The Spurs' True Colors

San Antonio Spurs, congratulations. You pulled me out of hibernation and forced me to comment on the NBA Playoffs, when I it is near the bottom of my priority list. Or at least it was, until Game 4 of the Suns-Spurs series.

Now I have always hated the San Antonio Spurs. Maybe it's because they are my Dallas Mavericks rivals. But even in the 90s, when I was still a Knicks fan, I hated them. It was probably how they refused to conform to the NBA image as a flashy league that played little defense. It could've been the fact that Tim Duncan was the quietest superstar on earth. It could've been their dominance over the Knicks (who were my team at the time) in the Finals in the lockout season. Regardless though, I felt that there was a reason to hate them. I felt they were arrogant, I just had nothing to back it up. Now I do.

During Game 4 against the Suns, the Spurs did a very un-Spurs-like thing- they collapsed with a lead in the fourth quarter. It is rarely seen in today's NBA, similar to the Chicago Bulls of old, and the Lakers teams of the early part of this century. Once you're down, that's pretty much it. But the Spurs did collapse on this particular night. The Phoenix Suns, on the back of Steve Nash, the real MVP of this season, charged at the Spurs head-on, gained the advantage, and were just waiting for the last 18 seconds to tick off of the game clock. That's when the series changed. When the Spurs gained the upper hand. When they were virtually crowned NBA Champs for the 4th time in the past 8 years. It made me sick.

Robert Horry, to quote every other column on this subject "hockey checked" Nash into the scorers table, basically knocking him underneath it. The game was already out of reach for the Spurs, so it was completely unnecessary. But Horry still did it, because as a member of the Spurs, he thought he could get away with it. Or did he?

The Spurs were having trouble containing both Nash and the Suns other NBA First-Teamer, Amare Stoudemire. Horry was scoring a little more than four points per game, and was not a pivotal player in this series, outside of one instance of last second heroics. With the way the Spurs have been playing this series (see Bruce Bowen going unpenalized for his actions against various Suns in the previous games), I wouldn't put it past the snide Gregg Popovich, and his team, to have planned this. Proof? It won't hold much weight in the eyes of many fans but look closely at the replay of the events after Horry's hard foul. The Spurs stayed put. Nobody moved off of that bench. There was little facial expression. The Spurs players did not look concerned about the brawl that was about to occur on the court. Why? Because they knew it was going to happen. The San Antonio Spurs, formerly the quietest, dirtiest team in basketball finally showed the world their true colors that night. They are cheaters. They knew the reaction they would receive from Suns players. They knew that Stoudemire, among others would rise to Steve Nash's aid. They knew Horry would get suspended. But they also knew that his actions would potentially draw other suspensions. They might have even hoped that Nash was injured on the cheap shot, but he's too much of a warrior for that. Still, in the end, the Spurs cheated. They cheated the fans, the Suns, and their league. The league did not have to let them get away with it, but they did, because they are the Spurs.

David Stern should be ashamed of himself for falling into the Spurs trap. Two players were suspended for being good teammates. Two players- Boris Diaw and Amare Stoudemire- were suspended for a critical Game 5 in a series that may very well decide who wins the NBA Finals two rounds from now. I know that there are rules, but this one was unncessary to begin with, and even more unnecessary to enforce in this situation. The NBA has messed up. If the Spurs do go on to win this series, and the NBA Finals with their play, they may lose a fan, in me. Is that what they want? To lose fans because they let cheaters win? I doubt it.