Express-News: Let’s Count Ways We’ll Miss Horry

[duncan228]

http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/spurs/Page_2_-_Richard_Oliver_Olivers_Twist20080728.html

Let’s count ways we’ll miss Horry
Richard Oliver: Oliver's Twist
Express-News

I’ll miss Robert Horry.

Not because he’s a great quote, though he is. Not because he’s had his heroic moments, though he has. Not because he treats the common fan with a modicum of respect, though he does.

No, I’ll miss Horry because when the going gets tough, he goes and gets nasty. And the Spurs need that.

The headline example, of course, is the notorious moment two seasons ago when the warhorse forward hip-checked Phoenix guard Steve Nash, causing the Canadian to animatedly flop into the AT&T Center scorer’s table as if downed by a sniper.

Another might be the crunching pick set on New Orleans’ David West and his sore back last year, a forearms-to-the-kidneys move described by one blogger as “cunning and cold-hearted.” West went down in a writhing heap, and our man Horry strolled away with the casual ease of a man checking his petunias.

Those were telling moments, to be sure, but another from last year’s postseason was arguably the most hard-hitting argument for keeping Horry on site.

In a blowout loss at Phoenix, the Suns had several starters inexplicably on the floor while up by 24 with 3:38 left. Thus, when a ball headed out of bounds, the veteran leapt, snatched it and turned to rocket it off the leg of Amare Stoudemire.

It ensured a meaningless Spurs possession. But more importantly, it ticked off Phoenix coach Mike D’Antoni. His face scrunched like a constipated Shar Pei, he groused about the play until he was tossed with a couple of minutes left.

A couple of days later, when the teams continued the series in San Antonio, Horry folded his lanky 6-foot-10 frame over one of the folding chairs on the Spurs bench before the game. Did the team notice, he was asked, that the Suns had starters still on the court late?

Horry, a smile on his face, nodded. Why then, he was asked, didn’t he aim at a more painful target on Stoudemire’s person?

“I used to pitch in baseball,” Horry replied. “I could have.”

Indeed, had the situation called for it, he would have.

And the Spurs need that.

[benefactor]

Hmm...sorry, still not worth a very valuable roster spot. Moving on...

[Sigz]

David West is a fucking pussy.

[Man of Steel]

I guess that I will be in the minority on this one.

Horry definitely lost a ton of skills over the past 3 years.

Still--there may come a time --maybe in the playoffs--when we need him. Some of us will miss the "Horry for three" possibility in closing seconds.

Now with Brent Barry gone--I guess that I wish that we will have at least one veteran role player not named Finley.

There--I said it--now everybody can pile on...

But one question:

IF SA does not sign him up now for one more year--can we still do it later during the season if he is still available?

If so--how do we make a roster spot for him?

[Mr.Bottomtooth]

Remembering Horry more for his rough plays rather than his personality and clutchness is just plain retarded. This guy may be worse than McDonald.

[benefactor]

Remembering Horry more for his rough plays rather than his personality and clutchness is just plain retarded. This guy may be worse than McDonald.
Yup...this quote alone makes this article lose all legitimacy...

Not because he’s had his heroic moments, though he has.

[Avitus1]

Horry was good when the team needed him but it's time to move on...

[bdictjames]

Who the fuck is Richard Oliver?

Missing Horry for this shit.

[duncan228]

Who the fuck is Richard Oliver?


Richard Oliver was sports editor of the San Antonio Express-News from 2001-03 before moving into the role of columnist/senior writer.

Prior to joining the newspaper in 2000 as deputy sports editor, Oliver covered pro football for almost five years as a senior staff writer for Newsday in New York. He was a sports writer, columnist and sports editor for the Corpus Christi Caller-Times from 1983-1996. Prior to that, he worked a year at the Bryan-College Station Eagle.

Oliver, a 1981 graduate of Texas A&M University, has been honored for his writing by the national and regional Associated Press Sports Editors, Dallas Press Club, Charles H. Green/Headliners Foundation, South Texas Press Club and the William R. Hearst Foundation.

The Corpus Christi native, a Carroll High School graduate, and his wife, Laura, have three children: Katye, Patricia and Ryan.

http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/columnists/richard_oliver/richard_oliver.html#bio

[usckk]

Where art thou Ludden?

[duncan228]

Where art thou Ludden?

:lol

I may never get over it. I miss him.

[Mr.Bottomtooth]

I can benefit more by squirting lemons in my eye than read this bullcrap.

[Kindergarten Cop]

I can benefit more by squirting lemons in my eye than read this bullcrap.

:lol

[Spurtacus]

This guys man crush on Horry is worse than tlong's man crush on Oden.

[urunobili]

well.. he has been our enforcer... now i guess we're gonna let a rookie Gist do all that dirty work? i am not so sure... wish he'd be at least on the roster... i'm not prepared to let him go just yet

[duncan228]

This guys man crush on Horry is worse than tlong's man crush on Oden.

