Firing up the Red Rocket

NBA Life Transcript. Matt Bonner with Kevin Gray and Chris Ryan ...

The Spurs ended their six-game road trip with a tough loss — and controversy — on Thursday night in Miami. Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili, Tony Parker and Danny Green all were sent home prior to the game, a move to rest key players and help them recover from a 10-day road trip.
Concord native Matt Bonner made his first start of the season, scoring 10 points with 10 rebounds, as the defending champions posted a 105-100 win. On Friday, the Spurs were fined $250,000 by the NBA.

Question: What do you think coach Pop was thinking?
Matt Bonner: He’s thinking big picture and trying to keep those guys rested and healthy for the entire season. It’s a tough break that it happens on a night we’re playing at Miami and on TNT, but coach Pop is more concerned with the overall wellness of the team. It feels like we’ve been on the road the whole season. We had an eight-day road trip before this trip, then went home for four days, then back on the road.

Q: Wouldn’t those guys want to play against the Heat?
MB: Absolutely. Professional athletes have a competitive nature and want to compete, but coach Pop has the final say.

Q: The Spurs really showed a lot of character in that game.
MB: We had a lot of strikes against us heading into that game. We played four games in five nights on a 10-game road trip. Four starters weren’t playing. A lot of the guys on the team haven’t been playing, and it’s hard to stay sharp and stay in shape when you’re traveling so much on the road. Despite all these so-called excuses, we came together before the game and decided to play as hard as we can and play Spurs basketball. They’re a great team. Defending champs. They showed it down the stretch and got the win. We had them. We had a couple tough turnovers and shot ourselves in the foot in the last minute, but you have to credit them.

Q: Ray Allen’s 3-pointer with 22 seconds remaining was the dagger.
MB: That three by Ray was huge. We almost had the steal on LeBron (James) on that play. He somehow got it back and found Ray for the 3-pointer. Everyone back home knows what he usually does in that situation.

Q: What will it take for the Heat to become one of the NBA’s all-time greatest teams?
MB: It’s way too early. If you look back at the Celtics and Lakers and some of the great teams, they were great for 8-10 years. No doubt the Heat have an amazing roster and are the defending champs but if you want to be in that conversation, you need longevity.

Q: Are the Heat a better team right now than they were last season?
MB: I think they did get better. Those new guys (Allen and Rashard Lewis) add a whole new dimension and create more space for guys like LeBron and Dwyane Wade to slash.

Q: Is there any way to actually defend LeBron?
MB: We certainly have a theory of playing team defense. It’s almost impossible for one person to check the best offensive players in the league. You need to rely on your overall system, the weak side and rotations.

Q: Manu Ginobili said you are one of the core players and leaders of the team after playing seven years with the Spurs. What does that mean to you?

MB: It means a lot. Obviously, I’ve played a lot of games with those guys. I have tremendous respect for them as basketball players, competitors and human beings. The bottom line is the Spurs are all about doing things the right way and winning. When I was faced with a choice (two years ago) of being a free agent and maybe trying to get more money or increase my role somewhere else, it just wasn’t worth it. I have it good here.
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Bonner discusses The NBA Life each week with radio broadcaster Chris Ryan and New Hampshire Union Leader reporter Kevin Gray, and the interview appears weekly in the N.H. Sunday News.

UM, NOT SO MUCH. I challenged Matt Bonner to a game of P-I-G at his basketball camp in Concord, N.H., and was skunked. Couldn't get the roll. Not to mention Mr. Red Rocket hit a crazy clinching shot from halfcourt:

More audio excellence from Matt Bonner

We decided NBA veteran Matt Bonner, who lives outside of San Antonio, needs a ranch. Doesn't he? Come on, Red Rocket, buy a ranch. Tim Duncan must have a ranch.


"Nobody has a ranch. That’s something to have if you’re from Texas, like Josh Beckett. He has a ranch," Bonner said on our radio show this week. "Who wants to take care of a ranch?"


You hire people for that. 


"Yeah, but then you have to watch them. It all seems like a big headache to me. No, thanks. I’m from New Hampshire, where we grow up shoveling and raking. That’s enough. I don’t need to be shoveling livestock manure."

The Red Rocket Chronicles

Chris Ryan, my co-host for "The NBA Life with Matt Bonner" extracted this audio gem from the Red Rocket on our last show. Bonner was in Philadelphia for Twilight Zone moment. Chris: What's a good story from the road lately?

