Thursday, April 27, 2006

rob horry story and game 5 memories


kids, this playoffs you've one of the last chances to see no. 5 making
some BIG shots.
six-time (and still counting) nba champion robert horry was born in
1970, in the state alabama.
he's recognized as one of the greatest clutch shooters in modern nba
history.
his clutch performances in the playoffs have earned him the nickname
"big shot rob" or "big shot bob".
tim duncan uses "big shot bobby", to tease horry for letting the media
know that he preferred "rob" to "bob."
he attended the university of alabama where he was a star basketballer,
and was recruited to play in the nba after graduating from his alma
mater.
horry was selected 11th overall in the 1992 nba draft by the houston
rockets as a six-foot-ten power forward.
in his rookie season, he averaged 10.1 points per game.
he spent his first four nba seasons with the rockets, helping them win
the nba championship in 1994 and 1995, and setting an individual nba
finals record with five 3-pointers in a quarter.
however, horry nearly never won a title in houston.
in february 1994, he and matt bullard were traded to the detroit
pistons for sean elliott.
however, sean the ninja failed a physical test because of his kidney
problems and the trade was rescinded before horry ever played for
detroit.
the pistons finished the season 20-62 while horry was winning his first
championship.
during the 2005 nba finals, where horry played against detroit, he said
that the trade falling through probably saved his career.
on august 19, 1996, horry was traded to the phoenix and before
finishing a complete season, he was traded to the los angeles lakers
on january 10, 1997.
horry was a member of the lakers when they won three consecutive nba
championships (2000, 2001 and 2002) and he earned a reputation for
coming up with clutch playoff baskets when the lakers needed them
most.
over the lakers' 3 year run, horry made a game-clinching 3-pointer in
at least 1 game in 4 straight playoff series (starting with the 2001
nba finals), but perhaps none more important than in game 4 of the
2002 western conference finals against the sacramento kings.
trailing 2 games to 1 in the series and facing game 5 at sacramento,
the lakers looked bad early and were down by as many as 24 points in
the first half.
the purple and gold fought hard and got back in the game, but were
still down 99-97 with 11 seconds to play.
on the final possession, the lakers' kobe bryant and shaq o'neal both
missed layups, but the ball was swatted toward the backcourt by the
kings' vlade divac into the hands of a wide open horry at the top of
the key.
horry got off the shot just before the buzzer, draining it and sending
the crowd of staples center into a wild celebration.
there is little doubt that the shot saved the lakers' season, as they
would otherwise have been down 3-1 in the series against a very tough
sac team, with 2 of the remaining 3 games to be played in arco arena.
lal would go on to win the series in 7 games and would sweep the new
jersey nets 4-0 in the nba finals.
following the 2002-03 season, rob signed as a free agent with the
defending champion san antonio spurs.
in game 5 of the 2005 nba finals against the detroit pistons, horry
came alive in the fourth quarter to boost spurs to a win and 3-2
series lead over detroit.
after not scoring at all until a last-second trey in the third quarter,
he capped a stunning 21-point performance by making another shot that
confirmed his legacy.
horry found the ball in his hands again with nine seconds remaining in
overtime and promptly drained his fifth three-pointer of the night for
a spurs' one-point victory.
horry shot nearly 50 percent (13-27) from behind the arc for the
series' first 6 games and sank 7 of 12 shots, including 5-6 from
behind the arc, in game 5.
he scored 21 of san antonio's final 35 points in that classic contest.
the spurs would go on to win the series in 7 games, winning their third
nba championship in 7 seasons and giving horry his sixth ring.
he is second on the all-time list of three-pointers made in the
playoffs, behind only reggie miller.
he also holds the record for three pointers all-time in the finals,
passing up michael jordan's previous record of 42 and finished 2005
with 53 career finals 3-pointers.
despite the fact that robert has only averaged 7.5 points per game and
5.0 rebounds per game in his career (before 2005-06) many believe that
he deserves to become a member of the basketball hall of fame due to
his clutch shooting in the playoffs; this debate is still ongoing and
will likely not be decided until after he has retired.
that year he joined john salley as the only players to win nba rings
with three different teams.
he has won two titles with the rockets and three with the lakers.
horry is the first player to have won six championship rings since
air jordan and scottie pippen did it with the bulls in 1998.
he holds an individual nba playoffs record for most three-point field
goals made in a game without a miss (7), against the utah fazz in
game 2 of the 1997 western conference semifinals.
here's what i have still in mind after that spurs-pistons classic game
5:
sangfroid?
what's that mean?
what it means is robert h. is a bad man.
bad for opponents in the playoffs and finals, anyway.
some guy named pablo from argentina, who chimed in during nba.com's
global fan forum, explain it:
*mr "big shot" horry, 21 points.
what else can i say?
he's the most cold-blooded being i have seen ever.*
cold-blooded or ...sangfroid.
old school rappers call it chillin'.
some people call it "cool".
the dictionary says: composure in the face of difficulty or danger.
whatever you call it, big shot rob (not bob:) has more of it than most
of us have ever had and he was definitely the coolest cat on the court
in game 5.
and with the exception of those players in the playoff pantheon: mj,
magic, bird, kareem, russell and miller, there may be no player in
postseason history whose sang has more froid than horry.
from the moment he hit a three to close the third quarter to the
"where-the-heck-did-that-come-from?" lefty slam (with a faul, but rob
missed that free throw) in ot to the final three-pointer he hit in
overtime, horry was 7 for 8 from the field, including 5 for 6 from
long range.
whenever he touched the ball late, the air left the palace.
as soon as he lined up his final dagger - a wide-open look - the palace
faithful emitted a sound i had never heard before at a sporting event.
it was a combination scream-groan-exclamation.
almost a, "ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh-ooooooooooooooh-nooooooooooooo"!
and then the silence.
oh, we could hear grumbling and the disbelief, but more than that we
could feel the disappointment; the disappointment of a blown defensive
assignment; the disappointment of having a game in your grasp only to
see it bounce into horry's capable mitts and then see it swish through
the bottom of the net; the disappointment of being down one with 5.9
seconds to go after being up four with 1:43 left in overtime; and most
disappointing was the realization that their beloved pistons, who had
poleaxed the Spurs in games 3 and 4, need to go to san antonio and win
two consecutive games.
you could even say we felt a chill in the air.
considering that the Spurs were a league-best 38-3 at home that season
and haven't lost consecutive home games since april of 2003, pistons
fans had a good reason for their deep sense of disappointment.

