Anyone who says they are shocked by Amare and Diaw getting suspended haven’t been around the block a couple times. This is a rule that the L has been pretty strict about dating back to even when Barkley was still in the league. Think about it; last night when Barkley told the story of how he got suspended for taking two steps over the line, it was over for Amare and Diaw. They’ve always been hard on it since its inception…multiply it by 1000 after The Brawl and you can see the L had no choice but to suspend them. Is it a bad rule? Yeah, there should be more interpretation allowed instead of such a concrete rule. But at the end of the day you have to blame Amare and Boris….they should have known better. The L has to look at what would have happened had the assistants not pulled Amare and Diaw back. It’s obvious their intent was to go and get in someones face or to get held back by some refs.
It’s sad when the Eastern Conference Playoffs gets overshadowed by a suspension. And don’t write the Suns off because Amare is out…this may work in their favor. An underdog attitude, a raucous home crowd and a small lineup to get them back to playing beautiful basketball. More importantly, no one is talking about how Robert Horry is out for the next two games. He is a guy who gives them no less than 10+ minutes a game. The playoffs is exactly why he is still with the Spurs..they play him sparingly in the season so they can have him at full strength when it matters. And in the two biggest games of their season he will be unable to play. Horry provides them with much more than statistics can say. He is a smart and saavy veteran whose unselfishness and basketball IQ blends right into the Spurs. His knack for hitting clutch threes and his ability to stretch a defense is going to be missed. Also, he is a veteran defender and has been doing an underrated and underappreciated job on Shawn Marion when he is in the game. I’ve asked myself 10x this series…”how is Marion not killing Horry?” Big Shot Rob may be old but he still has some D in him. Now the Spurs have three post players; Tim Duncan, Oberto and Elson. Oberto and Elson are bangers, good at rebounding and setting screens, almost the classic garbagemen. You want them shooting. Will we see Matt Bonner? I don’t think so but Pop might not have a choice. He could surprise people…but then again he would be playing now wouldn’t he.
All in all, I think that both teams lose a lot and it sets up for a very interesting Game 5 to say the least. Phoenix fans officially (and unfortunately) have an out if they cannot get it done this year. But it is not David Stern who screwed Amare Stoudemire….Amare Stoudemire screwed Amare Stoudemire.
One last note on the Eastern Conference…the matchups are flatter than (insert small boobed celebrity joke). It is ridiculous…not only are the matchups bad, but there is such a sense of meaningless-ness that is ridiculous. What I mean by that is…regardless of how Chicago plays tonight it is not interesting to watch because at the end of the day even if they win, they aren’t going to win the series. Point blank, they are not about to beat Detroit three times in a row. Try and find someone who would bet that the Bulls are gonna do that. I’ll be waiting. Ditto with New Jersey/Cleveland…thats even worse because everyone knows whoever wins is going to lose to Detroit.
The Eastern Conference Playoffs are like a bad chick flick; its not captivating, not fun to watch and you already know whats going to happen in the end so why watch it anyways if there is no good story.
I have no thoughts on Chicago’s blowout win. No its still not a series.
Man if only Jim Ross commentated basketball the end of this third quarter would have perfect for him. We had Stephen Jackson getting a flagrant and a tech, practically handing Utah momentum and potentially the game…they miss all three free throws and don’t score on the possession. So now Golden State can score and get a huge burst of momentum with all of the energy out of the Salt Lake crowd…Matt Barnes shoots an airball. So now Utah can score, get the crowd going Mormon crazy…they miss but Barnes gets tech’d up in the aftermath. This is insane. I have a feeling the Warriors are about to go off in the fourth. Either that or they are about to have an implosion like none other. The only reason I say either or is because its in Salt Lake and that place can bring out the absolute worst in teams.
The three referees have previous history with the Warriors…excellent subplot picked up by TNT and Doug Collins. Let us watch this very carefully in the fourth quarter.
Milsap is a monster…but he looks so out of place in Utah its not funny. I just see him as a slave right now.
Barons pass and Barnes three in the corner…wow.
Golden State does know that Derek Fisher can shoot threes right? They know they have to guard them right?
Deron Williams is finally laying an egg this playoffs but Derek Fisher is picking up the slack big time.
Biggest bullshit sequence ever….Kirilenko hacks Barnes (swings across Barnes body) for an no call…then Derek Fisher comes flying out of nowhere, dives on the ball and rolls at least two times and there is no travel. I officially have renewed my dislike of the Utah Jazz.
Last game a friend of mine texted me and asked ‘Is it ok if I hate Derek Fisher right now?’ I said no you’re going to hell. When is it ok to hate Derek Fisher again? Can I ger a clarification on this.
The refs saw how absurd they were and called a foul for Baron Davis after he had fallen to the ground. Ridiculous.
Classic Utah. That’s all I gotta say. The story of the Golden State Warriors is over. Only the Phoenix Suns can save these playoffs….
….dear lord help us all…
My name is SJ and I’m officially semi-bummed by the Playoffs.