Throwing a punch is a different rule. The last thing you want to see in a tight, tension-filled playoff game is a brawl. The best way to prevent a brawl is to nip it in the bud by saying players absolutely cannot leave the bench. This has been the rule for a long time, the players should all know that is is the rule, so what is the problem? They are such animals they can't control their urge to fight? All the more reason for the rule. The fact is that Suns players got in Horry's face and there was some pushing and shoving. One swing and you have a ten minute brawl that likely spills into the stands.
i understand what you are saying...but it didnt happen...a brawl did not occur...so what the NBA is pretty much saying is...you can kick a guy in the nuts, try to take him out by cutting under him, break his nose...just as long as you werent sitting on the becnh when this happened... im just pissed that it boils down to a cheap shot with 20 seconds left to change the outcome of a series...because it will most definitely change the outcome
Say it aint so NBA, Say it aint so Mr. Stern. How does BIG SHOT BOB get suspended two games for a little bump like that. It was funny how nash after hitting the sideboards threw his arms out and acted like he got shot or something. He's canadian so get up. Now the Spurs are not going to have CHEAP SHOT BOB for the next two games.How are they every going to win?
5/16/2007 09:06:00 AM David Stern for Spurs' MVP Robert Horry's forearm blow to Steve Nash ended up costing ... Phoenix. There have been some lopsided trades in sports history, from Ernie Broglio for Lou Brock to Herschel Walker for half of humanity. Let's add another to the list: A fading "Big Shot Rob" Horry for Amare Stoudemire and Boris Diaw. That was the heist that NBA commissioner David Stern effectively engineered for the Spurs on Tuesday thanks to an overly rigid interpretation of league rules. If the Spurs take Game 5 of their series against the Suns tonight and go on to win the title, Stern (and discipline czar Stu Jackson) should get rings. This trouble started, of course, when Horry hip-checked Steve Nash into the scorer's table in the closing seconds of the Suns' hard-fought Game 4 victory on Monday night, a play that English soccer announcers would rightly dub "cynical." Horry added a forearm shiver for good measure. (See video of the foul in the next post below.) Stoudemire and Diaw, who were on the Phoenix bench about 10-15 feet away, moved instinctively toward the fracas to defend their man but didn't do much else, while Horry continued to escalate things by planting a forearm in Raja Bell's jaw. The league's verdict -- Horry sits for two games while Stoudemire and Diaw are benched for a game apiece. Huh? The well-intentioned rule, of course, is that players who leave the bench area to join a conflagration draw an automatic suspension. That's the letter of the law. Apparently, though, the law's application does not allow for common sense. Stoudemire and Diaw did not, in fact, add fuel to the fire. Horry, meanwhile, is essentially rewarded for his thuggish behavior by taking down two Suns (including a first-team All-NBA pick in Stoudemire) with him. It's not that different from a scrub picking a fight with a star player so that both might get tossed. When Jackson was asked if it was a fair decision, he said, "It's not a matter of fairness, it's a matter of correctness, and this is the right decision at this point in time." But sports leagues should be about keeping the competition fair, not tipping the competitive balance with Solomonic decisions. http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/si_blogs/extramustard/10_spot/2007/05/lets-make-deal.html
As expected, the Suns could not hold on. The Spurs slowly but surely crept back into the game. You could just feel the inevitability of their comeback. They're like a machine. Stoudemire and Diaw were sorely missed. All a Suns fan can hope for now is for them to get revenge in San Antonio and force a Game 7 at home.
they should have taken matters into their own hands like barkley said, way before the horry bump. You come after our guard and we will go after yours..that wouyld have kept horry and bowen in check..hey, there are in the game and not on the bench..take a foul and make sure that they know you mean business...thats what its going to boil down to. The refs couldnt contain the dirty tricks so i guess just like in the NHL you have to contain it yourself by going to blows... Marion played one hell of a game..he stepped up to the plate but just could not keep san antonio from closing the deal...it makes you kinda wonder how much san antonio would have been blown away had phx had one of their finest in the game...
I cannot agree more with you....Every time Nash has been roughed up D'antoni should have sent in the 4th string forward and quite frankly bang, push and if need be undercut Tim Duncan....Duncan himself would have told his teammates to stop the crap before you get me injured.
I guess I have been watching another series and didn't realize it. The Suns came into this series whining. They tried to manipulate the ref's by claiming the Spurs were dirty players. So few players in the NBA actually play defense that when they cpome up against someone who does, like Bowen, the whining starts. Nash's cut nose? Anyone could tell that was inadvertent. The hip check? No one forced Nash to try to turn the corner on Horry. He put himself in that position. I keep looking for that "forearm shiver" that all the sportswriters are so upset about and I don't see it. I see, at most, a hard playoff foul. Ever watch Jordan? The Greatest To Ever Play The Game got a face plant everytime he went to the rack in the playoffs. Did he start a brawl, whine or flop around on the floor like he had been shot? No sir, he popped up and took it strong to the rim the next time he got the ball. That's why he was the Greatest, and Nash and the Suns are whiners. I'd hate to see Nash and Co against the Bad Boy Pistons. Bill Lambier, now there was a dirty player.
As for Stern, he made exactly the right call. Raja Bell is lucky he didn't get suspended as well. He attacked Horry and basically started the whole fracas. Nash waited to jump up and try to fight until after Bell and others had started pushing and shoving. The sportswriters who have been challenging Stern sound like morons. There is nothing in the rule about intent or actually fighting. The last thing the NBA needs is to start watering down the rules and selectively applying them depending upon whether a popular team or star player is involved. There is way too much of that already. The Suns' coach's comments were way out of line and merit a substantial fine. He has no business accusing the Commissioner. How about accepting responsibility for having undisciplined players who apparently haven't been taught they can't run onto the court every time they want to start a brawl? I'm not sure who sounded like a bigger moron yesterday, Dan Patrick or Mike Wilbon. I give David Stern a ton of credit for stepping up and being willing to explain his decision and take responsibility for it. Most commissioners would have let the league official who is responsible for discpline take the heat and dodged the media. Not Stern.