Bonner: We came in to Philly, and I dropped my bags off and went to do an interview with a band called “The War on Drugs.” I came back, got in the cab, told the driver we were staying at the Four Seasons. That’s where we’ve always stayed since I’ve been with the Spurs for the past five years.

I got on the elevator and went to hit Floor 9 – I did remember what floor I was on – but there were only eight floors. I’m thinking, "That’s odd. There must be another elevator that goes to the higher floors.” I took a stroll around the lobby, and now I’m thinking, “What the heck?” I pulled out my hotel key: Ritz Carlton. I was at the wrong hotel. That’s my story. I know it sounds bad. Tough life. We’re at the Ritz Carlton, not the Four Seasons, but it’s still a funny story.

What's happening is Linconceivable

The first time Jeremy Lin played against the University of New Hampshire, he scored five points in 26 minutes as Harvard beat the Wildcats, 83-81, in overtime. He was never spectacular in games against Dartmouth and UNH, and it wasn't a surprise he wasn't drafted. Today Lin has reached a Supernova of stardom with the Knicks, sparking a previously awful team to seven straight wins.

Dartmouth coach Paul Cormier, who previously scouted for Golden State and recommended the Warriors draft Lin in the second round of 2010, said everyone can learn from "Linsanity." My full story is in today's New Hampshire Union Leader.

“He was basically told he wasn’t good enough to play in the NBA when he wasn’t drafted. Now the Knicks haven’t lost with him on the court and there’s a lot of believers, but the reason he is in this position today is because the one person who didn’t give up on him was himself," said Cormier, who gave his Dartmouth team a motivational talk leading up to Friday's game against Yale. “Some people may have given up on us or given up on you as an individual, and you might think coaches or some teammates have given up on you, but the one thing you cannot do, and Jeremy Lin is the perfect example, is you cannot give up on yourself.”

Jeremy Lin inspires us all.

The NBA Life with Matt Bonner

Here's a bit from our weekly radio show in New Hampshire with Matt Bonner, one of the top-25 Raptors of all time. We've worked together on a radio show for eight seasons. The Red Rocket always calls the program, whether he's walking to the arena or sitting at his favorite sandwich shop. Bonner has never earned a dime from the show, but co-host Chris Ryan and myself did buy him lunch once in New York.

Me: We need to pump you up for the next game. Remember that time you scored 28 points at Utah? That was awesome. (Chris Farley-esque question.)

Bonner: I’m glad you guys remember that. It’s tough because I swear I’m the most heckled guy on our team. These wiseguys are incredibly mean, and they pick the most quiet times to yell. I can hear everything. You don’t want to give them a reaction because that only fuels the fire.

One time we were in Minnesota, and I was going through my shooting routine in pregame. These 30-year-old guys were just heckling me every time I missed a shot. They were really letting me have it, just making fun of me. After my routine, I went over there and just talked to them. I could see they were kind of nervous. I said, “Look, guys, I understand if you want to heckle me. I get heckled everywhere for some reason, but you guys have it all backwards. You should be cheering for me. I’m the guy that’s keeping the men’s league dream alive. I’m not athletic. I have a wing span shorter than my height (6-foot-10). I don’t really do anything. I shoot threes. I play hard. You guys should want to cheer for me.” They thought that was so great. They instantly became my fans and were cheering for me the whole game.

The Red Rocket is flat-out dusting the Lakers on this play.

Me: Remember that time when you and the Raptors and held Kobe Bryant to 86 points?

Bonner: It was 81 points. Give us some credit.

Life of a long-range shooter

Matt Bonner, the reigning NBA 3-Point Field Goal Percentage Champion, took six shots from a combined 145 feet in the season opener against Memphis. The Red Rocket swished the first missile, a 26-footer from wing, then went cold for the rest of the night in San Antonio's 95-82 win Monday night. That's a typical shot chart for Bonner, entering his 8th season following a busy three months as VP of the NBA Players Association. He usually makes more (hitting 46 percent of 3-point attempts last season) but even when Bonner misses, he still stretches the defense and provides more operating room for Manu Ginobili (24 points) and Tony Parker (15 points). The Spurs are a veteran bunch that dissect teams with ball movement, an extra pass, and a 35-year-old Tim Duncan ... Spurs opened the 3Q with a 25-5 outburst, capped with Kawhi Leonard's first basket of his NBA career, a trey. Leonard, 20, played two years at San Diego State and averaged 15.5 points and 10.6 boards last season ... A look at the trophy sitting on Bonner's mantle: