This time, he buried his shoulder into an unsuspecting Steve Nash.
And it turned out to be amply rewarding.
I certainly won't be the first or last person to blog about this.
Robert Horry (who average 3.9 points per game this season... note the dot. Not 39 points. 3 POINT 9) was suspended for two games for his blatant cheap shot. He was clearly frustrated and clearly intended to injure.
Boris Diaw (9.7 PPG), who was the closest player to the shot, charged after Horry. Amare Stoudemire (20.4 PPG) jumped off the bench in disgust and started walking briskly towards Horry, but he was held back.
ALL THREE OF THEM HAVE BEEN SUSPENDED.
This is one of the biggest shams I have ever seen in my entire life. I can not be professional about this. Every positive thing I have said about how David Stern runs his league, I take back. This is a complete and utter joke.
Diaw did exactly what anyone - ANYONE - would have done in that situation. If you have any sense of camaraderie or friendship, you can understand how you would respond if your team captain was maliciously slammed to the ground.
And Stoudemire didn't even get to Horry!
"This is a very unfortunate circumstance. No one here at the league office wants to suspend players any game, much less a pivotal game in the second round of a playoff series. But the rule, however, is the rule, and we intend to apply it consistently," said NBA executive vice president Stu Jackson.
The rule, of course, refers to "leaving the immediate vicinity of the bench".
Lets recap.
A bench player (Horry) takes a ridiculous cheapshot (obviously called a flagrant foul) on the team's leader and MVP, Steve Nash, who has already had his nose cut open and been kneed in this series. A starter (Diaw) jumps in to defend his teammate. Another starter (Stoudemire, who happens to completely change the dynamics of a game when he is involved) reacts out of emotion and jumps up and heads towards the offender. Both starters are suspended.
San Antonio now has a very good chance to beat the depleted Suns in game 5, and go on to win the series.
The response from the league? Rules are rules, and no exceptions can be made.
This entire situation completely disgusts me. I've lost what little respect I had for basketball, and I can't even begin to imagine what Phoenix Suns fans must be feeling right now.
NOT MAKING AN EXCEPTION AND PENALIZING THE SUNS SENDS THE FOLLOWING MESSAGE: When you need a boost in a best of 7 series, send in your worst bench player; hell, even sign a thug off of the streets. Right in the key next to the opposing bench, take their best player by the shoulders and kick him squarely in the groin. When he keels over, punch him in the jaw and send him down to the floor, than turn to the opposing team, flick them off, and say "What are you
"A rule is a rule, and in the past handful of years since they put that in, there have been I think less than five, maybe less than three, but there have been a couple occasions where someone just put one foot on the floor and got suspended. So if you're going to have a hard and fast rule like that, I think you've got to abide by it, and you can't make any exceptions."
Basketball teams should start hiring enforcers like hockey has. Go ahead and attack the Kobes, LeBrons, and Nashs of the league. If anyone dares step up and defend them, they'll be suspended for it.
What a disgrace.
5 comments:
could not be anymore right on. do the crime,pay the penalty.
Big Shot Bob became Cheap Shot Bob with that shoulder into Nash, but the thing I don't get is the NBA's logic in the suspension. I do agree that Stoudemire and Diaw should be suspended for leaving the bench area. Hey, the rule is the rule. You know it. Don't break it. Tough.
(By the way, as a lying SOB myself, I loved the Suns quick explanation that Stoudemire was "going to check in." Great quick thinking. Obviously he wasn't, but in the pantheon of good BS excuses, this deserves an honorable mention.)
But the NBA decided that there was an altercation, and because Stoudemire and Diaw went toward the altercation, they are suspended. Here's the problem though:
WHAT ALTERCATION??
Horry knocked over Nash.
Nash got up angry, and Horry and Raja Bell has a stand off. But if that was an altercation, shouldn't Bell be punished for being in the altercation?? And if Bell is NOT going to be punished for being in an altercation, I don't know if Horry was having a one-man altercation (like masterbation, but when you're angry at yourself). So then that begs the question, WHAT altercation were Stoudemire and Diaw going to join in?
Nothing happened after the hard foul. There was no fight to get in. It never happened.
And THEN you must look at the fact that the NBA is punishing the lesser offense of leaving the bench instead of the actual confrontation between Bell and Horry.
Horry deserves to be suspended one game for the cheap shot. Two? Eh, I suppose, but only because he's not a KEY cog in this series. Sure, those clutch shots will be missed, but like you said, 3.9 ppg aren't much (not in this series).
If the Association wanted to get this right, they should have suspended Bell (NOT Stoudemire or Diaw) for him getting Horry's face. They should fine the bench-leavers and give them a technical foul. Then if they do it again, suspend 'em.
Hard fouls are part of basketball. Cheap shots - sadly - are as well. Horry doesn't deserve to be a part of the rest of this series. But according to the rules and a spineless league, neither do Stoudemire and Diaw.
David Stern needs to have the courage to bend his own rules and adapt to some gray area. Otherwise, he's just Bud Selig.
What a scary thought that would be,
They shouldn't have suspended Diaw. But Stoudamire should know you can't leave the bench. It's the playoffs and that was fucking stupid of him. Good teammate or not.
Can't disagree with you Eric. It was stupid, and maybe this entry just proves that I don't understand the game of basketball. But if sticking to the rulebook and ruining a great series AND losing my interest entirely (not that I matter in the grand scheme of things) is what they were gunning for, they succeeded.
Fair enough. I guess I can be cynical and distant because I'm in Europe and the NBA playoffs aren't interesting enough to make an effort to follow from here.
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