"Cheap Shot" Bob

Last night, the San Antonio Spurs continued to exhibit nasty, cheap shot behavior when Robert “Big Shot Bob” Horry sent two-time MVP Steve Nash flying into the boards, making me double check to see if I was watching the Senators/Sabres hockey game on Versus. This gave Horry’s nickname a second meaning.

Though everyone agrees that this was the third incident where a Spurs player has committed a flagrant foul against a Suns player in three games. Bruce Bowen dished out two of those fouls, Nash was the recipient of two of those fouls.

After Game Two, Amare Stoudemire claimed that the Spurs were a “dirty team.”

Well, the Spurs really haven’t shown otherwise after Bowen’s intentional trip of Stoudemire which incited those comments, then Bowen’s follow-up act of kneeing Nash in his groin in Game Three, then Horry’s body check on Nash in Game Four.

Of course, nothing less should be expected of Bowen who has been a dirty player for a while since incident after incident after incident after incident after incident (and trust me, there are more, I just don't want to link to all of them...but this one is the best example of Bowen).

However, the rumors were flying after the game last night as to whether or not Stoudemire and teammate Boris Diaw were going to be suspended for leaving the bench in the altercation following the hard foul. In the NBA, the league states that it will suspend any player on the bench that leaves the bench during a fight.

The NBA, like the NCAA, known for notoriously being absent-minded when it comes to dishing out punishments, is expected to suspend the two Suns. But if they only take action against two guys who left the bench, but did not throw a punch or even come within 10 feet of the altercation, then let Horry go without suspension it would be ridiculous.

Even if they got equal suspension it would be ridiculous. How can you suspend someone who leveled a guy the same amount of time as two guys who didn’t come within 10 feet of the fight?

The NBA needs to suspend the two Suns, otherwise it would set a terrible precedence. But there is no rule limiting them to suspending Horry for one game; they need to suspend him for at least two.

The NBA needs to do the right thing in this situation and realize it wouldn’t be fair if Stoudemire and Diaw were suspended equally as Horry.

There is one thing lost in this: How can the Spurs, the former "good guys" of basketball, stoop so low?