The Bizniz, Volume 2, Issue 7 ARCHIVE

5/16/06

I have to comment on the Suns/Spurs NBA Playoff series and its many storylines. First off, clearly San Antonio is a dirty team, as Amare Stoudemire has said publicly. Their recent play has only proved many critics right. Bruce Bowen is a filthy player. He has limited physical tools and so he's developed a specific role as a defensive stopper. That I respect-the guy is self made and has worked himself into an NBA player. But his tactics are highly questionable. He sticks his legs out under jump shooters (ask Ray Allen, Vince Carter, Reggie Miller, etc.), and just in this series he kicked Stoudemire in the achilles as he drove, and he kneed Steve Nash below the belt. Then Robert Horry gives a forearm shiver to Nash in game 4 after the game was in hand for the Suns. Horry and the Spurs blew a late 11 point lead and there was obviously frustration at losing a big lead at home with a chance to put their foot on Phoenix's throat. So Horry tackles Nash in frustration. Stoudemire and Boris Diaw get off the bench and head toward the impending fracas. Never did they rush the court or act irrationally or out of control. Their teammate was hammered and they reacted like any teammate would and should. Now Stoudemire and Diaw are suspended for tonight's crucial game 5. To me there is a dangerous precedent at play. Why not send out a B or C list player like Horry to drop an opponent's star, hoping to elicit a similar reaction from the other team's bench? If you're the Spurs, do you not gladly trade Horry, with his one role as a shooter late in games, for Stoudemire, First Team All-NBA, and Diaw, one of the most versatile players in the league? Of course you would. What's to prevent teams from doing this in the future? Send out your 12^th man to punch an opponent in the face. You lose your player but maybe you get some "collateral damage" as well. I realize there is an explicit rule in place regarding leaving the bench and I think it is necessary, to a degree. I remember Knicks/Heat. But in the end Robert Horry does the crime and Stoudemire, Diaw, and the Suns do the time (Yeah, yeah, Horry's out for two games. He's pretty inconsequential compared to the two critical pieces Phoenix lost.) The Suns comeback in game 4 on the road was something to celebrate as a fan. But then "Cheap shot Rob", as he will be known to Suns fans, checked Steve Nash into the scorer's table and cost Phoenix two of its best. Whether it was his intention or not it was a genius move for Horry and the Spurs. If the Suns win shorthanded tonight it's a moot point. But if the Spurs win then the circumstances will live in relative infamy. Kudos to the NBA for following the letter of the law and not the higher, more functional spirit of the law.

[UPDATE]- a la "Unsolved Mysteries". So the Spurs ended up winning game 5 and the series (winning game 6). So David Stern, the unmitigated genius of the NBA, now gets (most likely) a Finals matchup of the Spurs vs. the Pistons. The NBA...it's FANtastic! Just like in 2005, when the Finals had an all-time low rating with the same matchup. I'm bummed as a Suns fan that the league f'ed up in historically bad fashion. I'm more upset as an NBA fan because NO ONE will care about the NBA Finals, and that sucks. Kudos, Stern and Co.! Who wants ratings, popularity and buzz anyway? I Love This Game! And Commissioner Stern just once I'd like to see you admit to a mistake (any mistake) you smug prick...