Michael Ventre

Being guarded by Bruce Bowen is like taking a knee to the groin.

Literally.

Steve Nash found that out the hard way in this year’s Western Conference semifinals, when the Phoenix Suns’ superstar took a Bowen shot to the jockstrap during Game 3. The foul whistled on the play was later upgraded to a Flagrant 1. On a knee-to-the-groin foul, the NBA applies a strict formula that raises the severity of the foul to correspond to each higher octave of the victim’s voice.

But Bowen’s offending limbs are nothing new. He has flailed his body parts at players he has defended often, and they don’t always land softly. In Game 2 of that series, he was accused of being a dirty player by Amare Stoudamire after Bowen kicked him. Bowen admitted later he did “clip” him, but it wasn’t intentional.

The fact that Bowen would ’fess up to clipping, which for years the NFL deemed an ungentlemanly act of blocking an opponent across the back of the legs, might have simply been an odd choice of language, or a Freudian slip.

It might also have been Bruce Bowen reaching into his vast repertoire of defensive chicanery to produce a mind game.

Bowen’s prowess on the defense end will be viewed under the klieg lights this week when he accepts the assignment of guarding LeBron James. Bowen’s Spurs begin their quest for a fourth championship when they host James and the Cleveland Cavaliers in Game 1 of the NBA Finals on Thursday night. He might just be the key to everything.

Bowen will not be the sole line of defense against LeBron. The Spurs act as a task force when it comes to shutting down an opposing star. But Bowen will be the point man in that assault. He turns 36 on June 14, and yet he is still one of the best one-on-one defenders in the NBA. Bowen has been named to the All-NBA defensive team the last seven years, to the first team the last four, and has been runner-up for Defensive Player of the Year the last three.

Like most great defensive players, Bowen has elicited mixed reactions from opponents. While many stars respect his ability, they are obligated to complain that he fouls them even when he doesn’t or else it appears Bowen has gotten the better of them. Bowen, at 6-7 and 200 pounds, gets all sorts of guard/forward monster swingman types to defend, and usually holds his own and then some.

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In these 2007 NBA finals, the focus will be on Bowen, because the focus is on LeBron. If the Cavs have any shot whatsoever — and many have already counted them out before the first blowoff horn has sounded to signal the first tipoff — LeBron will have to go berserk. His performance in Game 5 in Detroit is already a fond memory. He knows he has now graduated from off Broadway to Broadway itself.

Bowen’s task against LeBron will be a little different than, say, trying to put a strait jacket on Kobe Bryant. With Kobe, there’s no mystery. He’s going to shoot every time the basketball touches his fingers. Against the Lakers, Bowen and the Spurs can pretty much leave the other four guys open while Kobe tries to drop 60 on them.

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As it has been pointed out often lately, LeBron is more Magic Johnson than Michael Jordan. He’ll take over a game and score his team’s final 25 points. Or he’ll back off and get other teammates involved, like he did with Daniel Gibson in Game 6 against the Pistons.

That uncertainty poses a greater challenge for Bowen. Taking on LeBron will be like guarding a bigger, stronger Nash. Just one knee in the groin may not be nearly enough.