward Matt Bonner did something most NBA observers had never seen him do.
He rose up high among a crowd of Mavericks, corralled an offensive rebound and put it back in for a score.
Renowned for his smooth 3-point shooting and easygoing wit — but never much for his leaping ability — Bonner was at first at a loss to explain how he had suddenly soared so high for the putback.
Maybe it was his offseason workout regimen kicking in. Maybe, as fictional former sneaker pitchman Mars Blackmon once opined, “it’s gotta to be the shoes.” Or maybe it was something else entirely.
“I think it was the beard,” Bonner said, fingering the fire-red tuft of whiskers he’s been tending since the start of training camp. “It’s scientifically proven that a beard increases your vertical leap. It’s simple aerodynamics, like the feathers on a bird’s wings.”
Another fact that has been scientifically proven: Performing well for Spurs coach Gregg Popovich can cause a noticeable increase in one’s minutes.
Bonner hopes that tenet remains true, as he fights for more playing time in his second season with the Spurs than he earned in his first.
That push got off to a ringing start Tuesday, as Bonner came off the bench to score 14 points and grabbed a team-best nine rebounds while playing a hefty 25 minutes against the Mavericks. A good chunk of Bonner’s best work came in the first half against Dallas’ regulars.
“He looked pretty good,” Popovich said, “and showed what he can do with some minutes on the court.”
That’s the thing with Bonner. It’s always been difficult for him to contribute because he’s often on the bench.
A 6-foot-10 shooting forward, Bonner was considered a throw-in on the back end of the trade that sent Rasho Nesterovic to Toronto in June 2006.
He played in just 57 games last season, his first in San Antonio, and averaged less than 12 minutes in those appearances. Like many players coming to the Spurs for the first time, he struggled to grasp the team’s offensive and defensive systems.
“It was hard to get comfortable,” Bonner said.
By the postseason, Bonner had found a comfortable spot on the end of the Spurs’ bench. He dropped completely out of the regular rotation, as Popovich leaned harder on playoff-proven veteran Robert Horry.
But the Spurs made it a priority to re-sign Bonner in the offseason, awarding him a three-year deal worth nearly $9 million in order to keep him. Eventually, they plan on putting him to use.
With Horry starting what will likely be his last season, Bonner remains an important part of the Spurs’ future plans. And, given Popovich’s penchant for sporadically resting Horry throughout the season, he is also poised to play a more vital role in their rotation right now.
Consider Bonner to be Robert Horry Light.
Like Horry, Bonner can work well in an inside-out game with Tim Duncan, spreading the floor with his 3-point range. Like Horry, Bonner also has a tendency to be around the ball on offense, keeping rebounds alive if he isn’t collecting them himself. Like Horry, Bonner can provide a spark off the bench.
Now, he just has to prove it.
In many ways, this is an important preseason for Bonner. He will be given ample opportunity to justify the Spurs’ faith in him.
“The coaches know what I’m capable of,” Bonner said. “The preseason and all throughout the season — that’s when I have to earn my minutes.”
Bonner’s quest for minutes is sure to be long and arduous. And it is just beginning.
He might just have to keep the beard for good luck.