Why Are We Still Talking About The Spurs?

Waldini:

I was listening to Dan Patrick's show earlier today and heard the interview with Robert Horry. Interesting tidbits:

- He was asked which team was better, the Spurs or the Lakers...After stalling a few mins, he said the 2001 Lakers were in such a groove, he didnt think anyone could stop that squad. He was also asked to name the players on the team, and rattled off Kobe, Shaq, Harper, Ho Grant, Fox and that was it :-).Guess he forgot D Fish caught FIRE that year
- He was asked who's the better big man, Shaq or Tim. Without hesistation, said Tim. Went on to say he's more versatile on both ends of the floor but did acknowledge Shaq was the dominant person in his area

On a side note, isnt it the funny the least celebrated member of the original big 3 in Dallas won a title before his more popular ex-teammates??

Gangsta D:

Actually, the "original" original Big 3 in Dallas was Kidd, Mashburn, and Jackson:)

Da Realist:

more horry...and fisher

Waldini:

It's funny to see all these articles about lack of respect on the Spurs. And I "loved" the comparisons to the recent dynasties. But for them to believe these Spurs would match up well with any of those is ridiculous. Ok, Jemele used the Celtics as a gauge. Who guards Bird? Bowen? Puhlease, the diff btw Bird and Lebron is a jump shot. And the former made lots of them with premier defenders on him. And DJ would be the Celtics' answer to Brucie on D. She mentioned the Bulls. In his prime there was NO one that stopped Jordan.

Ughh I'm getting exhausted typing on two teams I didnt like but definitely respected :-). So no Laker breakdown from moi

Read more!

Smells Like....

Gangsta D:

The NBA has a number of exciting teams: Suns, Mavs, Warriors, Wizards, Bulls, etc. But they all lost. They got beat by the Spurs and Cavs, or by the teams the Spurs and Cavs beat. So what do you do? Re-seeding the playoff matchups only means that the Spurs beat the Suns two weeks later. I don't know how you make boring teams exciting, if they're the best each conference has to offer!

Last night's game was BRUTAL. 40-38 at halftime? The Spurs went 5 minutes without scoring a basket in the 4th, and the Cavs couldn't take the lead? Speaking of the Spurs, this team is AS GOOD as the '01 Lakers? Sports Guy needs to be slapped in the face repeatedly, then have his head crushed by an SUV...repeatedly.

Hey LeBron. TAKE OVER THE GAME! How many times did he drive to the foul line then dish to Drew Gooden, who missed an open jumper. As much as I dislike Wade, he took over the series last year. He would not leave it to chance. I don't know what Bron's thinking half the time. And that bail out pass to Varajao? Looks like he got nervous.

Robert Horry will have more rings than Jordan. You OK with that?

Da Realist:

you need to re-read that sport's guy article. he did nothing but praise the "awesome" lakers and stated the spurs weren't as good.

horry has more rings? so does sam jones and every other celtic lucky enough to have played with bill russell. i don't cite the number of rings a player has as a barometer of their greatness. tim's about to win four. does that make him better than larry bird? nope.

speaking of the spurs... even Da Wife said last night, "i'll be glad when the spurs actually have to beat a good team to win a title. it seems like their always the 'default' champs. then win when there are no other good teams". i said, "that is the EXACT same thing i wrote D and Waldini last week."

Shoot Horry will have more rings than a LOT of the greats :-)

Waldini:

I can't even watch these games. I spent last night responding to emails, phone calls, and forwarding you guys the new Common. I saw the score via ESPN.com and just said, that's not even worth it. And when I finally got to the TV to check out the game, it was in the 4th and the score was 67-57 with 6 mins left. I decided to watch the rest of Ghost Dog on FLIX. What does that tell you? That if diehard fans like us are struggling to watch, what do you think casual fans are doing? And that's the real problem right there. Read more!

I'm Smart Mikey! I Want Some Respect!!

Gangsta D

Why is everyone on the Spurs treating Nash like Fredo? Dude is getting PUNKED, for real. I know he's Canadian, but did Horry have to cross check nash into the scorer's table? The Spurs have won this series. I thought they'd do it in five, but it's definitely a wrap in six. Diaw and Stat will get suspended for game 5. The Suns will be preoccupied with trying to show how hard they can be, and the Spurs will crucify them. Why does this remind me of Pistons/Bulls in the 80's? lol

Da Realist:

rules are rules, but the nba will shoot itself in the foot if it suspends diaw and amare. there isn't a whole lot to like about the nba these days, but this series is one of them. at some point, common sense should out-weigh the rules. besides, if the nba wants this thing to go 7 (and it does), phoenix needs all the help they can get.

Gangsta D:

But how will Stern talk his way out of it. he'd have to come out say that he doesn't want to hurt the competitive balance of the series. It would be a heckuva precedent. Then next time someone comes off the bench in a meaningless game, they'd point to this incident. He'd be opening himself up to ALOT of criticism. We'll see what happens though.

Da Realist:

that's what happens when you create a culture that adheres to the letter of the law instead of the spirit of the law. it was an overreaction to the heat-knicks brawl in '99. you can't have these guys play with their emotion on their sleeve for 2 and a half hours every other night, but somehow divorce themselves from this and remember not to leave their seat when a fight breaks out.

it is a possibility to have the instinct to "break up" the fight. by the time you remember the "don't leave the bench" rule, you've already broken it.

Gangsta D:

I agree. I think the rule is stupid to be so black and white. But, Stern has a lot of explaining to do if they aren't suspended. I assume Stat, diaw, and horry will be suspended. It's not fair, but I don't think he has any choice less he wants his integrity called into question. Of course, he could say they were going to the scorer's table to check in. But, that doesn't hold much traction. The Suns' assistant coaches have kept this from being a 7 game classic:)

Da Realist:

It's as if D wrote this...

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.

and I wrote this...

Your move, NBA. Are you going to suspend Amare Stoudemire and Boris Diaw for leaving the bench after Robert Horry checked Steve Nash into the scorer's table? Or, in an unlikely fit of common sense, are you going to assess the situation reasonably and throw down some show-trial fines and be done with it?

Gangsta D:

I would agree with Keown, except that Stern has NEVER been flexible. It's always been cut and dry. He'd open up a serious can of worms.

Da Realist:

well, he didn't suspend baron davis for his elbow or bruce bowen for his knee so maybe there's hope.

Gangsta D:

Just saw this:

David Stern has an interesting dilemna on his hands. If he suspends Amare and Diaw, the Suns will have no shot and the series will be over. After viewing this evidence, will he now suspend Duncan, too? Or will he suspend just Horry?

That makes things real interesting. Does he suspend all three or let all three walk? Now, I don't have a clue. My gut says he has to follow the rules, or change them next year.

Da Realist:

wonder what jamele hill would say to this...

Gangsta D:

I don't know. But I can't wait to hear what Stern has to say:)

Da Realist:

no way stern suspends duncan. this may let amare and diaw off the hook, but there is no way he suspends duncan. Read more!