NBA suspends Horry (2 games), Stoudemire and Diaw (1 game each)

[Reality]

NBA suspends Stoudemire, Diaw for leaving bench

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/playoffs2007/news/story?id=2871615

PHOENIX -- Phoenix center Amare Stoudemire and teammate Boris Diaw have been suspended for one game for leaving the bench after Robert Horry's hard foul of Steve Nash in Game 4 of the Suns' Western Conference semifinal against San Antonio, a person with knowledge of the penalty said Tuesday.

Horry was suspended for two games after knocking Nash into the scorer's table with 18 seconds remaining in the Suns' 104-98 victory in San Antonio Monday night that evened the best-of-seven series 2-2, said the person, who sought anonymity because the official announcement had not yet been made.

 

[Mavs Man]

Wow. That's just stupid, but at least Horry was suspended, too.

Tim Duncan walked onto the court, too, in the second quarter but no suspension there.

 

[SA_Gunslinger]

Tim Duncan walked onto the court, too, in the second quarter but no suspension there.

i don't claim to be a rule book enthusiast, but it is my understanding that the rule reads something to the effect of "...yadda yadda....can't leave the bench while an altercation is in the immediate vicinity."

at least, that's what i've been hearing per the media. so, in that case, it wasn't nearly the same thing.

horry got what he deserved, and by rule, like it or not, so did stoudemire and diaw.

if there is one thing about the NBA, they have been VERY consistent with enforcing this particular rule.


if the spurs can't win game 5 now, they don't deserve to move on.

 

[BigDFan5]

Wow. That's just stupid, but at least Horry was suspended, too.

Tim Duncan walked onto the court, too, in the second quarter but no suspension there.

There was no altercation when Duncan left the bench, there was an altercation when the suns players left the bench

 

[Danny White]

I think if Raja Bell hadn't gotten into Horry's face after the foul, there wouldn't have been an "altercation" and they wouldn't have been suspended. I believe that if they would have run over to where Nash was on the court (and no altercation going on elsewhere) they wouldn't have been suspended.

Horry knew he was going to be ejected after the foul, and he was walking stone-faced off the court.

Now I don't blame the Suns for getting mad at him, but that anger was what made an altercation and what produced the context for the suspensions.

It's an unfortunate situation for all and really taints this great series.

 

[peplaw06]

It's kind of a shame because though Horry is a semi-important role player, he's just that, a role player. Stoudamire is really the Suns only inside presence on offense.

It's almost like the Spurs gained an advantage for Horry's cheap shot.

Were Stoudamire and Diaw going to the "altercation" or to Nash to help him up? From what I saw, it looked like they jumped up initially and were held back. I didn't look at them really when I saw the clip, but I didn't notice anyone leaving the bench to fight.

The rules are the rules and they do consistently apply this, but the league has to take into account if the guys get up to start trouble or not. If the guy gets up to fight, suspend them. But to suspend them for the simple reaction of leaving the bench is a little harsh IMO.

 

[Mavs Man]

I'll take your word on Duncan - I didn't actually see it, just read about it from Steve Kerr (former Spur).

But I think with these drastic black/white rules ]the NBA, in the words of Jesus, "strains out a gnat but swallows a camel."

 

[Danny White]

I'll take your word on Duncan - I didn't actually see it, just read about it from Steve Kerr (former Spur).

But I think with these drastic black/white rules ]the NBA, in the words of Jesus, "strains out a gnat but swallows a camel."

Looking at Stu Jackson's comments, in addition to the fact that the Elson/Jones situation wasn't an "altercation", he also felt Diaw and Amare were moving towards the conflict "20-25 feet from the bench", whereas Duncan simply stood up and was on the floor, but not trying to involve himself in the situation.

It's all so ticky tacky it's ridiculous. What's more, for Horry to get 2 games for that foul, when Baron Davis gets nothing, is absurd. But no Spurs fan will or should complain about that seeing as what the Suns are suffering. But you can't tell me that Horry would have been suspended for two games if Amare and Diaw weren't getting suspended.

 

[Mavs Man]

Looking at Stu Jackson's comments, in addition to the fact that the Elson/Jones situation wasn't an "altercation", he also felt Diaw and Amare were moving towards the conflict "20-25 feet from the bench", whereas Duncan simply stood up and was on the floor, but not trying to involve himself in the situation.

It's all so ticky tacky it's ridiculous. What's more, for Horry to get 2 games for that foul, when Baron Davis gets nothing, is absurd. But no Spurs fan will or should complain about that seeing as what the Suns are suffering. But you can't tell me that Horry would have been suspended for two games if Amare and Diaw weren't getting suspended.

Also considering the physical nature and other questionable events in this series, why are they starting suspensions now? Just let them play.

 

[MC KAos]

I'll take your word on Duncan - I didn't actually see it, just read about it from Steve Kerr (former Spur).

But I think with these drastic black/white rules ]the NBA, in the words of Jesus, "strains out a gnat but swallows a camel."

you mean: steve kerr(former spur, current part owner of the phoenix suns)?

