Bj Armstrong gets my "Huh?" award for today.

[RonMexico]

BTW, I am not even so sure what we are arguing about. Are you saying that the Suns lost the series because of bad calls? Are you saying the Suns lost one game because of a bad call? Are you saying the Suns get less calls than the Spurs? Please let me know.

Actually, I was at game 3 in SA (I live in College Station) and I just got really frustrated with the homerism and stupidity I saw when I was there, and I've been bitter about that series ever since. Of course, I tried to show a little courage and support, so I wore an Amare jersey, where I expected to get a little bit of crap from the fans for it. My friend was with me and as soon as I came up the escalator to the promenade upstairs, the mariachi band stopped and everyone (like 200 people) booed me, which we both thought was hilarious and I'll respect that kind of team spirit.

It was when I was at my seats and this idiot 16-year-old behind me kept kicking me in the neck by "accident" and trying to throw pieces of stuff in my hair (to impress his girlfriend or something I don't know) that I started getting a little angry and irritated. Being the only Suns fan in the 500-mile radius of the arena, I felt no need to start a fight and my friend (wearing a Parker jersey) actually turned around and told the kid to cut it out. In addition to that, just listening to the fans dispute every single call that went the Suns' way (you mentioned that the Spurs had a 30-15 FT advantage) was preposterous to me, and I heard on almost every occasion how "every call was going Phoenix's way." While also enduring a humiliating loss, hearing this unobjective BS was unacceptable in my mind.

Now, on the whole, a lot of the fans were pretty nice and I didn't receive any lame discrimination from like a vendor or anything, but it just took a few bad apples to ruin my 3rd AT&T Center experience. These are the types of things I'd expect out of Pistons fans or Cavs fans or Laker fans or Mavs fans, but for such a classy organization, I was very disappointed in the overall demeanor of the fans that went to a playoff game. I'm not saying our fans are the nicest either (and I haven't been back to Phoenix that often in the last 2 years to tell), but I went to a lot of games in the Kidd and Barkley eras and I always remember our fans being really spirited and cordial to fans of any other team (even bandwagon Laker fans). And don't bring up how obnoxious our new owner is because I will be the first to agree with you that he is a giant .

On the subject of calls, my frustration arises from (a) what I've seen first hand of 17,000 fans ing about being "wronged" when they have an amazing FT shooting performance from Duncan and a 15 FT advantage, (b) the fact that Duncan, Mohammed, and (formerly) Malik Rose repeatedly get away with over the backs, moving screens, and foot-shuffles (Mohammed mostly on that one), and (c) in late game situations, the foul count seems to rise quickly for the Suns especially as Ginobili begins his drive and flop charade, and (d) the fact that the Suns aren't as solid as a team that we need every single call to go our way in order to have a chance to win (basically, I'm conceding that we're not quite at the status yet to beat you guys straight up because your talent, execution, experience, and game plans are much superior), so a lot of my watching hinges on officiating, which I hate to do, but it's pretty much the only subjective leg I can stand on. (It frustrates me too when I see Popovich and Duncan complaining about getting a lack of calls on the court when the Spurs did have the FT advantage in nearly every game, because I respect those guys and I don't like seeing them pull a Phil or George Karl... and I also wonder why D'Antoni never does it).

And the subject of Joe Johnson, let's admit that he had a broken face and still was only 3 pts and 1 rebound off his average.

[ambchang]

Actually, I was at game 3 in SA (I live in College Station) and I just got really frustrated with the homerism and stupidity I saw when I was there, and I've been bitter about that series ever since. Of course, I tried to show a little courage and support, so I wore an Amare jersey, where I expected to get a little bit of crap from the fans for it. My friend was with me and as soon as I came up the escalator to the promenade upstairs, the mariachi band stopped and everyone (like 200 people) booed me, which we both thought was hilarious and I'll respect that kind of team spirit.

