Reply With Quote
i really struggle with a hard foul being called a cheap shot. he didn't blindside nash, nash knew he was going to be fouled. excessive, yes...dirty/cheapshot, no.
Big Shot Bob strikes again
By Jemele Hill
Page 2
A historical question: Could Robert Horry's cheap shot on Steve Nash in Game 4 be the biggest shot of his career?
It wasn't a 3-pointer, but Robert Horry may have struck the biggest blow in a playoff series yet again.The trey Horry nailed to destroy the Sacramento Kings' NBA le hopes in 2002 did nothing compared to the damage his forearm could do to the Phoenix Suns, who until the final 18 seconds of Monday night's critical Game 4 were tougher than the San Antonio Spurs. The forearm buried Nash underneath the scorer's table, but most importantly, it incited Amare Stoudemire and Boris Diaw to charge onto the court from the bench -- which all but guarantees them a suspension for Game 5 in Phoenix.
Hey, they don't call him Big Shot Bob for nothing.
If the NBA hands out the expected suspensions, the Spurs will lose only the whopping seven points per game Horry is averaging in this series. Meanwhile, Phoenix will lose two of its top six players and a serious chance to put the Spurs' neck in a guillotine.
Is it fair? No. Is it right? Absolutely. The NBA doesn't have much choice but to suspend Horry, Stoudemire and Diaw for Game 5.
The rule about players leaving the bench is there to prevent situations from escalating into utter embarrassments. It's an ironclad rule that isn't open to interpretation, and it can't be applied differently because it adversely affects one team more than the other. In fact, the point of the rule is to affect teams so adversely they don't break it.
If the league does nothing to Stoudemire and Diaw, it will set an awful precedent and send the message that the rules are vulnerable to perception and public outcry. As if the Suns are the only team in NBA history that can claim this rule puts them at an unfair disadvantage.
And there's no way Stoudemire just was ambling to the scorer's table to check back into the game, as he claimed afterward. Give him (or the Suns' PR rep) credit for coming up with such a cute excuse. But go watch the replay. Stoudemire broke out into a Carl Lewis-like sprint toward the on-court scrum -- looking like he wanted to do to Horry what Uma Thurman did to David Carradine in the final scene of "Kill Bill: Vol. 2" -- which weakens Stoudemire's creative explanation.
Look, I get why Stoudemire and Diaw rushed to Nash's defense. Nash is their boy, and teammates are obligated to stick up for one another -- especially in a series that has grown as testy as this one. The Spurs were behaving uncharacteristically graceless, and Horry's forearm of frustration was exacted because the Spurs blew an 11-point lead late in the game -- and thus a golden opportunity to put their foot on Phoenix's neck.
AP Photo/Lm Otero
We'll see if David Stern buys Amare Stoudemire's explanation, or just shows him some mercy.But given how commissioner David Stern has shown zero tolerance for player misconduct since the Detroit-Indiana brawl, what Stoudemire and Diaw did simply wasn't smart. And by the way, did you notice how the Spurs' bench stayed put, further undermining Stoudemire's contrived explanation?
You'd have thought the Suns would have learned from Raja Bell's one-game playoff suspension against the Lakers last year. Bell's clothesline on Kobe Bryant could have cost the Suns that series.
The Spurs are much stronger than the Lakers, and losing Stoudemire and Diaw will hurt a whole lot more than losing Bell. Even if the league decides to suspend Horry for two games, Phoenix will be affected much more.
Of course, this is going to fuel speculation that Horry's cheap shot was on purpose. But all it does is show exactly how much the Spurs are in Phoenix's head.
The Suns won Game 4, but the Spurs are winning the mental war. The Suns' gritty victory was powerful enough to change this series permanently in their direction, but they've now given the power back to the Spurs with one bad decision.
The Spurs maintain a certain advantage as long they can yank Phoenix's chain whenever they want. And Big Shot Bob's reputation for delivering in the playoffs continues to be well-deserved.
Page 2 columnist Jemele Hill can
i really struggle with a hard foul being called a cheap shot. he didn't blindside nash, nash knew he was going to be fouled. excessive, yes...dirty/cheapshot, no.
