NBA suspends Horry two games, Amare' Stoudemire and Boris Diaw one game each

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by user Kelsdad

As reported on Yahoo!.com, a source close to NBA Executive Vice President Stu Jackson confirms San Antonio Spurs forward Robert Horry has been suspended for Games Five and Six of the Spurs playoff series vs. the Phoenix Suns after his flagrant foul on Suns guard Steve Nash. Suns center Amare Stoudemire and forward Boris Diaw have been suspended one game each, and will both miss Wednesday's Game Five in Phoenix. Escaping punishment was Spurs forward Tim Duncan, who left the Spurs bench in the second quarter after a tussle under the Spurs basket. Initially, it was thought Stoudemire would escape penalty as he was standing next to the scorer's table waiting to check-in at the next play stoppage, thus had already moved outside the box defining the bench area. In response to the suspensions, NBA Commissioner David Stern canceled his scheduled trip to Phoenix for Game Five, and will instead attend Game Five of the Cleveland Cavaliers vs. New Jersey Nets series in Cleveland.

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KelsdadAll-Star

511 days ago

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What happened to my title?

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511 days ago

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What was it supposed to be?

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KelsdadAll-Star

511 days ago

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"Amare Stoudemire and Boris Diaw one game each"

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511 days ago

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it was probably the "&" sign that caused the problem

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Manny StilesAAA-er

510 days ago

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damned ampersands!

KelsdadAll-Star

511 days ago

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Thanks for the fix.

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False ProphetAll-Star

511 days ago

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Bad call, but glad about it. Looks like Manny will owe me a few articles (i took the Cavs, Pistons, and Bulls to make it further than the suns)

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Manny StilesAAA-er

510 days ago

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False Prophet, please smack yourself for me.

False ProphetAll-Star

510 days ago

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Just you watch ManRays...

Manny StilesAAA-er

510 days ago

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and I took Suns over Cavs... way back in October or did you forget because I said it earlier than that too... Why should I back dowwn now? Because the Heat are gone? Oh Yeah... I said that was inevitable too...

KMcRaeSoccer Kid

510 days ago

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Really an awful job by the NBA here. I understand that the rule is rigid but I'll have a real hard time viewing the Spurs as legitimate champions if they advance here. It just smacks of bad judgement to allow the team which played dirty gain an advantage from their actions.

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ASwaffAll-American

510 days ago

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And I'll here address the issue of provoking. Perhaps the Spurs did provoke the Suns. Did the Suns break and give into provocation? Yeah. Why should the series be treated any differently because one side lost their cool? That's part of the game. If you snap and break a rule, they have penalties. Again, there isn't room for interpretation on this one.

Manny StilesAAA-er

510 days ago

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Suns win tonight anyway. Just a speedbump on the road to the title. The Spurs are down and out. Take Amare and Boris away. It was Kurt Thomas and Raja Bell that were brought in as Spurs killers. The path of least resistance is what makes a river run crooked...

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False ProphetAll-Star

510 days ago

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no way. The Spurs took out 2 starters for a bench player. Its gonna hurt the Suns. The spurs need to split the games at PHX. They won't loose in San Antonio, as it'll be an elimination game for someone.

DNLLegend

510 days ago

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I think there's a really good chance that Suns win. Ewing theory combined with the "f-off attitude"

False ProphetAll-Star

510 days ago

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I think the Spurs win the next game or in San Antonio for sure. I'll say that the winner of the next game wins the series.

