(Picture credits: http://go2page3.blogspot.com/2008/05/ingredients-find-opposing-player-not.html)
After watching a disastrous third quarter both from the Hornets and the calls from the refs in the game earlier, I had to turn off the television to get ready for a 4 hour part time job that could give me fits as I try to survive my summer. So what’s the point of watching? The Spurs were up by a very comfortable margin and knowing what kind of team the Spurs are, they are definitely not going to give up an 16 point lead when their backs are against the wall. Apparently, for me, there will be no significant thing that will happen in the fourth quarter, I’m only going to get pissed off by the flops and the calls so why waste my time watching it?
Too bad, I was wrong. The moment I got home, my 13 year old brother told me about the cheap shot Robert Horry gave to David West in the opening minutes of the fourth quarter. The moment I logged in the net, the whole internet basketball community was all over it.
On the blue corner, the Hornets fans.. saying that Robert Horry’s shot was intentional, was uncalled for and was meant to take out West in the seventh and final game in the series. On the red corner, the Spurs fans.. saying it was a good old playoff foul, saying David bumped right into Horry and Horry didn’t do anything intentional to David West.
Well, by that time, there was no video available in the internet so I had to wait for Basketball TV’s re-run of the Spurs – Hornets game, I watched it with my uncle who also knows his stuff when it comes to Basketball. And by the time the Robert Horry incident was done, we both agreed that the foul was indeed intentional and was meant to take out David West off of his game.
Let this video be the basis while I answer every bit of excuse the Spurs fans throws in the net.
1) “The foul wasn’t intentional “
There’s the video and all you have to do is watch it. Here’s the scenario, as soon Ginobili goes base, David West cuts him over to block his way Horry on the other hand seeing West doubled on Manu, tried to give a blind pick. Manu tries to throw a lob pass to Thomas who had good position on the inside while West jumped over to try and intercept the pass.. a few seconds later West is lying in pain. At first look, it seems like nothing happened.. in the replay you’ll see a few things.
First up, knowing a veteran like Robert Horry, he obviously knows how to set good screens.. especially if the defender doesn’t know a screen is coming.. all you have to do is stand in there and wait for him to come at you. That’s why it’s called a blind pick. What bothers me is the fact that Horry was indeed called for a foul, which means something illegal happened in there that forced the referees to blow the whistle. Here’s the question, and I think every reader who knows how to play basketball can answer this. If you’re setting a blind pick and the defender doesn’t know that a pick is being set.. WHY ON EARTH WOULD YOU MOVE? I mean, I can understand other players who moves and gets called for a foul when they’re setting an on-ball screen to try and give space to the offensive player but for you to lean forward when you know the defender is coming right at you.. well that’s not right, there’s something fishy in there. And knowing a guy, a veteran, like Robert Horry he knows that, he knows that there’s no need for him to lean forward and move to give space to Manu.. it’s obvious, David West is going in his direction and I know that he knows that he’s going to get called for a foul if he moves and West bumps into him. Now the question is, why on earth did he lean forward?
2) “It’s a good ol’ hard Playoff foul”
I’m sick of this excuse. Really. I have no problems with hard fouls and stuff but you have to realize that there’s a real thin line between fouling to stop a guy from scoring thus breaking his rhythm and fouling to hurt the guy and take him out of the game. One example of the former is the first round of this year’s Playoffs.. the series between Cleveland and Washington. LeBron gets tagged hard everytime he gets into the rim.. but I can understand that, the Wizards doesn’t want to give easy dunks and layups on a guy who thrives on energy and momentum like LeBron James. That’s an example of a good Playoff foul.
What makes me sick is all of these overprotective Spurs fans who were saying that it was a “GOOD” Playoff foul. David West isn’t even in a position for scoring. David West isn’t even in a position for passing. The Hornets doesn’t even have the ball possession so why on earth would Robert Horry give David West a good ol’ “Playoff foul”? Do you get what I’m saying? It’s downright pointless. Now hear me out.. Robert Horry knows David West’s back is hurting, I know David West’s back is hurting heck everybody knows David West’s back is hurting. Now here’s another question, if Robert’s intention was to give David West a good ol’ “Playoff foul” then why would he hit David on a body part where in he knows that’s injured? Right, because his intentions is not to take David West OUT OF HIS GAME, his intention (Read Number 1) is to take David West OUT OF THE GAME.
3) “David West was crashing right into Robert Horry”
Take a look at the video. Take a look at it closely, especially in the replay. Yes, he was indeed going into Horry’s direction.. but, if you would also look at that video again, you would see Robert Horry, leaning forward, thus meeting David West midway causing a collision thus damaging West’s back. Check out the video again to spare me from explaining.