I don't know if anything is that bad. :lol

[Dex]

I'm gonna send an email to Ludden to see if he'll stuff the national job and come back.

[exstatic]

well.. he has been our enforcer... now i guess we're gonna let a rookie Gist do all that dirty work? i am not so sure...

http://www.nba.com/media/act_kurt_thomas.jpg

[The Truth #6]

I thought the article was fine. I don't see why he would have talked about Horry's clutch shooting. We all know about it, and it's not like Horry would have brought that if he came next year. Oliver is correct - we'll miss his mind games/dirty tricks that can be helpful in a tight series.

However, that's not to say I want him back. I don't, but I do appreciate what he brought.

[Guajalote]

For me, bringing Horry back depends on three things- available roster spots, Horry's health, and how much he would take to play this season.

Depending on how the rest of the summer and the preseason pan out, there may or may not be an available roster spot to give him, so it may be a moot point.

Would he come back healed up and at least in some kind of good shape for the season?

The Spurs don't exactly have a "JR Smith/Artest" amount of money left to give. So if we have a roster spot, he's healthy and ready to go, and he's willing to take the vet's minimum, that may go a long way toward deciding.

Of course, didn't the FO already say that he won't be coming back? If so, really a moot point.

[tmtcsc]

If Horry doesn't make the starting day roster, I wouldn't be shocked if he's called upon for the playoffs OR if one of our bigs gets injured. He would have to stay in shape in case the call comes, but I could definitely see it happening.

[tmtcsc]

I'm gonna send an email to Ludden to see if he'll stuff the national job and come back.

Offer him a bag of Funyuns to come back.

[angelbelow]

Remembering Horry more for his rough plays rather than his personality and clutchness is just plain retarded. This guy may be worse than McDonald.

damn, hoopz is buff.

[mrspurs]

we held on to horry 1 possibly 2 seasons to long, and this season(because of that) we're gonna pay for it...id be willing to bet timmy had everything todo with horry being gone...if i was timmy, and i got alley-ooped on as much as he did against the suns,hornets and lakers(last season) and all you got is horry coming off the bench if fab and kurt cant play, heck id rather get beat with gist or tolliver coming in.....at least when he gets back to the bench he can say........its not my fault you held on to rob and fin so long papa pop

[rj215]

Horry should have his jersey retired. Horry should be remembered as a great Spur. Horry should be remembered as the greatest role player in NBA history. BUT Horry should retire so someone else (Gist, Mason, Bonner) can step up for us in the playoffs.

I mean I'm sure you can have Horry take up a roster spot til he's 60 so he can play 5 minutes in the 4th quarter of a 3 point game in the playoffs, BUT that wouldn't help us when we need a solid back up PF for the first 3 quarters.

[SenorSpur]

Horry should have his jersey retired. Horry should be remembered as a great Spur. Horry should be remembered as the greatest role player in NBA history. BUT Horry should retire so someone else (Gist, Mason, Bonner) can step up for us in the playoffs.

I mean I'm sure you can have Horry take up a roster spot til he's 60 so he can play 5 minutes in the 4th quarter of a 3 point game in the playoffs, BUT that wouldn't help us when we need a solid back up PF for the first 3 quarters.

....nor would it help during the better part of the regular season schedule - particularly on B2B nights.

[urunobili]

http://www.nba.com/media/act_kurt_thomas.jpg

Thomas an enforcer? you have to be kidding me.. he is WAAAAYYY too "good" to impersonate such a role...

Thomas is not even a Sith Apprentice and Horry is fucking Darth Vader....

[Mr.Bottomtooth]

damn, hoopz is buff.

I know huh. :smokin

[Anti.Hero]

Definitely one of my all-time favorite Spurs.


He has so many skins on the wall he just doesn't give a shit about all the bad pub.

[Mr.Bottomtooth]

Thomas an enforcer? you have to be kidding me.. he is WAAAAYYY too "good" to impersonate such a role...

Thomas is not even a Sith Apprentice and Horry is fucking Darth Vader....

Yea but then again, wasn't that everyone's impression of Horry when he first came?

[urunobili]

Yea but then again, wasn't that everyone's impression of Horry when he first came?

why don;t you say it instead of asking if you remember so well... :bang

[Mr.Bottomtooth]

why don;t you say it instead of asking if you remember so well... :bang

Okay, that was everyone's impression of Horry when he first came. Smartass.

[urunobili]

Okay, that was everyone's impression of Horry when he first came. Smartass.

Horry considered "good" or "soft" when he first came? i'd need a link to a thread or an article to believe this BS :lmao

[angel_luv]

I wish the Spurs would add Robert to the coaching staff here.

