Harvey: Horry's Last Act - Boos For A Reboot

http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/c....a82f678f.html

Buck Harvey: Horry's last act: Boos for a reboot
San Antonio Express-News

PHOENIX — Robert Horry grabbed the final rebound, took the final dribbles and gave the Phoenix fans no choice.

The crowd had to boo during the last seconds of a 19-point win for the home team.

“That’s why I kept the ball,” Horry said, smiling.

No one will be suspended for this. But it was a gesture that revealed how the Spurs took their beating and how they had begun to reboot their heads before the beating was even over.

Or, as Horry said, “We don’t need to lose the next game.”

The end is coming for Horry. He knows that. He wouldn’t mind playing another season, but he also has joked about the prospects.

“Who is going to want a 38-year-old power forward who doesn’t score in the paint?” he has said.

That’s Horry. Nothing bothers him short of the death threat he got last spring, and this past weekend in Phoenix was nothing like that. He was booed, sure, but that was it.

“I don’t mind being public enemy No. 1 here,” he said.

By the fourth quarter, he’d become the last form of entertainment for Phoenix fans. The Suns had routed the Spurs so quickly that Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili sat down for good with almost four minutes left in the third.

They would have been on a jet heading back to San Antonio in the fourth if the Spurs had an extra plane.

Ginobili feared this might happen Friday night. Usually, that’s the pattern of a playoff series.

But the energy of the teams didn’t switch until Sunday, and that suggests the Suns were reacting out of embarrassment. After Friday, they had to do something.

So Raja Bell couldn’t miss, and Shaquille O’Neal got a double-double in half of a game. The Suns threw in nine 3-pointers, and Boris Diaw became the solution for Tony Parker. You fight French with French, right?

But as the Spurs did everything but untie their laces, the Suns were still on edge. Amare Stoudemire got a technical foul early in the fourth quarter, long after the Spurs’ starters had been pulled, and he returned later after the Suns’ lead had dropped.

From 32 points to 21. Did Mike D’Antoni think Jacque Vaughn and Damon Stoudamire were threatening?

Bell played 40 minutes when there was no reason for him to, and Diaw went further. He stayed in the game until he fouled out — after playing almost 45 minutes.

Then there’s D’Antoni. How many coaches have ever been ejected in the final minutes of a playoff game with a 24-point lead?

Meanwhile, Horry was running around doing something he hadn’t been able to do on the court this spring — run around. He said afterward he needed this to get closer to the rhythm of a game.

“Big time,” is how he summed up the opportunity.

Brent Barry took advantage of that, too. But mostly, the Spurs sat back and absorbed their punishment. They listened to the crowd, and they watched three Suns starters stay on the court in the fourth, and they began to get ready for Tuesday.

Bell, trying to explain how the Suns reversed Friday’s rout by the Spurs, settled on an emotional answer. “When guys beat you like that,” he said of the Spurs’ win in Game 3, “you take it to heart.”

Horry, after the series loss to the Mavericks in 2006, told the team the same before they left for the summer. “Now we have the fuel,” he said.

Now it is the Spurs’ turn to find some fuel. Gregg Popovich didn’t say much to the players afterward. “Because he didn’t have to,” Horry said.

Horry has gone through this before. If the Spurs advance, he will have gone through more than anyone; he likely will pass Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for most games played in NBA playoff history.

So he took the final dribbles, and he heard the boos. Afterward, he was asked what he was thinking at that moment, and he smiled again. He said he would keep that to himself.

And then came the realization. Given that this series could end Tuesday, was this Horry’s last game in the city that loves to hate him?

“I hope so,” he said.

Good article. I chuckled. :lol That's our Deathstroke.

If SA can win this series and go at least 5 games in next, Horry will become career leader in playoff games played.

Nice way to end your career.

:toast

Horry has one last "playoff moment" left in him....

