Known as the player who shut down Dallas’ Dirk Nowitzki for the Miami Heat during the 2006 NBA Finals, James Posey's overriding defensive talent was on display Sunday, especially against Andrea Bargnani. The former No. 1 draft pick from Italy shot so poorly (2-for-13), much of it under Posey’s watch, that he ended up benched for much of the fourth quarter.
(Boston Herald 11/06/07)
When the Celtics signed James Posey during the offseason, there was an immediate buzz surrounding him " I think this is the guy that shut down Dirk in the finals," fans were heard whispering on Causeway Street.
The buzz quickly grew into a dull roar, only to be tempered by those who claimed that Posey's defensive prowess was on the wane, and that reports of him shutting down Dirk in the finals were inaccurate. Many of these doubters claimed to be Celtics fans.
Udonis Haslem was responsible, not Posey, they said.
It is one thing for a non-Celtics fan to try and minimize the value of a signing. But Celtic message boards were replete with efforts by Celtics fans arguing that Posey had not been the one guarding Dirk in the Finals, and, was at best, a adequate defender.
Well, the evidence is in, naysayers.
Come on. Drink some Kool-Aid.
Posey's the Genuine Article.
Sports Illustrated
Copyright 2006 Time Inc. All rights reserved.
July 5, 2006
The Dallas superstar insisted he had gotten good shots and just missed them--he was only 2 of 14 from the field--but Posey seemed to have gotten into Nowitzki's legs to force him to fade away even more than he usually does and into Dirk's head, too. The new phrase Miami used was keeping Nowitzki from getting to his "sweet spots." James Posey held Nowitzki to 22.8 points on 39 percent shooting. Bothered by the physical defense of Posey, Nowitzki wasn't able to deliver the types of spectacular performances he had during Dallas' victories over San Antonio and Phoenix in the previous two rounds.
Miami Herald (FL)
Copyright 2006 The Miami Herald
February 3, 2006
Strong defense from James Posey resulted in a 3-of-13 start from the field for James. By the time James scored his fourth field goal of the game with 4:55 left in the first half, the Heat held a 46-21 lead. James had been averaging 31 points per game going into the contest.
Miami Herald (FL)
Copyright 2007 The Miami Herald
April 30, 2007
Posey played the entire first quarter and was a big reason behind the Heat's solid start. He hit a three-pointer, blocked two shots, had an assist and got seven rebounds. He hounded Deng into a turnover and a 1-of-4 shooting start from the field. He finished with 18 rebounds, a franchise playoff record, to go with two blocks, a steal and relentless hustle.
Chicago Sun Times (IL)
Copyright 2007 ProQuest Information and Learning Company; All Rights Reserved.
April 28, 2007
Deng didn't seem to mind the matchup as he had 13 of his 24 points in the first quarter, which the Bulls forward started by making four of his first five shots. Once the more physical James Posey picked up Deng defensively, things changed. Deng had just one field goal in the second quarter, during which the Bulls made only 6 of 21 from the field (28.6 percent). Posey matched up mostly with Deng during the four regular-season games, in which the Heat held Deng to an average of 10 points.
Former NBA coach Lenny Wilkens helped unveil a new statistic Tuesday.
Wilkens said the new stat will demonstrate the productiveness of defensive-minded players like Posey."Whenever Posey came in the game, something happened," Wilkens said. "He was effective."
South Florida Sun-Sentinel
Copyright 2006 Sun-Sentinel
May 31, 2006
Tayshaun Prince had nine points last game before James Posey began covering him late in the first quarter. Prince had four points thereafter.
New Jersey Record (NJ)
Copyright (c) 2006 North Jersey Media Group Inc.
May 15, 2006
Gary Payton also buried what Wade called the game's "dagger" shot, a three from the left corner on a drive-and-kick feed from Wade that made it a seven-point game with 56.4 seconds left. And then there was James Posey's defense on Vince Carter, particularly at the outset of the final quarter, when Carter didn't score until 6:40 remained, and only scored one other basket that mattered.
(Boston Herald 11/06/07)
When the Celtics signed James Posey during the offseason, there was an immediate buzz surrounding him " I think this is the guy that shut down Dirk in the finals," fans were heard whispering on Causeway Street.
The buzz quickly grew into a dull roar, only to be tempered by those who claimed that Posey's defensive prowess was on the wane, and that reports of him shutting down Dirk in the finals were inaccurate. Many of these doubters claimed to be Celtics fans.
Udonis Haslem was responsible, not Posey, they said.
It is one thing for a non-Celtics fan to try and minimize the value of a signing. But Celtic message boards were replete with efforts by Celtics fans arguing that Posey had not been the one guarding Dirk in the Finals, and, was at best, a adequate defender.
Well, the evidence is in, naysayers.
Come on. Drink some Kool-Aid.
Posey's the Genuine Article.
Sports Illustrated
Copyright 2006 Time Inc. All rights reserved.
July 5, 2006
The Dallas superstar insisted he had gotten good shots and just missed them--he was only 2 of 14 from the field--but Posey seemed to have gotten into Nowitzki's legs to force him to fade away even more than he usually does and into Dirk's head, too. The new phrase Miami used was keeping Nowitzki from getting to his "sweet spots." James Posey held Nowitzki to 22.8 points on 39 percent shooting. Bothered by the physical defense of Posey, Nowitzki wasn't able to deliver the types of spectacular performances he had during Dallas' victories over San Antonio and Phoenix in the previous two rounds.
Miami Herald (FL)
Copyright 2006 The Miami Herald
February 3, 2006
Strong defense from James Posey resulted in a 3-of-13 start from the field for James. By the time James scored his fourth field goal of the game with 4:55 left in the first half, the Heat held a 46-21 lead. James had been averaging 31 points per game going into the contest.
Miami Herald (FL)
Copyright 2007 The Miami Herald
April 30, 2007
Posey played the entire first quarter and was a big reason behind the Heat's solid start. He hit a three-pointer, blocked two shots, had an assist and got seven rebounds. He hounded Deng into a turnover and a 1-of-4 shooting start from the field. He finished with 18 rebounds, a franchise playoff record, to go with two blocks, a steal and relentless hustle.
Chicago Sun Times (IL)
Copyright 2007 ProQuest Information and Learning Company; All Rights Reserved.
April 28, 2007
Deng didn't seem to mind the matchup as he had 13 of his 24 points in the first quarter, which the Bulls forward started by making four of his first five shots. Once the more physical James Posey picked up Deng defensively, things changed. Deng had just one field goal in the second quarter, during which the Bulls made only 6 of 21 from the field (28.6 percent). Posey matched up mostly with Deng during the four regular-season games, in which the Heat held Deng to an average of 10 points.
Former NBA coach Lenny Wilkens helped unveil a new statistic Tuesday.
Wilkens said the new stat will demonstrate the productiveness of defensive-minded players like Posey."Whenever Posey came in the game, something happened," Wilkens said. "He was effective."
South Florida Sun-Sentinel
Copyright 2006 Sun-Sentinel
May 31, 2006
Tayshaun Prince had nine points last game before James Posey began covering him late in the first quarter. Prince had four points thereafter.
New Jersey Record (NJ)
Copyright (c) 2006 North Jersey Media Group Inc.
May 15, 2006
Gary Payton also buried what Wade called the game's "dagger" shot, a three from the left corner on a drive-and-kick feed from Wade that made it a seven-point game with 56.4 seconds left. And then there was James Posey's defense on Vince Carter, particularly at the outset of the final quarter, when Carter didn't score until 6:40 remained, and only scored one other basket that mattered.
No comments:
Post a Comment