I have to say that while pre-series I'd been hoping for a somewhat unlikely Suns win against San Antonio, I've found Phoenix's level of whining about the Spurs' style of play over the past few days to be pretty off-putting. Maybe they'd rather head off for summer vacation instead of needing to suffer through two more series in their quest for a title.
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Whiners
13 May 2007 12:41 pm
Comments (28)
I don't get this complaint. I largely agree with AO, though I think the right course of action is to "whine" about the physicality of the Spurs and wait to see if the NBA takes appropriate action. If not, take one of the Big Three off the board. Both Parker and Ginobli get into the paint a lot and play with a certain lack of concern about their own bodily welfare; it's not going to be that hard for an expendable Sun to hurt one of them. And, post-whining and non-action by the NBA, it's going to be much easier to justify.
But someone's got to flip Ginobli or Parker when they're in the lane.
Amare Stoudamire just came back from an injury that might have been career-ending, or career-crippling at the very least. For him to be wary of a headhunting goon like Bruce Bowen is not really what I'd call whining, though I agree that getting even is more likely to be effective than getting mad.
Finley took a mild foul from Stoudamire in the first half, crumpled to the floor, and remained in the fetal position for quite a while.
San Antonio can play the victimization game better than anyone in the league.
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Also, has it crossed anyone else's mind that ABC and the NBA want San Antonio playing because of the Desperate Housewives marketing tie-in?
Nobody commented on Bowen kneeing Nash in the nuts? He takes dirt to a new level and the league shouldn't tolerate it. When he permanantly takes out a star, they will wake up because that might cost them ad money.
I don't know about the Suns, but there sure are a lot of whiney beaches on this thread.
Ha!
Actually, Petey, the league should want to promote the Suns, since many more casual to semicasual fans would rather watch them. What it shows, I think, is that referees have their own bullshit biases (especially toward past champions) that conflict with the league's probable preferences. Because the refereeing last night was definitely insane and one needs some kind of conspiracy theory to explain it.
I don't think you need a conspiracy theory. I think refs are affected by reputations. The Spurs have a reputation as a team of good guys, and as playing "hard but fair." Every media discussion of Bowen that I've heard in the last week includes a discussion of what a nice, likable guy he is. And that's relevant how?
I'd love to see both the refs and the talking heads give us their opinions on John Stockton, just so that we could true their senses of "dirty."
Playoff series are expected to be more physical, and the complaining may have gotten a bit out of hand, but there is no doubt that Bruce Bowen repeatedly, intentionally tries to injure players by sticking his feet beneath jump shooters. He injured Steve Francis and Anthony Parker this way, and has blatantly pulled the same thing on Stephon Marbury and Vince Carter before the Amare incident. You can find clips for all of these on Youtube. I recommend the clip of the Vince Carter altercation for the hilarity of Bowen's "what did I do?" reaction.
Considering how problematic ankle injuries can be for basketball players, and how, aside from lingering for awhile, each ankle sprain makes you more likely for future sprains, Bowen's dirty play is inconscionable. I don't care for either the Suns or Spurs, I just believe that Bruce Bowen is a raging asshole.
If you're a fan of actual words, then I meant "unconscionable" not "inconscionable".
And, to SomeCallMeTim, I dispute the claim that the Spurs reputation is as a team of "good guys". For the most part, my understanding is that the Spurs are known for jawing with the officials about every whistle (especially Duncan). There was a big effort to crack down on this whining league-wide before the season, so that reputation may not be as apt this year.
"Actually, Petey, the league should want to promote the Suns, since many more casual to semicasual fans would rather watch them."
I'm cognizant of that rationale.
But I don't think anyone is paying attention to the Desperate Housewives tie-in.
ABC loves to show shots of Eva Longoria at the games, and loves to talk about the wedding.
Desperate Housewives is a Sunday night show, and ABC broadcasts quite a few Sunday games. It's one of their most profitable shows - far more profitable than the NBA.
If I were running ABC, I'd want the Spurs in the Finals.
I think you may be overestimating the overlap of NBA fans and potential Desperate Housewives viewers, Petey.
