Does Anyone Else Hate The Spurs As Much As Me Right Now?

Twist of Lemon

I've never really gave a shit about the Spurs ever until this year when Bruce Bowen undercut Anthony Parker of the Raptors during a regular season game. But I'll be damned if they don't get all the favoritism in the world from Ref's at NBA games... not to mention that sleaze bag David Stern.

Bowen one of the "Best defensive players" has resorted to stepping under star players shots when hes having a hard time defending them, kneed Steve Nash in the groin and not mention has kicked people in the face before. I won't get started on "Big Shot" Rob. But seriously Bruce Bowen actually makes me Not hate Vince Carter and thats saying a lot.

Now after beating the shit out of Steve Nash and the refs letting it go, Bruce Bowens fouls the hell out of Lebron James way beyond on the three point arc as he jacked up there final shot and they don't even call that? If the ratings for the finals havn't fallen enough this is the kind of stuff that I hate about the NBA some times. Theres no consistency on star players and in the play offs, even more so if there the Spurs.

From my view, this years Finals is tainted beyond all repair now

Freak

Eugh. Tainted how? The Spurs have been the better team and it's not even close.

That was definitely a foul at the end of tonight's game (and an intentional foul by Bowen, if you ask me), but chances aren't good that LeBron would have knocked down all three free throws anyway.

I also have a genuine dislike for Bruce Bowen, but I would absolutlely LOVE having him play for my team. He's as close to a shutdown perimeter defender as there is in the game, and he has the mentality of a checking-line grinder on a hockey team. Unless you're into that sort of thing, he makes basketball games a lot less fun to watch, and even harder to stomach when he's draining threes at the other end of the court.

Anyway. Please don't make this Finals into something it's not. The Spurs are unbeatable.

Blitzkrieg

Administrator

Bowen is a nobody in my view. Good defender but who gives a shit? You can't stop a star player from scoring anyways.. and while a great defender would possibly be able to "contain" one, Bowen can't do that either.

I can't tell you how many times Kobe Bryant and Tracy McGrady have lit him up in the past..

the Spurs are winning championships in an awful league right now. I give them minimal credit. LeBron has nobody, it's a miracle he got past Detroit.

The only team in the league that's worth a damn other then the Spurs are the Suns who are without a doubt the best team, have the most talent, but got screwed by Stern and the idiotic rulebook on leaving the bench during an altercation.. There's no human element in that rule at all.

Yes, I'm pissed. The NBA playoffs were ruined once again by Stern and co..

Hopefully as the Bulls grow, and LeBron gets some help, along with the Suns.. the league will become a lot more interesting.

P.S.

Duncan is VERY overrated. He could never beat Shaq in the big games and Shaq isn't even that great..

Freak

You guys are babies.

I'm far from a Spurs fan myself -- Manu Ginobili and Bruce Bowen are two of my least favourite players -- but their dominance is undeniable. Hopefully you're only being so irrational right now because the game just ended, and tomorrow you'll clear your eyes and properly acknowledge the Spurs' superiority (even if it is a painfully-boring-to-watch superiority).

I was rooting hard for the Suns in the second round, and I agree it was infinitely stupid and unfair to suspend Amare/Diaw -- but come on. San Antonio won twice IN Phoenix -- against a full Suns lineup.

The problem with the NBA is not the Spurs -- in fact it's the exact opposite. The Spurs are the best in the NBA at playing like a team and playing with fundamentals-- something former NBA champions also did "back when the league was fun to watch."

I don't know, maybe David Stern ought to change the rules so that the winner of the game is whichever team's star player jacks up the most shots. That might be more fun to watch, and hey, maybe then Tracy McGrady can get the props he truly deserves!

Get real. The NBA will catch up to the Spurs when there's another team as carefully-assembled and well-practiced as they are.

Freak

Also:

"Bruce Bowen is a nobody in my view."

"Tim Duncan is VERY overrated."

Your view sucks. Five NBA championships and 17 NBA All-Defensive Team selections between them speak volumes.

Twist of Lemon

Its not even the fact that the Spurs are a better team then the Cavs, its every time you turn around in this years playoffs they're getting some kind of bullshit thing happening Right when they need it. First it was the suspensions on Diaw and Amare Stoudemire (not to mention Bowen kicking Amare and Kneeing Nash with no reaction from the leauge)

Now in a game where the Spurs are handing out turn overs every time up the court, They don't call an obvious foul that could have changed the game? even if the chances of him making the baskets isn't the greatest the fact that the Cavs could have won that game in OT If he did is very much possible if he did. If the Spurs had won that cleanly I wouldn't have cared so much. Its just fustrating watching one team get the breaks they need every time they need them.