It was when I was at my seats and this idiot 16-year-old behind me kept kicking me in the neck by "accident" and trying to throw pieces of stuff in my hair (to impress his girlfriend or something I don't know) that I started getting a little angry and irritated. Being the only Suns fan in the 500-mile radius of the arena, I felt no need to start a fight and my friend (wearing a Parker jersey) actually turned around and told the kid to cut it out. In addition to that, just listening to the fans dispute every single call that went the Suns' way (you mentioned that the Spurs had a 30-15 FT advantage) was preposterous to me, and I heard on almost every occasion how "every call was going Phoenix's way." While also enduring a humiliating loss, hearing this unobjective BS was unacceptable in my mind.

Can't comment on that, and I am sure some obnoxious fans can be quite annoying, but that has absolutely nothing to do with teh team itself.
Another thing is, the Spurs had a 30-15 advantage in ONE game, and I am still quite surprised about the small difference in FTA in the other 4 games. I really really expected the Spurs to have MANY more FTAs due to style of play and intentional fouling at the end of games.

Now, on the whole, a lot of the fans were pretty nice and I didn't receive any lame discrimination from like a vendor or anything, but it just took a few bad apples to ruin my 3rd AT&T Center experience. These are the types of things I'd expect out of Pistons fans or Cavs fans or Laker fans or Mavs fans, but for such a classy organization, I was very disappointed in the overall demeanor of the fans that went to a playoff game. I'm not saying our fans are the nicest either (and I haven't been back to Phoenix that often in the last 2 years to tell), but I went to a lot of games in the Kidd and Barkley eras and I always remember our fans being really spirited and cordial to fans of any other team (even bandwagon Laker fans). And don't bring up how obnoxious our new owner is because I will be the first to agree with you that he is a giant .

On the subject of calls, my frustration arises from (a) what I've seen first hand of 17,000 fans ing about being "wronged" when they have an amazing FT shooting performance from Duncan and a 15 FT advantage, (b) the fact that Duncan, Mohammed, and (formerly) Malik Rose repeatedly get away with over the backs, moving screens, and foot-shuffles (Mohammed mostly on that one), and (c) in late game situations, the foul count seems to rise quickly for the Suns especially as Ginobili begins his drive and flop charade, and (d) the fact that the Suns aren't as solid as a team that we need every single call to go our way in order to have a chance to win (basically, I'm conceding that we're not quite at the status yet to beat you guys straight up because your talent, execution, experience, and game plans are much superior), so a lot of my watching hinges on officiating, which I hate to do, but it's pretty much the only subjective leg I can stand on. (It frustrates me too when I see Popovich and Duncan complaining about getting a lack of calls on the court when the Spurs did have the FT advantage in nearly every game, because I respect those guys and I don't like seeing them pull a Phil or George Karl... and I also wonder why D'Antoni never does it).

Like I said earlier, the Suns get away with calls too, and you overlook them just because you are a fan. I let bad calls go if it went in favour of the Spurs. , I cannot comment on officiating when the Spurs are involved, and when I say the refs are biased for the Spurs, I just KNOW that it was one of worst games called in history.
Nash complains ALL the time, that's what they are supposed to do. I have no problem about player complaining to the refs, I have no question about people flopping, I have no problems with hard fouls as long as they paid the consequences and doesn't hurt the other players. As long as both teams play within the rules, and take every little advantage to win the game, then it's all fine and good.

And the subject of Joe Johnson, let's admit that he had a broken face and still was only 3 pts and 1 rebound off his average.

So what happened in Game 4? His face was unbroken for 48 minutes, and then rebroke in Game 5?

[RonMexico]

So what happened in Game 4? His face was unbroken for 48 minutes, and then rebroke in Game 5?

Like when Amare came back his first game and scored 20 pts in 18 mins this year, it was probably adrenaline for his first game back, which wore off by Game 5.

[ambchang]

Like when Amare came back his first game and scored 20 pts in 18 mins this year, it was probably adrenaline for his first game back, which wore off by Game 5.

Which means that the Suns should probably be swept.