Manny StilesAAA-er

510 days ago

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I think there's a really good chance they win because of a WHOLE LOT of reasons...

the Spurs are worn and know the Suns have their number after the other night.
The Suns are deep. They played ALL of last season without Amare and (tongue in cheek) most of the playoffs without Boris...
Two and a half-time MVP Shave Nest is pissed off...
Expect a lot of James Jones and some of Pat Burke. Who are both waaaay better than you give them credit for.
it's a game in the Purple Palace. Home crowds help in games like these.
I'm not wearing my good luck/jinx shirt. It's 0-2 this series; I take that as a sign.
My daughter put a whammy on the Spurs the other day.
The Suns will rally around Steve and around Amare and Boris for defending Steve.
The "Fitness Club" will be riled up tonight!
The refs will start to even things out from their blatent pro-Spurs bias.
Two words: the Brazilian Blur wakes up!
Parker comes back to reality in the FG% department.
The gorilla
Bullshit Bob Horry was a bigger piece than the stats indicate
kharma
Nash could make up the scoring (he can get 40 easy)
ever heard of this guy, Shawn Marion? He can go from defending Tony Parker to defending Tim Duncan. He finally has the stage he craves so intently.
Kurt Thomas and Raja Bell were brought to PHX specifically to deal with TD and Manu.
I fear the Utah Jazz. Not in a O!F kind of way, but in a respectful "Utah could easily win it all" kind of way... a healthy fear of Jerry Sloan and the how many? "Son of a..." I've thrown Derek Fisher's way through the years...

But the Spurs are D-U-N

Manny StilesAAA-er

510 days ago

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It has all the makings of a classic "that's the reason they play the game on the court and not on paper" game.

ASwaffAll-American

510 days ago

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I disagree with you, Manny, but I give you a "plus" anyway for a thorough, well-considered argument.

Manny StilesAAA-er

510 days ago

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Wrath of Barbosa!

Drafted by the Spurs and traded to the Suns for a future pick that apparently disappeared...

Young Buck turns on the Blur tonight and Duncan gets frustrated.

Hurray for the Pat Burke Lever!!!

Tyrone BriggsHall of Famer

506 days ago

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Take away the bullet points and one could swear that Manny just wrote a classic Leslie Monteiro post. Don't steal someone's style!

ASwaffAll-American

510 days ago

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I am stunned by some of the comments I've heard on this issue. I have heard people complaining that this is not fair to the Suns. Excuse me? Their players broke the rules. Is the NBA supposed to suspend Tim Duncan just to even things out? I've heard people say that they should interpret this differently in order to maintain the integrity of the series. I'm sorry, did the Suns players know the rule? Yes. Did they break the rule? Yes. Is the NBA supposed to halt all suspensions after the regular season so we can have a good series? You break the rules, you pay the price. Period.

Now, if you want to say the rule is stupid, fine. If you want to call for the rule to be changed, I'm totally on your side. It should be changed. But for now, the rule is what the rule is. There's no room for interpretation or leeway. Stoudamire and Diaw broke the rule, plain and simple. The penalty was handed out as outlined, plain and simple. This was not an unfair ruling.

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Anonymous Fanatic #1

510 days ago

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All Stern needed to say was "It is the rule, however, it would not be fair to reward the team that provoked the incident. In that light, we will suspend Horry for 1 game and fine the Suns players that left the bench to check on the welfare of their team member." I honestly believe that everyone (including the Spurs) would have agreed with that decision. If the Spurs go on to win, it will forever be tainted.

KelsdadAll-Star

510 days ago

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If it was fair, why isn't David Stern coming to the game? Because he screwed the Suns, and he knows it.

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Anonymous Fanatic #2

510 days ago

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I think Suns got over penalized and it encourages teams to send in hit men when key first stringers are on bench... to potentially get them out. ALSO... to make a little fairer Horry should do one suspension FIRST then all three sit out SECOND game... that would be MUCH FAIRER

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Anonymous Fanatic #2

510 days ago

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I think Suns got over penalized and it encourages teams to send in hit men when key first stringers are on bench... to potentially get them out. ALSO... to make a little fairer Horry should do one suspension FIRST then all three sit out SECOND game...

that would be MUCH FAIRER

Sirglancealot at AOL

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Anonymous Fanatic #2

510 days ago

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To make a little fairer Horry should do one game suspension FIRST then all three sit out SECOND game... that would be MUCH FAIRER - Sirglancealot at AOL

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Manny StilesAAA-er

510 days ago

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I agree with the one game suspensions. Every year we go through this. If you're a player in the Association, it's your duty to know the rules. And for the eleventy millionth time, it's a "rule", not a "law"!