Why should the tendencies for calling the playoffs change compared to the regular season? Why should the playoffs be more physical? I just don't get the double standard. Teams that excel during the regular season get muscled out of the playoffs. I don't see why that is desirable. It makes the regular season even more of a joke than it already is.
"I think you may be overestimating the overlap of NBA fans and potential Desperate Housewives viewers, Petey."
I'm absolutely sure ABC would like to get more male viewers watching the show.
I'd also guess you'd be surprised at the demographics of ABC's hoops audience. More women are watching than you might think at first.
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There's not really any doubt in my mind that ABC would strongly prefer to have the Spurs in the Finals. The only question is whether or not conspiracy theories that move from ABC all the way down to the zebras are valid.
Here's an interesting breakdown of all the calls in Game 2, revealing that A) the Spurs are pretty damn dirty, and B) they still get all the calls. And here's the same guy's theory as to why that happens.
For starters, anyone who thinks the Spurs get all the calls need to watch games three and four against the Mavericks down the stretch in last season's playoffs. It won't take long to debunk this myth.
One of the reasons the Spurs tend to not get as many foul calls is the style of defense they play; they do not gamble for steals, by and large, rarely front in the post, and in Duncan have a premier shot blocker to dissuade people from coming into the lane. They rarely double-team opponents, and they trap pick and rolls at the top of the key and force a defender to rotate onto the cutter rather than have a defender involved try to catch the play from behind.
Each of those tendencies results in fewer fouls. The Spurs defense does not gamble much, and rather than try for turnovers, they force the other team to miss shots. That is why the number one stat Popovich is always most concerned with is opponent's field goal percentage.
And the other consideration that needs to be considered, and the flaw in the long post that analyzed each possession, is that when you defend from out of position, having gambled for a steal, swiping at a block from behind, or whatever, is that the play is more exposed to the official and therefore more likely to attract the foul call.
I find the idea of a conspiracy within the officiating to be nuts. All it would take is one official one time to retire and write a tell-all book and make the millions that would be available for the league to be done. One person with insider information relays how the draft was rigged so that Ewing goes to the Knicks, and the league spends a generation recovering. The fact that no such book exists is proof enough that no such conspiracy exists.
Yes, the Spurs style of defense is geared to not foul as much. But that still doesn't explain how the league hasn't taken some kind of action against a player who tries to injure other players, and has done so multiple times.
"But that still doesn't explain how the league hasn't taken some kind of action against a player who tries to injure other players, and has done so multiple times."
The investigation has begun...
What nobody has said, because few people know, is that Bruce Bowen is a ninja. Its true.
Watch the Youtube of him attacking Amare. Seriously, he saw the jumpshot go up, he saw the rebound richocet into the air, and at precisely perfect angle for him to render his fatal blow. He nearly floated toward the block, and as Amare leaped, his ninja brain processed the perfect big toe versus achilles manuever, and he delivered it, with pinpoint ninja acuracy to the back of amare's nike. All in 2.7 frickin seconds. Not even tom cruise is capable of such badassery.
The officiating in Game 3 was so awful, the announcers couldn't ignore it. Jon Barry must have said 5 times, "wow, Nash/Amare/whoever just got hammered, and again, no call." There must have been some punishment going on for Amare's comments, because really, he's calling out the refs for not holding Bowen accountable.
And yes, Bowen is the dirtiest player in the NBA. Over at TrueHoop, Henry Abbott's been posting YouTube clips of Bowen kicking people and taking out their legs when they shoot. God, what an asshole.
Given the ticky-tacky foul calls on Stoudemire that handed Game 3 to the Spurs, the least the league could do as makeup would be to toss Bowen for a game for his groin shot against Nash. If the NBA lets the Spurs thug their way past the Suns, they will undo everything great that the rule changes favoring faster, more skilled teams (e.g. the Suns and Warriors) have accomplished.
Well, Robert Horrey just got a five-minute major for boarding. Oh, sorry, wrong sport.
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Comments closed May 27, 2007.
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Heads in the Sand
Bruce Bowen is a dirty player. Always has been. The right course of action, though, is not to whine about it but "accidentally" elbow him in the throat or something.
Posted by Antid Oto | May 13, 2007 1:02 PM