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But as the Spurs did everything but untie their laces, the Suns were still on edge. Amare Stoudemire got a technical foul early in the fourth quarter, long after the Spurs’ starters had been pulled, and he returned later after the Suns’ lead had dropped.

From 32 points to 21. Did Mike D’Antoni think Jacque Vaughn and Damon Stoudamire were threatening?

Bell played 40 minutes when there was no reason for him to, and Diaw went further. He stayed in the game until he fouled out — after playing almost 45 minutes.

Then there’s D’Antoni. How many coaches have ever been ejected in the final minutes of a playoff game with a 24-point lead?

Meanwhile, Horry was running around doing something he hadn’t been able to do on the court this spring — run around.

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:lol
even on a win, the Suns are out of sorts.

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Originally Posted by duncan228

They would have been on a jet heading back to San Antonio in the fourth if the Spurs had an extra plane.

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That's funny but it makes me want to :ihit

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Originally Posted by Jimcs50

If SA can win this series and go at least 5 games in next, Horry will become career leader in playoff games played.

Nice way to end your career.

:toast

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All-time? Or just for the active players?

Wow. I was worried about the loss, didn't watch the game much, but I hope they give their A-game on game 5.

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Originally Posted by bdictjames

All-time? Or just for the active players?

Wow. I was worried about the loss, didn't watch the game much, but I hope they give their A-game on game 5.

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All-time. They talked about it during the game. He's like 6 games shy.

Spurs better man up and close this

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Originally Posted by fyatuk

All-time. They talked about it during the game. He's like 6 games shy.

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Oh wow. Big Shot Rob indeed.

Horry for the HoF

Another great article by Buck.

I disagree. The article was rambling, all over the place and had no point, IMO.

I wish Buck Harvey would occasionally write a column without using one question mark. Or, as I guess he would put it: Has Buck Harvey ever written a column without using a question mark? Then he would go on to not answer it, like he did with the "has any coach ever been thrown out with a 24 point lead" business. That did not need to be phrased in the form of a question.

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Originally Posted by miss paxton

I wish Buck Harvey would occasionally write a column without using one question mark. Or, as I guess he would put it: Has Buck Harvey ever written a column without using a question mark? Then he would go on to not answer it, like he did with the "has any coach ever been thrown out with a 24 point lead" business. That did not need to be phrased in the form of a question.

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5 question marks in that article total.

- Mars

My head says Horry is done, then I read something like this and my heart wants to believe he has a bit more in the tank.

We'll see.

The crowd had to boo during the last seconds of a 19-point win for the home team.

“That’s why I kept the ball,” Horry said, smiling."

- uh oh...phx is in trouble.

I read somewhere that D’Antoni got ejected last night complaining about a 'Horry play that was unsportsmanlike' - any ideas?

Horry is saving it for the Celtics.. i mean the Hawks :p

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Originally Posted by tmtcsc

I disagree. The article was rambling, all over the place and had no point, IMO.

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Well duh...the byline said Buck Harvey.

:lol

Horry is a clever guy.

I just want to see Horry hit a big time shot just one last time and I think im ready to see him go..it'll be much sweeter if he does it to close the series against Phx.

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Originally Posted by DieMrBond

I read somewhere that D’Antoni got ejected last night complaining about a 'Horry play that was unsportsmanlike' - any ideas?

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Horry went baseline and basically got cut off. I saw him jump in the air like he was going to pass, but he had no where to go with it. I really thought he got caught up in the air, and he was going to come down and get called for a travel. Heh... no.

From a different camera angle, it almost looked like what he did was jump up, but towards the end line. And since he was going out of bounds, he did something that players do all the time. He bounced the ball off of an opposing player, so that it would bounce out of bounds and still be the Spurs' ball. Only he threw it like he was playing dodgeball. And if I didn't know better, I would swear he intentionally threw it right at the guys balls. That's approximately where it hit him, and it bounced OB, and the ball stayed with the Spurs. D'Antoni didn't like it. But it's Big Boys' Rules in the NBA, and it was a legal play.