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TylersaltAll-Star

510 days ago

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Bill Simmons actually had a great argument about this. You can't say that it's not fair that Stoudemire and Diaw got suspended, because they left the bench and that's against the rules. What is stupid is the rule itself. The NBA has its hands tied on this one. Simmons argues that it's like the Tuck Rule game a few years back... it was definitely a fumble, but the rules said otherwise, so the NFL was F-d. The NBA needs to change the rule. They can't do anything about it now, and the Suns are screwed because two of their big contributors reacted completely naturally, but them's the breaks.

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Manny StilesAAA-er

510 days ago

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Simmons is a turd. The rule is not stupid. It was put in for a very good reason. It prevents people (even with the best of intentions) to not get Rudy T'd.

Stern doesn't like basketbrawl. He leads the product pretty successfully if you ask me. If the players have a problem with this "stupid rule" they should have fought it with the Player's Association, but they agreed to it, they know the rule and I bet Amare and Diaw never do it again.

To call it stupid is to show that Simmons just want's the Suns to win so he can take credit for "calling it", even though he bashed the shit out of Steve Nash for how many years now. Oh, and has "the other shoe dropped on Amare" yet Entertainment Guy?

Manny StilesAAA-er

510 days ago

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I support your nomination as an admin, TS. Congrats!

TylersaltAll-Star

510 days ago

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Thanks, Manny. :)

Manny StilesAAA-er

510 days ago

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Barkley steals my thunder... and guarantees a win for the Suns on National TV

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Manny StilesAAA-er

510 days ago

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Barkley jinxed my prediction. No wonder he lost so much money gambling...

Anonymous Fanatic #3

509 days ago

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The whole point of the playoffs is to determine which team is the best basketball team in the NBA for the current season, i.e. the champions. For that to truly happen, teams should play their best players. If San Antonio goes on to win the championship, that effort will be tainted by the suspensions. San Antonio will have advanced by beating a team which was penalized by a decision which was unfair to Phoenix and all basketball fans not pulling for San Antonio. Stoudamire may have violated the "letter of the law" but not the spirit. The intent of the regulation is to prevent the escalation of a fight. Surely the player's intent and the subsequent result of the violation of the rule, such as escalating the conflict, are relevant and should be considered by the commissioner prior to doling out punishments. Obviously, this was not considered. Two things can save the poor decision by Stern. One would be for Phoenix to rebound and win the series, the other would be for some team other than San antonio to win the title. Here's pulling for either the Cavs or Detroit.

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Anonymous Fanatic #4

448 days ago

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I hated this call. I still think it ruined the integrity of the playoffs this year, no need to even talk about the year before. The bench rule is a rule that needs interpretation, because I'm sure the bench players may be well aware of the rule, but what about the starters? Plus, what if a foul happens on the sideline with your best player and the other players on the bench can't visibly see so they scoot out on the court to look? What if the starters are ready to check back in the game and get in the way or are getting on the court to get out of the way, looks like these are all judgment calls and shouldn't be held fixed because of a "hard" rule? Who would have complained if Stoudemire and Diaw weren't suspended? I mean everyone knows nothing happened and it was ok. Maybe something would have happened but nothing did. It was the playoffs.

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Categories: Opinions | Opinions by User Kelsdad | May 16, 2007 | Yahoo Opinions | NBA Opinions | Stu Jackson Opinions | David Stern Opinions | Phoenix Suns Opinions | San Antonio Spurs Opinions | Cleveland Cavaliers Opinions | New Jersey Nets Opinions | Robert Horry Opinions | Amare Stoudemire Opinions | Steve Nash Opinions | Boris Diaw Opinions | Tim Duncan Opinions