That would be awesome. :)

[Mr.Bottomtooth]

Horry considered "good" or "soft" when he first came? i'd need a link to a thread or an article to believe this BS :lmao

So you don't believe that Horry was a good player who also wasn't a rough guy who was laying hits on people already during games when he first came to the Spurs. You need to go back and do some research.

I mean, if Horry was already the bruiser and dirty player that he has the reputation for in San Antonio, you wouldn't mind pointing out a few moments in his career before his stint with the Spurs that also brought up the same reputation of him.

I also like how you slipped in the word soft as if I agreed that he was a soft player.

[urunobili]

So you don't believe that Horry was a good player who also wasn't a rough guy who was laying hits on people already during games when he first came to the Spurs. You need to go back and do some research.

I mean, if Horry was already the bruiser and dirty player that he has the reputation for in San Antonio, you wouldn't mind pointing out a few moments in his career before his stint with the Spurs that also brought up the same reputation of him.

I also like how you slipped in the word soft as if I agreed that he was a soft player.

Big Shot Rob was already an enforcer before coming to San Antonio... his cheapest shots may have been done here but he had his share in both Houston and LA that were not publicly shown as the ones he had here... my favorite all time is the "bite" on Stackpunk's arm... :wow

[Mr.Bottomtooth]

Big Shot Rob was already an enforcer before coming to San Antonio... his cheapest shots may have been done here but he had his share in both Houston and LA that were not publicly shown as the ones he had here... my favorite all time is the "bite" on Stackpunk's arm... :wow

:lol That bite was hilarious. I can't believe that got him suspended.

[urunobili]

:lol That bite was hilarious. I can't believe that got him suspended.

Tyson like reaction... anyone has a .gif of Horry's bite on Stackpunk?

[Mister Sinister]

:lol That bite was hilarious. I can't believe that got him suspended.
http://images.encyclopediadramatica.com/images/d/d5/OmNomNombus.jpeg

[Anti.Hero]

Pushing West in the back was not dirty. West had been punking Oberto the entire series.

Horry reminded him who had the rings. An "old guy" lays out the punk kid who had been tapping people on the chin, clapping in people's faces, and he is blasted for it.

I hope we will have another guy like that soon who has the same mentality.

[urunobili]

Pushing West in the back was not dirty. West had been punking Oberto the entire series.

Horry reminded him who had the rings. An "old guy" lays out the punk kid who had been tapping people on the chin, clapping in people's faces, and he is blasted for it.

I hope we will have another guy like that soon who has the same mentality.
Posey? :depressed

Edit: Fuck Posey...

Release the Gist!

[Mr.Bottomtooth]

Tyson like reaction... anyone has a .gif of Horry's bite on Stackpunk?

IIRC, I don't think there was a .gif made.

[Mr.Bottomtooth]

http://images.encyclopediadramatica.com/images/d/d5/OmNomNombus.jpeg

:lol

[Walton Buys Off Me]

Good article. I for one would love to see Robert stay with the organization in some capacity, maybe assistant coach? Ultimately a guy like Robert Horry deserves to retire on his terms and best of luck to him.

[Fingaroll44]

well.. he has been our enforcer... now i guess we're gonna let a rookie Gist do all that dirty work? i am not so sure... wish he'd be at least on the roster... i'm not prepared to let him go just yet

exactly....I think I will miss both the enforcing AND the big shots the same....just like hitting a big bucket sets a tone....setting a hard pick sets a tone too...i dont want to go back to the days of the Spurs gettin punked...and nobody steppin up to shut it down....who's going to be the one to do what no one wants to do?...dont say Tim....we need at least ONE player who wont drop his head and visually display the equivalent of a dog running w/ his tail between his legs when things get tight...hell yea...Horry is THE MAN for this in my freakin book...im DAMN GLAD he did all he did...u have to let them know...we will not be punked...everybody NOT in the Spurs FO seems to be an expert on what the hell we need...most dont know what theyre talkin about....so statements posted about veterans sucking i am leery of...most of the time there is no substitute for Bball IQ and experience...u need a mixture of young AND old..its one thing to want to go younger...and another to spew mean spirited criticism @ the "old guys" ...it isnt called for...we win as a team....but when we lose...this person sucks...and that person sucks...ridiculous

[Spurtacus]

http://images.encyclopediadramatica.com/images/d/d5/OmNomNombus.jpeg

:lol

[MannyIsGod]

I already counted the ways I missed Horry last year since he never showed up.

