Loading ...Amare Stoudemire and Boris Diaw will likely face suspension after leaving the bench following the flagrant foul assessed by Robert Horry on Steve Nash last night.
Horry was ejected for ”hip checking” Steve Nash into the scorers table.
Robert Horry deserves a suspension for his actions.
Amare Stoudemire and Boris Diaw do not.
If you’re a long time hoops fanatic like myself than you’ve probably seen ESPN’s old series entitled ”NBA’s Greatest Games.”
It was a series where Dan Patrick would watch memorable playoff battles with one of the participants involved.
The most memorable episode for me was when Patrick watched Game 6 of the 1988 Finals with Isiah Thomas.
It was the game that Isiah stepped on Michael Cooper’s foot and sprained his ankle terribly. Isiah was rolling around in pain. You could almost feel the Pistons’ title hopes vanishing into the air.
If you’ve ever sprained your ankle, you know what it feels like. It’s a terrible injury and definately not one you come back from.
Isiah did.
Isiah played on pure adrenaline that night. He played for the love of the game and the love of his teammates. He played to win.
Thomas broke down crying when watching that video with Dan Patrick.
“I just … I … I never watched this,” Isiah mumbles, dabbing his eyes with a hankerchief. “You just … you wouldn’t understand.”
“It’s like, to look back on that, to know that all we went through as a team, and the people, and the friendships and everything … you just wouldn’t understand.”
“You know, to see Dennis, the way Dennis was, to see Vinny, to see Joe, to see Bill, to see Chuck, and to know what we all went through and what we were fighting for … I mean, we weren’t the Lakers, we weren’t the Celtics, we were just, we were nobody. We were the Detroit Pistons, trying to make our way through the league, trying to fight and earn some turf, you know, and make people realize that we were a good team. We just weren’t the thing that they had made us.”
“That type of emotion, that type of feeling, when you’re playing like that, and you know, you’re really going for it … you’re going for it. You put your heart, your soul, you put everything into it, and … “
“And seeing that, and feeling that, and going through all that emotion, I mean, as a player, that’s what you play for. That’s the feeling you want to have. When 12 men come together like that, you know, it’s … it’s … “
“You wouldn’t understand.”
That is what the game of basketball is all about.
It’s about collective greatness.
It’s about the unspeakable bonds built “when 12 men come together” and “you’re really going for it.”
It’s about sacrificing everything you have to win; pouring your blood, sweat, and tears into every battle.
The Phoenix Suns had their “heart” and ”soul” invested in last night’s game
Led by Steve Nash, Phoenix fought their way back into game five and saved the series and their season.
In coming to Steve Nash’s defense, Amare and Boris “understood” Thomas’ emotion.
Neither Stoudemire or Diaw left the bench to incite violence.
They left the bench to take a stand for and protect their point guard and their leader.
It would be a shame if the National Basketball Association fails to “understand” that.
