One of the things that earned Bruce Bowen
a reputation as one of the NBA's chippiest (and some, even former teammates,
might say flat-out dirtiest) defenders over the course of his 13-year NBA career
was his penchant for sticking his foot underneath an opposing jump shooter after
contesting a shot so that, when the shooter came back down to the floor, he ran
a serious risk of stepping awkwardly on Bowen's foot and turning his ankle (or
worse). The practice was at the heart of a November 2006 Sports Illustrated
feature on Bowen, in which most executives interviewed said they didn't think
the eight-time All-Defensive Team selection was intentionally trying to hurt
opponents with dirty pool.
And with that, we come to "The Jalen Rose
Show," a podcast on ESPN.com's Grantland Network in which the Fab Five member
talks shop and spins yarns from his playing days with producer Dave Jacoby. In a
clip from the show released Tuesday through Grantland's new YouTube channel (the
same outlet that gave us the stellar documentary on Houston Rockets rookie Royce
White's draft-day experience), Rose reiterates that not sticking your foot under
a shooter is basketball's "No. 1 unwritten rule" ... and then relates a story of
when, as a member of the Indiana Pacers, he himself did it on the sport's
biggest stage.
"NBA Finals, 2000," Rose says. "Kobe.
Bean. Bryant. Goes up for a jump shot on the right wing, I contest the jump
shot, Kobe lands on my foot. He hobbles off, and he actually misses the next
game."
Rose is talking about Game 2 of the 2000
Finals. After getting drubbed by the Los Angeles Lakers by 17 points in Game 1
thanks to a monster Shaquille O'Neal performance (43 points on 21-for-31
shooting, 19 rebounds, four assists and three blocks in 44 minutes), the Pacers
were hanging with L.A., playing to a 28-all tie after the first quarter. Then,
in the second quarter:
Bryant played just nine minutes in Game
2, which the Lakers went on to win by seven, but as Rose says, he missed Game 3,
which Indiana won 100-91 to get back into the series at 2-1.
"Now, if it was up to me? If it was up to
me? He should've just missed the whole series," Rose says. "I would've had a
championship ring, and it'd be no harm, no foul."
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