Barry's play has Spurs smiling

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Web Posted: 11/25/2006 10:38 PM CST
Johnny Ludden
Express-News Staff Writer

The Arco Arena infirmary already had begun to resemble a grocery-store deli counter by the time Brent Barry walked through the door last week. Take a number. Get in line.

Sacramento forward Kenny Thomas was having his split lip stitched. Ronnie Price stood nearby with a deep cut on his chin that also needed to be closed.

Barry arrived holding a towel over his head. Underneath was a 2-inch gash just above his left temple, the result of a collision with Price that left both players sprawled on the court.

As Barry awaited his turn to be sewn up, one of the attending doctors tested him for a concussion. Having watched the Spurs guard already hit three 3-pointers, the Kings' medical staff wasn't exactly rushing to get him back on the floor.

"I'm going to give you a series of words, and I want you to repeat them back to me after I'm done," the doctor said. "Red. Car. Tree. Apple."

Barry stared blankly. "I drove my red car," he said, "into a tree while eating an apple."

"Well," said the doctor, smiling, "you appear to be just fine."

The Spurs would have to agree. Barry returns to Seattle tonight feeling more comfortable than ever in a black-and-white uniform. He has found his shot, his confidence and maybe even a role.

Barry began Saturday ranked third in the NBA in 3-point shooting, having made 58.1 percent of his attempts while averaging 9.3 points in 20.1 minutes. No reserve has been more productive for the Spurs this season. No player may be having more fun.

During Friday's loss to Dallas, he buried a 3-pointer to bring the Spurs within two, spun on his heels, sliced the air with an uppercut and screamed to the crowd. Two minutes earlier, he had leaped high to deflect a pass from Dirk Nowitzki before diving into the Spurs' bench to save the ball — earning him an enthusiastic swat on the rear from coach Gregg Popovich.

"I'm just trying to relax," Barry said, "and enjoy playing."

That wasn't always easy during Barry's first two seasons with the Spurs. After signing a four-year, $19 million contract with the team, he endured a lengthy shooting slump that robbed him of some of his confidence. His minutes became inconsistent, as well as his play.

Barry credits a lot of his turnaround to what he calls "that fateful day." On the morning of Feb. 23 — hours from last season's trade deadline — Popovich called to tell him he was being sent to New Orleans for J.R. Smith. Barry's heart sank.

"I wish there had been a local bar that was open," he said at the time, "but it was 10 in the morning."

Four hours later, Barry received another call from Popovich: With the Spurs and Hornets unable to find another team with salary-cap room to facilitate the deal, the trade had collapsed. Barry had an hour to join the Spurs at the airport for their trip to Memphis.

"There are so many things I'm capable of doing on the court and haven't had a consistent showing of it, whether that was because of minutes or the way I was approaching games," Barry said. "It certainly wasn't for lack of work. But maybe, mentally, my mindset wasn't where it was supposed to be.

"Ever since that fateful day, I've just tried to relax and say, 'I don't want to have this opportunity and let it slip by.' I want to enjoy it and contribute to the team."

Popovich sympathized with Barry. He was rejoining a team he knew had tried to trade him. But Popovich also gave him an order: Be aggressive and stop fretting over missed shots.

"He's never been super confident in that kind of a philosophy," Popovich said. "He's always beaten himself up if he misses things or makes a turnover.

"I just tried to tell him, 'Beat yourself up if you don't react defensively the way I want you to react.' That other stuff, just kiss it off. And next time you touch (the ball), let it fly again."

Barry played well the second half of the season. In the second game of the playoffs, he hit a late 3-pointer to force overtime against Sacramento — a shot that helped the Spurs advance to the conference semifinals.

Though aware the Spurs were still looking for a younger perimeter player, Barry worried about only one thing this summer: finding big-enough waves to surf near his home in Southern California. Nor did he complain when Popovich didn't play him in the season opener against Dallas.

Two games later in Toronto, Popovich called on Barry in the first quarter with the Spurs down 11. He made all five of his 3-pointers. The next night in New York, he made five more.

Barry has hit at least three 3-pointers in five of the nine games he has played more than 12 minutes. He's also shooting 91.7 percent from the foul line.

"I think the whole key with him is he's just playing free in his mind," Tony Parker said. "He looks like he's not thinking."

Popovich initially gave Michael Finley the majority of minutes at the backup wing positions to help get him on track. But as Barry has continued to play well, his role has expanded. He runs the floor well, is one of the team's best passers, and, on most nights, has provided a jolt of energy.

"The more aggressive he is, the better player he is because he creates for everybody," Popovich said. "He's a hell of a basketball talent, but the mental side has gotten in his way from time to time because he gets down on himself.

"That hasn't happened so far this year because he knows there's kind of an ax hanging there: Be aggressive or sit."

"Maybe it's just time," Barry said, "to say, 'Message received.'"

Notable: Manu Ginobili, who has a bruised lower back, accompanied the team to Seattle but is questionable to play tonight.