At least that's what I thought D'Antoni was whining about. I read an article that said he was screaming at the ref about who was holding on, and who was flopping. So maybe it was just a coincidence of timing.

In anny case, Horry was getting in their heads. The technical that Amare got was in direct response to Horry screwing with him. And whatever D'Antoni was screaming about, he still reacted to Horry just the way Big Bob wanted him to. If Pop gives him the minutes, he'll get in their heads in Game 5 too. If they're focused on Horry, they aren't focused on the game. Call it what you want, but the mental game is part of the sport too.

I love Horry.

One thing that always troubled me, though, was when he was asked if he'd give up all the championships for a guaranteed trip to the Hall of Fame he said "yes."

Maybe in the back of his mind, though, he just knew that all the championships MEANT that he would be in the Hall of Fame...

#3. Tim Duncan's 3
#2. The Memorial Day Miracle
#1. Robert Horry's Shot (and overall clutch performance) in Game 5 of the Finals, 2005

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Originally Posted by GSH

Horry went baseline and basically got cut off. I saw him jump in the air like he was going to pass, but he had no where to go with it. I really thought he got caught up in the air, and he was going to come down and get called for a travel. Heh... no.

From a different camera angle, it almost looked like what he did was jump up, but towards the end line. And since he was going out of bounds, he did something that players do all the time. He bounced the ball off of an opposing player, so that it would bounce out of bounds and still be the Spurs' ball. Only he threw it like he was playing dodgeball. And if I didn't know better, I would swear he intentionally threw it right at the guys balls. That's approximately where it hit him, and it bounced OB, and the ball stayed with the Spurs. D'Antoni didn't like it. But it's Big Boys' Rules in the NBA, and it was a legal play.

At least that's what I thought D'Antoni was whining about. I read an article that said he was screaming at the ref about who was holding on, and who was flopping. So maybe it was just a coincidence of timing.

In anny case, Horry was getting in their heads. The technical that Amare got was in direct response to Horry screwing with him. And whatever D'Antoni was screaming about, he still reacted to Horry just the way Big Bob wanted him to. If Pop gives him the minutes, he'll get in their heads in Game 5 too. If they're focused on Horry, they aren't focused on the game. Call it what you want, but the mental game is part of the sport too.

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Thanks for that recap - good old playoff know how ;)

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Originally Posted by pawe

I just want to see Horry hit a big time shot just one last time and I think im ready to see him go..it'll be much sweeter if he does it to close the series against Phx.

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It would be PRICELESS!:toast:

flag::lobt2::lobt2::lobt2::lobt2::lobt2:

It's funny. I think the Phoenix Suns are not used to winning so they don't know how to play correctly when they do.

D'Antoni getted ejected :lol WTF? If you're up by 24, few minutes to go, opposing teams star players aren't coming back in, don't you just sit on the bench and read a magazine?

Diaw gets fouled out? :lol Why would you even attempt to foul anyone when it's obvious that the Spurs don't intend to exhaust their starters just to go on a big run.

Amare and Raja play almost the whole game. Seriously :lmao

The last few years Sun only got past round 1, except for that year where they got a free route to the Conference Finals and blew it. They're not used to winning much in the playoffs, so it doesn't feel all too natural for them :rollin

We've talked all series about the mental game Pop was playing against the Suns. Well, even in a blow-out game, Pop managed to still get in their heads! Having Horry play, and Rob understanding so well the mental aspect of the game - it seems to have worked to perfection!

And the fact that their starters played such extended minutes when ours were smiling, laughing, and relaxing on the bench for the last 15 minutes of the game, will also work to our advantage tonight. Their starters are going to run out of gas and ours will be well rested and ready to annihilate them!

It's so funny seeing the Suns starters going all-out when they don't have to and the Spurs starting relaxing and telling jokes between each other and looking forward to going home to their respective wives.