Now, I know I’m not the only one who’s whining about the situation, every fan who saw that game would know that Horry did intentionally.. unless of course you are a Spurs fan. Here are some bloggers’ take on Cheap Shot Rob’s clutch shot on David West.
Basketbawful: Look, I’ve played a lot of basketball over the years, both organized and not-so-organized. Stuff like that doesn’t happen by accident. It just doesn’t. And if you think otherwise, then you’re fooling yourself. Horry measured West and gave him a really hard — and clearly illegal, since it resulted in an offensive foul — shot into a part of West’s body that was known to be injured. Did Horry intend to take West out of the game, or even incapacitate him for Game 7? Probably not. But that barely makes the act any less senseless. And whether he meant for it to happen or not, there’s a pretty good likelihood that West will be far from 100 percent for Game 7. Which is a pretty good tradeoff for a simple offensive foul, isn’t it?
And for those of you who are inevitably going to defend Mr. Cheap Shot, go ahead and answer this question in your defense: How would you react if you were playing pickup basketball and somebody purposely took a shot at your injured back/knee/ankle/whatever? Would you laugh it off as just a good, hard basketball play? Or would you want to strangle the guy?
Evil Ted: “After watching the Horry incident in regular and slow motion, I told Basketbawful that it looked mild, and that West shouldn’t be playing professional basketball if his back can’t sustain a hit like that. Of course, with each passing moment, I had to add preface after preface to my opinion. First, with West’s pre-existing back condition, it makes the hit far more nefarious — a true ‘Sweep the leg’ Cobra Kai moment. Second, if the hit had ever been issued to a bad-back-plagued Larry Bird and he went down, I would want blood and lots of it. Third, the hit illustrates the true subtle genius of the Spurs.
“They play basketball nowadays about as ‘dirty’ as any team in the league, but no casual basketball observer (that includes NBA officials, whom I now consider ‘casual basketball observers,’ by the way) could ever quite put a finger on what the Spurs are doing. From Ginobli flopping to the Duncan face to the Parker Oscar nominations to the Bowen foot defense to the Horry picks…every questionable thing the Spurs do must be analyzed in slow motion from ten different angles to determine whether there was intent or chicanery on a given play. No other team in the league has come close to perfecting this subtlety. It is very clear most of the time when other teams in the league are playing dirty — they know nothing but shoving, clotheslining, punching, elbowing, kicking, etc. Many of us may despise the Spurs, but give them this: They have 100% perfected playing “their style” within the constraints of the league’s rules and the officials’ perceptions.
Adrian Wojnarowski, Yahoo Sports
The bus bringing the New Orleans Hornets out of Game 6, out of angst and anger, grumbled near the back of the AT&T Center. Before climbing the steps, Byron Scott tugged out his iPod’s ear piece and considered the possibility that Robert Horry had turned into Cheap Shot Bob again.
The old man of these San Antonio Spurs had delivered a dubious blow to the bad back of the Hornets’ David West, and the coolest, calmest coach in the NBA was seething through that stoic disposition.
“I’m not real OK with it,†Scott told Yahoo! Sports. “But if I didn’t know Robert on a personal level, I’d say that was a dirty shot. Yeah, if I didn’t know him the way I know him, I’d say it was a cheap shot.â€
Yes, he always liked Horry, but no one could convince Scott that West wasn’t a victim of a desperate shot by a desperate champion. The Hornets had been destroyed 99-80 in Game 6 on Thursday night, and still Scott and his players seethed over the blindsided screen Horry had leveled on West and his bad back.
Robert Horry is even more painful to watch. I grew up watching the Rockets; they were the first team I followed intently in the playoffs during their championship run. Watching Horry knock down big threes used to send me into, pardon the expression, paroxysms of joy. He is one of the best clutch players in the history of the NBA. And now, he’s nothing but a cheap shot artist. Spurs blogs constantly rail on Horry’s defensive liabilities. He’s got little lift on his three-point shot and he often mistimes rebounds because he’s trying to muster the energy to jump. He has very little to contribute on the basketball end at this point. So what does he do? The only thing he can. Cheap shot important players for the other team.
Yes, West was jumping back. And yes, you have a right to defend players in the lane. But don’t try and tell me that Horry didn’t know what he was doing. You have a player with a back injury, and you just “happen” to nail him directly in his back? If you watch the clip, you’re going to notice that not only does Horry go into his back, but he goes up into him. He dips down, just slightly, and puts the elbow into him, up. He knew what he was doing, and he did what he wanted.
There’s more but I’m too lazy to post it here. Just google the words Cheap Shot, Robert Horry and David West and you’ll find it.
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