 

[MC KAos]

as far as my opionion of the suspensions:

i think it was the right decision, a rule is a rule, and they broke it, i think it was pretty obvious at least amare was going at horry and not nash as some have tried to say. how do i feel about the rule? i think its stupid and that it should be altered a lil bit in the offseason. I wish they wouldnt have been suspended(horry, diaw or amare) but im not gonna loose sleep over it. The spurs gotta man up and play a hell of a game wednesday, if they relax at all the suns can win the game. after all, they didnt loose their best player.

 

[Mavs Man]

you mean: steve kerr(former spur, current part owner of the phoenix suns)?

Huh. Well that changes things a bit.

 

[Danny White]

as far as my opionion of the suspensions:

i think it was the right decision, a rule is a rule, and they broke it, i think it was pretty obvious at least amare was going at horry and not nash as some have tried to say. how do i feel about the rule? i think its stupid and that it should be altered a lil bit in the offseason. I wish they wouldnt have been suspended(horry, diaw or amare) but im not gonna loose sleep over it. The spurs gotta man up and play a hell of a game wednesday, if they relax at all the suns can win the game. after all, they didnt loose their best player.

The reality is that no one... not even Robert Horry or any of the other Spurs... forced Amare to leave the bench. He made his own decision to violate the rule.

But the perception (if the Spurs go on to win this game and the series) is going to be that the Spurs cheated or did something else to "taint" the victory because of this incident. As if Horry committed the hard foul because somehow he knew Stoudamire was going to fly off the bench.

This was a great, hard-fought series that was likely to go 7 games... and in my opinion, the Spurs were going to win it. But now there's this cloud hanging over any victory, and that's what makes me sad as a Spurs fan.

 

[MC KAos]

Huh. Well that changes things a bit.

haha, ya i didnt find this out until a couple of days ago

The reality is that no one... not even Robert Horry or any of the other Spurs... forced Amare to leave the bench. He made his own decision to violate the rule.

But the perception (if the Spurs go on to win this game and the series) is going to be that the Spurs cheated or did something else to "taint" the victory because of this incident. As if Horry committed the hard foul because somehow he knew Stoudamire was going to fly off the bench.

This was a great, hard-fought series that was likely to go 7 games... and in my opinion, the Spurs were going to win it. But now there's this cloud hanging over any victory, and that's what makes me sad as a Spurs fan.

ya, i think the only way the spurs get out of that cloud is if they loose game five and win the next two

 

[kTXe]

As a Spurs fan, I don't like the fact that this gives the Suns excuses, but I won't shed any tears.

I do have one quick question that I wonder if anyone can answer. I feel like I remember David Robinson leaving the bench during an altercation in one of the Spurs' Finals runs, but he was NOT suspended. Am I totally making this up, or does anyone else remember this?

 

[Rampage]

can any basketball player fight? man what a bunch of sissy's

 

[Doomsday]

On one hand I think this ruling is awful, on the other hand I can see why they dont want players leaving the bench area. If a couple of Spurs players had gone over where Stoudemire and Diaw there would be potential for a brawl. I think they should of suspended Stoudemire and Diaw next year instead of for game 5 though, they really didnt do anything. Its pretty crappy when a mediocore player at best tries to hurt a player on another team and that team is penalized by losing a stud like Stoudemire for a critical game 5.

 

[MC KAos]

As a Spurs fan, I don't like the fact that this gives the Suns excuses, but I won't shed any tears.

I do have one quick question that I wonder if anyone can answer. I feel like I remember David Robinson leaving the bench during an altercation in one of the Spurs' Finals runs, but he was NOT suspended. Am I totally making this up, or does anyone else remember this?

i dont remember that at all

 

[peplaw06]

Looking at Stu Jackson's comments, in addition to the fact that the Elson/Jones situation wasn't an "altercation", he also felt Diaw and Amare were moving towards the conflict "20-25 feet from the bench", whereas Duncan simply stood up and was on the floor, but not trying to involve himself in the situation.

It's all so ticky tacky it's ridiculous. What's more, for Horry to get 2 games for that foul, when Baron Davis gets nothing, is absurd. But no Spurs fan will or should complain about that seeing as what the Suns are suffering. But you can't tell me that Horry would have been suspended for two games if Amare and Diaw weren't getting suspended.

I think Horry was suspended one game for the shot to Nash and one game for the elbow to Bell's face that followed.

I understand the thinking behind the rule, but you have to have some way to account for harmless error. The guys are thinking in the heat of the moment and they react. In the case of Stoudamire and Diaw, they thought better of it and retreated before getting involved.

 

[joseephuss]

I think Horry was suspended one game for the shot to Nash and one game for the elbow to Bell's face that followed.

I understand the thinking behind the rule, but you have to have some way to account for harmless error. The guys are thinking in the heat of the moment and they react. In the case of Stoudamire and Diaw, they thought better of it and retreated before getting involved.

Well, it helped that their coaches were pushing them back. The rule is simple. Don't leave the bench. Okay, maybe not that simple, but it isn't complicated. If a player(s) leaves the bench, things can easily get out of hand. The NBA has seen that occur in the past and does not want that happening again. There is room to re-evaluate the rule in both how it is written and how it is enforced, but in this particular situation it seems the right decision was made by the current standards. Every player knows the rule and this situation has occurred several times since it was introduced. It is obvious the Suns' coaches knew the rule and that is why they were pushing those guys back to the bench.