Blitzkrieg

Administrator

I stand by what I said lol. the Spurs are the weakest "dynasty" the NBA has ever seen.

How many times did Duncan beat Shaq and the Lakers? not many.

That same Lakers team got destroyed by a Jazz team who had Stockton, Malone, and 10 guys off the street.

That just says a lot about how great Stockton and Malone were and it also reminds us how great the Bulls were.. or the Knicks, Pacers, etc.. who used to give the Bulls all they could handle..

C'mon man. this league sucks. The teams in this league including the Spurs could never compete on the Bulls and Co.

That's my problem with givng the Spurs credit.

You say the Spurs won twice in Phoenix against a stacked team? Am I supposed to forget that game 5 was THE most important game in that series?

the Suns who were coming off a HUGE victory in San Antonio came home to find out that 2 of their top players were not going to be able to compete in the game.. So what did the Suns do? they played their heart out in game 5. They led for most of the game, at certain points up by as many as 20. They left their heart on the court and it just wasn't enough..

There's no team that would have won in SA in game 6 after what had transpired in the previous game. They were dead and it's because Stern took it away from them.

there's no doubt in my mind that if Phoenix would have held on in the closing moments that they would have ended up winning that series.

Freak

I agree it was a blown call. I agree a foul could possibly have sent the game to overtime. Where I disagree is that any of this "taints" what the Spurs are doing right now, or really matters that much in the long run. If anything, the Spurs playoff run is more "tainted" by the Amare/Diaw suspensions and tonight's missed call, because it gives people reasons to complain about games the Spurs would likely have won anyway.

And with extra regard to tonight's final shot: if that foul doesn't get called and LeBron makes the shot, the Spurs could just as easily complain that Bowen didn't get the intentional foul call he wanted.

Freak

Blitz, man, you've lost it.

You didn't say that. If you had said it, I'd have agreed. You can't be called a dynasty when another team wins three straight NBA titles during your run as a dynasty. But they're still a basketball team that will go down in history as being truly great, and they deserve that. Four NBA championships in nine years is unbelievable, and if you disagree, you're jaded as fuck.

How could you possibly fault the Spurs though? They're a throwback to the way basketball used to be played, and they're the best-run team in the league for it. You don't have to like the style they play (personally, I hate it), but they'll still beat the shit out of your team.

If anything, all you hear these days is what great shape the league is in for the future, with guys like LeBron and Wade and Anthony and Bosh and Arenas, etc., and I'm excited as anyone else for it. But in my eyes, the guy in that pack who pulls away from the others will be the one who lands with a smart organization and who can be built around properly (like, say, Jordan or Bird).

You're right, for some reason I thought they were suspended for the game in San Antonio.

Either way, it's not like Tony Parker laid down the suspensions for Amare and Diaw. The Spurs came back from that 20-plus-point deficit in a raucous Phoenix arena, and that counts for something.

Blitzkrieg

Administrator

But why did they even get down 20 to a team without..

a 1st team all-nba player in Amare.. and probably the best sixth man in the league in Diaw?

That's cutting it pretty close don't you think?

I'm not faulting the Spurs for anything. they can't help that the rest of the league is pretty awful.. but the point I was trying to make is that a team like the Jazz of the 90's would have beat Phoenix in that game 5 by 30.

Teams didn't have close encounters back in the day. They didn't screw around.

The Bulls never lost games in the 1st couple of rounds. They completely destroyed their opponents.

I was making a link here.

The Lakers won 3 championships from 2000-02. In the finals they beat the Nets, a much OLDER Pacers team, and Allen Iverson. I can't even say the Sixers because he WAS the Sixers.

The Spurs couldn't handle that Lakers team. They beat them yes, but I'd say Shaq and co. definitely got the better of them in most of their encounters..

That SAME EXACT Lakers team could not beat the Utah Jazz, a team that never won a championship. In two straight years Shaq and co. were beaten 4-0 and 4-1.

That's my issue. the Spurs are feasting off of a watered down league. Who the hell is even on the Cavs roster other then James?