...and some interesting p.s.'s...
p.s.: *i felt like the soviet union just disbanded,* san antonio coach
gregg popovich said on l.a. lakers back in july 2004.
p.s.2: phil jackson on bruce bowen, after kicking ray allen in the
back lately - *he plays like "edward scissorhands"*
p.s.3: *timmy duncan was [in game vs. wizards] an unbelievable
competitor and leader,* said popovich.
*he was sicker than a dog.*
p.s.4 (unbasketball): *everything, everything.
the sexiness that we get to exude.
the femininity of having soft skin.
the desire of always wanting to be pretty and put on makeup and wear
heels.
i love being a woman.
i love shopping.
i love wearing dresses and heels and jewelry.
i love being sexy and feeling sexy.
but the best thing about being a woman is the power we have over men.*
(- eva longoria [t. parker's girlfriend], on the best part about
being a woman)
p.s.5 (unbasketball):
*it's the best gift to give: an orgasm.
and if i can't do it for ya, i'll give you the tools to succeed!
i have one rabbit and a pocket rocket.* (- eva longoria, on what she
loves to give her girlfriends)
p.s.6: kidd remains the best all-around point guard in the league -
others may shoot better, but none of his peers can pass, post,
rebound, or play superior defense. (-charley rosen)
p.s.7: now that the playoffs are near, we need to talk less about what
the spurs aren't and instead think about what they are - the defending
champions. (- will perdue)
p.s.8: the starbury "i'm-the-greatest" award goes to ron artest, who
recently identified himself as the best player in the league.
since marbury only proclaimed himself to be the best point guard in the
nba, the award will henceforth be known as the startest award.
(- charley rosen)
p.s.9: mel sanders brought duncan cupcakes and other treats at the
spurs' morning shootaround and sang "happy birthday" to him.
*he's trying to get an extended contract, so he figured the best way to
do that was to be timmy's best friend,* said popovich smiling.
*so he actually baked for him.
*we told him it was sad and almost depraved to watch the extent to
which he would suck up for a contract.
he has no pride whatsoever.*
p.s.10: *i think it will most likely be a cold day in hell before nazr
shoots another three,* said popovich.
*that's just a guess.*
p.s."21": HAPPY 30th, MR. TIM DUNCAN!
one more time...
we´re gonna celebrate
oh yeah
alright
don´t stop the dancin´...

Written by Foreigner in CS - Apr 27 2006 3:58PM

1 comment:

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