More fun and games with SA-PHX

So in the past couple of days since the incident with Steve Nash and Robert Horry, it seems as if the San Antonio Spurs have become the New York Yankees or Dallas Cowboys of the NBA, the team EVERYBODY loves to hate. This is especially true here in Canada, where the NBA stands for Nash Basketball Association.

I love how everyone's jumping to the defense of the Suns and how it's a shame that Amare Stoudemire and Boris Diaw are suspended for game 5 tonight, that they don't deserve to be sitting out and somehow it's because the league wants the Spurs to win the championship again. That's the most rediculous load of BS I've ever heard, the league wants NOTHING to do with SA even coming close to a championship and it's all due to money. Historically the Spurs in the finals have attributed to the lowest ratings ever, and considering how small the market in SA is to even suggest the NBA wants any championship round other than Lebron/Nash is crazy. The threat of a Detroit/SA rematch probably has several executives ready to jump off the ledge. My initial reaction to the suspensions was dissapointment, because the last thing I wanted to see was SA potentially win the series when their opponents weren't at full strength, thus giving anyone and everyone the opportunity to claim the Spurs as undeserving. But after the countless articles and opinions being put forth by some truly hack sportswriters, that opinion has changed.

The bottom line is this. Diaw and Stoudemire BROKE THE RULES. They came from the bench and charged onto the court during an altercation, which according to the rulebook is an immediate one game suspension. They knew this, and so did the Suns' coaching staff by the way they grabbed them and pulled them back. But regardless of anything else, they VIOLATED THE RULES that everyone else plays by, and deserve to be suspended because of their stupidity (or immaturity or whatever else you want to call it). I've heard several people voice the opinion that they didn't really do anything to escalate the fight... THAT'S ONLY BECAUSE THEY DIDN'T GET CLOSE ENOUGH TO. Stoudemire was charging right for Horry, and the only thing it looked like he had on his mind was a right cross to the jaw. If the coaches hadn't grabbed him and pulled him back, there would have been a full scale brawl. That's called INTENT, folks. And as for Horry's 2 game suspension, I support this too. He levelled Nash in the heat of the moment, no question. He also threw an elbow at another Suns player during the altercation to defend himself, worth another game for sure. But how about the constant 'hard fouls' that aren't called by the Suns' own Raja Bell? This is a guy who CLOTHESLINED Kobe Bryant in the playoffs last year and chalked it up to 'playing good defense'. Stoudemire, D'Antoni and anyone else from the Suns who wants to label the Spurs as dirty should take a good long look in the mirror first.

Now the really stupid part of this is that because of the NBA's ruling, this is all somehow the fault of the San Antonio Spurs organization. It's their fault that two of the Suns were idiots and knowingly violated the rules, and apparently will be "rewarded" for Horry's play. Being thrust into a no-win situation is hardly what I'd call rewarded. If the Spurs win tonight, and the series, they were helped by the league and are 'dirty'. If they lose tonight and the series, the dirty Spurs were rightfully vanquished by the noble and decent Phoenix Suns. For a team that's prided itself on class and not the usual thuggery you see from teams like the Denver Nuggets, New York Knicks or Indiana Pacers, it's complete BS. This series should have gone down as a classic for all the right reasons. Instead, it's been a series full of escalation, bad blood, and the Spurs' reputation being dragged through the mud in the press while everything they do on the court is scrutinized heavily. The Spurs play DEFENSE, it's what they hang their hat on, it's what's won them 3 championships since 1999.

Oh well, I guess that's what you get for being the measuring stick of excellence for the past ten years (and that's not bragging, the SAS own the best winning percentage of any team in the past ten seasons, playoffs and regular season). For years the label on the team was 'soft', but now everybody wants to go ahead and paint this team as 'dirty'?

Be careful what you wish for, you just might get it.