[timvp]

Horry should be remembered as a player who was a good teammate, a player who had one of the highest basketball IQs of all-time and a player who was easily the clutchest role player ever. The Nash and West incidents shouldn't even make the list of reasons to remember Horry. It kinda sucks that now when people think back about Horry, they'll remember those two incidents right there with his clutch shooting :td

And is pretty weird how the Spurs handle their free agents they don't want back. For whatever reasons, they never call a player to say they don't want him back. They don't really say anything. Like what Tony Massenburg said, after winning the 2005 championship, the next time he heard from the Spurs was the day before opening night when they asked if he wanted to come and be a part of the ring ceremony :lol

[SenorSpur]

And is pretty weird how the Spurs handle their free agents they don't want back. For whatever reasons, they never call a player to say they don't want him back. They don't really say anything. Like what Tony Massenburg said, after winning the 2005 championship, the next time he heard from the Spurs was the day before opening night when they asked if he wanted to come and be a part of the ring ceremony :lol

Now that is surprising for such a class organization as our Spurs.

[whottt]

What's funny is everyone(including the Spurs) seems to think Kurt Thomas isn't broken down and injury prone...

Sigh...

[FromWayDowntown]

I'm underwhelmed by any lamentation of Horry's departure that doesn't include a reference to the 2005 playoffs, followed by an immediate recognition that he's been hard-pressed to provide the sort of production that he gave in that run. That's not to say that there haven't been extremely useful moments, including his tremendous effort in Game 1 of the 2007 Finals and many other under-the-radar, not-showing-up-in-the-boxscore sorts of intangible efforts that have aided his teams over the last 5 years. I'll miss all of those things about Robert Horry.

The hard fouls and willingness to stand up to a caustic media are a very, very small part of what he contributed to the Spurs.

[duncan228]

And is pretty weird how the Spurs handle their free agents they don't want back. For whatever reasons, they never call a player to say they don't want him back. They don't really say anything.


Now that is surprising for such a class organization as our Spurs.

It really is surprising and it doesn't make any sense to me. It's completely opposite the way they handle themselves in things we can see. I guess what goes on behind closed doors can be different than what they present to us.

[lotr1trekkie]

Unless your figuring on Bonner /Mahimni the team still has no reliable big coming off the bench like Horry has done. Gist or Tolliver? For the vet's minimum I'd resign him as insurance and as a tutor for Ian , James and Anthony. Horry simply knows how to play the game at a very hi level--that can't be coached into a 22 year old at practice. Ten weeks ago Bonner and Ian were invisible vs the Lakers. Have they gotten that much better since then?

[SenorSpur]

It really is surprising and it doesn't make any sense to me. It's completely opposite the way they handle themselves in things we can see. I guess what goes on behind closed doors can be different than what they present to us.

So true. Certainly a stark contrast in organizational behavior from the one where the coach willingly leaves in the middle of the rodeo road trip and takes a "red eye" across the country to court a prospective free agent (Stoudamire).

Pop is famously lauded for his direct, shoot-from-the-hip, tell-it-like-it-is, actions. I cannot understand why he wouldn't put in a courtesy call to a key contributor like Horry, whom he's been so blindly loyal to over the past four years.

[SenorSpur]

Unless your figuring on Bonner /Mahimni the team still has no reliable big coming off the bench like Horry has done. Gist or Tolliver? For the vet's minimum I'd resign him as insurance and as a tutor for Ian , James and Anthony. Horry simply knows how to play the game at a very hi level--that can't be coached into a 22 year old at practice. Ten weeks ago Bonner and Ian were invisible vs the Lakers. Have they gotten that much better since then?

must we open this "can of worms" yet again?

[angelbelow]

i just hope he doesnt sign with the lakers.

[wisnub]

I missed his 3 point shots and his intangibles. But lately, I hated how he fouled Nash and David West, it just make Spurs a bad name. I really hated that,those were extremely unnecessary for Spurs player standard. Spurs are known for their class and clean play. We got a little bit of image problem lately, I hope Im wrong. I hope those events didnt change many outsider perception toward us.... Thank you Big Shot Bob for all of memories, please retired and make a good impression toward everyone.....you are smart player and i believe you will make smart decision as well.

[lefty]

we held on to horry 1 possibly 2 seasons to long, and this season(because of that) we're gonna pay for it...id be willing to bet timmy had everything todo with horry being gone...if i was timmy, and i got alley-ooped on as much as he did against the suns,hornets and lakers(last season) and all you got is horry coming off the bench if fab and kurt cant play, heck id rather get beat with gist or tolliver coming in.....at least when he gets back to the bench he can say........its not my fault you held on to rob and fin so long papa pop

Maybe 1 season, but not 2 season too long; he made some big shots for us in 2007

[Russ]

I wouldn't be surprised if he's back some time around February-March after the non-contributors have shaken themselves out.

After all, what's the difference between Horry joining the team in March and what's been going on the last three years? :)

[tbilliot]

Hmm...sorry, still not worth a very valuable roster spot. Moving on...

i just have one question about our spurs. last year we had great 3 point shooting that came from barry, finly, and with them 2 gone. we caint keep counting on manu to hit all the three's. so who is gonna come and help manu hit the three's as we will need?