Cheap Shot Bob is no idiot...he knew it was desperation time with that game out of hand and the series becoming a best of 3 without homecourt...and he knew that big players for the Suns were on the bench...and he knew they'd probably respond...
Bob has to be suspended for the elbow to Bell...
I think this was all contrived by the craftiest player in the league.
Way to go, Rob.
Posted this in other thread but probably goes better in here.
http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/n...9-b769f655098f
Picture of Rob fouling Nash- keep in mind this was in a Canadian paper.
I agree. It was too out of character for him and the Spurs. He did it for a reason.I think this was all contrived by the craftiest player in the league.
Way to go, Rob.
Will it work? Time will tell.
Doesn't make any sense. If anything it's the opposite. It showed how much the Suns were in the Spurs head. Amare constantly calling them dirty, league looking carefully at Bowen, etc. while the Spurs scoffed and said they aren't physical and sarcastically replied, "yea we're like the bad boy pistons, etc." well they lost their cool and fell into the trap of now being called/labeled dirty for real.Of course, this is going to fuel speculation that Horry's cheap shot was on purpose. But all it does is show exactly how much the Spurs are in Phoenix's head.
And can I just add that for someone whom was brutally fouled, Nash sure recovered quickly.
I think it was brilliant, and I love Horry even more than ever now.
I'm confused...
Nash was checked into a padded table. Should he ham it up and act hurt like Baron Davis would? The fact that he wasn't hurt has nothing to do with the severity of the foul by Horry...
The table is padded, Nash takes harder falls under the basket every 5 mins during a game....Nash flopped, and his acting may have cost his team game 5.
Suspend Dat Ass!!!
Nash never would have been in the scorer's table if he hadn't thrown himself there.
Horry did not ram into him- just bumped him.
And Nash, being a former soccer player, you think would be use to contact.
I am sure he was anticipating it on that play- is likely what enabled him to sell his acting job.
Nash did act on that play.
Amare and Diaw will not be suspended. Book it!
Unbelievable...
The only flop or "sell" on Nash's part was him laying down and putting his arms up for a brief second...
Unbelievable...
The only flop or "sell" on Nash's part was him laying down and putting his arms up for a brief second...
That is what I am talking about...when he started to get up, then acted by laying down on the floor...that is why Amare and Diaw ran to the court....
Unbelievable...
The only flop or "sell" on Nash's part was him laying down and putting his arms up for a brief second...
It's not like Nash is a 7 foot wing man, he's actuallly a tough guy.
Either way...its reaching that Horry planned that whole thing.
I am sure he was getting slightly frustrated with the bad calls that were going the Spurs way the last couple of minutes or so...i think he thought Manu was def fouled on that last block/TO. He went to give Nash a hard foul and it ended up as an over the top foul combined with the bad angle and Nash's flop.
Posted this in other thread but probably goes better in here.
http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/n...9-b769f655098f
Picture of Rob fouling Nash- keep in mind this was in a Canadian paper.
YOU mean " HIT" --- you can't suspend horry for fouling
Either way, even if they somehow manage to suspend Diaw and Amare, Suns will be maaaaad and that's even more dangerous than having them play. Also, Suns made a majority of their comeback with Amare on the bench the past couple of games due to foul trouble. They've been doing fine without him...and Diaw has yet to show up, so I doubt it'll make that much of a difference. Either way, Spurs in a tough situation.
Your takes are so anti-Spurs and biased! How many Suns players should also be "suspended" then for flipping players, cracking heads, raking eyes.
Come with a fair take, please.
I really doubt that...the hit was the big incident...
um, ok...
You can for elbowing Bell though...YOU mean " HIT" --- you can't suspend horry for fouling
YOU mean " HIT" --- you can't suspend horry for fouling
Dude...Horry was ejected on the spot...there is no question it was a bull foul on his part. It can't be defended...
The hit on Manu's eye was a complete accident...as was Nash's nose getting cut...
There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)
Posting Permissions
