Suspension Fallout
Oh my goodness. The suspensions of Amare Stoudamire and Boris Diaw are having some major fallout across the ‘net. During one of my few (read multiple) daily breaks from the legal grindstone, I checked out some of the links at ESPN.com. Wow, the so-called NBA fans are going crazy. Spurs fans are calling Suns fans whiners, and vice-versa. Spurs (who as of recent history had been labeled “too soft” and ”too nice”) are dirty and whiners while the Suns are too soft and crybabies. David Stern was even called a fascist in one comment to an article. To the reactionary media of the world, REJOICE!
People are missing the big picture here. Whining has been an ongoing problem in the NBA for many years. Why do you think Stern tried to implement the no whining rule this year? This is nothing new.
Physical play is also nothing new to the NBA. See my article yesterday. This has been an incredibly timid playoff stretch by comparison to everything that happened in the 1980’s and 1990’s. Get real.
Anyway, I do believe the suspensions were warranted by league rule and policy. I also feel that the league will need to re-evaluate the rule after the season ends, just as the league reviews other questionable rules and policies for each and every year for as long as I can remember. There needs to be some leniency for the emotional levels and intensity that occurs in the postseason. However, rules are rules, and they were clearly broken, and Stern HAD to suspend Diaw and Stoudamire. Does it suck for the next game? Somewhat. Does it take away from the series? Not really, because there has been more NBA press and publicity over this than there has been for anything else this postseason, including the Cinderella Warriors. (For the record, the Jazz-Warriors series was incredibly physical and intense, maybe more than the Spurs-Suns series, and I did not see nearly as much crying from those fans as I have seen from Suns and Spurs fans. Grow some.)
Does the ruling seem fair? Who cares. If you want fair, go watch a youth recreational league game where everyone gets to play and everybody gets a soda and orange slice after the game. Fair, ha! That is absurd. That is the one gripe that is bothering me the most. Is it fair that the Boston Celtics got shafted by ping pong balls in 1997 when they were clearly the team in most dire need of Tim Duncan’s help? Is it fair when you get pulled over going 67 in a 60 after some jerk in a souped up 2 fast 2 furious car goes zooming by at 75 mph? There are a lot of things in this world that aren’t fair, and a lot of rules don’t seem fair when you are on the losing end of them. But crying about fair when your players are dumb enough to RUN ONTO the court, and your coaching staff (who is probably way too emotional anyway) is too slow to react and stop them is stupid. Go pull your achievement ribbon out of the drawer, dust it off, and put it on your shirt for the game tonight. Meanwhile, I will continue to focus on what makes a WINNER in professional sports.
For those people that tried to link Tim Duncan’s actions by stepping onto the court when Francisco Elson smacked the ground after his dunk (AND ALL THE OTHER PLAYERS WERE HEADING TO THE OTHER END OF THE COURT), you are wrong to compare Timmy’s conduct and Amare’s actions. Amare ran towards the action and even circled around a coach to get there. There was a confrontation going on at the time, because Horry and Raja Bell (who has taken flopping to an obscenely new level light years beyond what I thought even Manu Ginobili or the great Doc Rivers were capable of) were entangled in a pseudo-brawl type of thing. Tim walked onto the floor during a stoppage in time (the official had blown the ball dead) after Elson crashed down to the floor and the other players began to make their way onto the court. Try to take a second from your furious and incoherent Internet postings and review the rules for the MANDATORY one-game suspension when leaving the bench DURING AN ALTERCATION.
Also, for those morons who think that this will be Robert Horry’s defining professional moment, I have six things to say to you. 1. Clutch shots for the Rockets for their first championship. 2. Clutch shots for the Rockets second championship. 3. Clutch shots for the Lakers (and his third) championship. 4. The game 6 winner against the Kings en route to the Lakers second championship in a row and his fourth championship. 5. Incredible defense and backbreaking threes against the Spurs en route to the Lakers third championship in a row and his fifth championship. And finally, the picture on my wall of the Game 6 winner with less than 5 seconds left against the Pistons for Big Shot Rob’s sixth ring and the Spurs third title. I’m pretty sure that people will remember those things long before they remember the hip check heard around the Arizona metroplex.
Enjoy the game everyone, and try to be reasonable for once.
Sidebar: The Jazz-Warriors series was a delight to watch. The games were fast and physical. Sure, Don Nelson’s coaching flaws were exploited; too many rushed threes, not enough defensive stops, lazy fastbreak passes, poor execution, and missed free throws. But the games were consistently exciting. It looked like fights were going to break out during each stoppage of the game last night. Both teams were attacking each other, including the perenially soft Mehmet Okur. It was an exciting series to watch. Then when all was said and done, the teams exchanged handshakes and hugs out of respect for the competition and tenacity. It was good stuff.
Of course, the irregular fans of the world have already crowned the Spurs or Suns (whomever wins this series, probably the Spurs because the Suns can’t possibly win two games in a row against San Antonio since David Stern is biased and unfair in his iron clad rulings), despite the fact that the Jazz have already shown that they can win no matter what type of game is played. They beat the Rockets at Houston’s slow-down-no-fastbreak-physical system and then went on to beat the Warriors at their own uptempo game. Utah has developed to one of the deepest and versatile teams in the league. They really remind me of San Antonio with their two-man game, dominant power forward and point guards (Boozer and Williams), excellent outside shooting (Okur and Fisher), incredible coaching and execution (Sloan), outstanding individual and team defense (Kirilenko and Fisher), and mid-range game (Harpring), toughness, and rebounding at both ends of the court. They break you down throughout the course of a game by executing their offense and efficiently running when the opportunity presents itself. Gordan Giricek will have to step up his game though, because he looked absolutely dreadful against the Warriors.
