Bob Horry would knock Nash over again.

[Reality]

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/columns/story?columnist=wojciechowski_gene&id=2877137&sportCat=nba

SAN ANTONIO -- Trust me, they don't call him "Cheap Shot Bob" in this town. Instead, Robert Horry, the man whose shoulder shiver helped alter the look and feel of the NBA playoffs, received something Sunday afternoon that you don't see and hear every day: a spontaneous, heartfelt standing ovation that lasted a full 30 seconds.

For checking into the game.

"They just missed him," the Spurs' Michael Finley said of the reception. "As fans, you miss having a valuable part of your team."

Robert Horry can't understand the uproar over his foul on Steve Nash.

Horry didn't put up much of a linescore in the San Antonio Spurs' 108-100 victory over the Utah Jazz in Game 1 of the Western Conference finals. But he didn't have to. All he really had to do was show up.

"I'm just happy they accepted me back," said Horry, who can count on exactly one finger the number of times he's gotten a standing O for reporting to the scorer's table. "It was funny."

Or as Jazz guard Derek Fisher, a former Horry teammate with the Los Angeles Lakers, said, "I was actually jealous."

Exiled to David Stern's penal colony for two games, Horry finally returned to the court … and to a hero's welcome. The cheers weren't for his three rebounds, two assists and one blocked shot in 16:32 of playing time. It was for what happened Monday in this same AT&T Center. Phoenix Suns point guard Steve Nash can tell you all about it.

Horry's controversial body check of Nash in the closing seconds of Game 4 sent tremors through the Suns-Spurs series. Horry was suspended for those two games, but it was the one-game suspension of the Suns' Amare Stoudemire and Boris Diaw (for leaving the bench area after Horry's flagrant foul) that created a national uproar.

The short-handed Suns lost Game 5 at home and were closed out here Friday evening. Afterward, Nash said Stern's decision to suspend Stoudemire and Diaw "will forever haunt us."

It won't haunt Horry. The man previously known as "Big Shot Bob" has a long history of winning championships (no active player has won more than Horry's six NBA titles) and of making plays that matter. But the Nash controversy continues to puzzle him because, he said, he didn't do anything wrong.

"I'm an old-fashioned player, an old-school player who will foul you and foul you hard."

"I'm still amazed at the notoriety that this one play got compared to Baron Davis' foul [against Fisher in the Golden State-Utah series] and Mikki Moore's foul [against Aleksandar Pavlovic in the Cleveland Cavaliers series]," Horry said. "Those were like malicious fouls in my eyes. Guys who can't protect themselves off their feet. Blow to the head."

According to the Horry School of Fouling, his shoulder check on Nash was perfectly acceptable playoff etiquette. That's why he didn't understand why everyone -- Nash, Stoudemire and Diaw, the media -- got bent like a paper clip.

"You know what?" Horry said. "If I had the situation to do all over again, I would still [do it]. That's just the way I'm programmed. You go over there and foul, and you foul them hard. The only thing I wish I could have changed is that it wouldn't have been that close to the scorer's table. Other than that, I'm an old-fashioned player, an old-school player who will foul you and foul you hard."

Nash was a rookie when Horry joined the Suns in 1996. They used to play one-on-one together in the Suns' practice gym. They took drives in the car together. Horry respected Nash then, and he respects him now. But that doesn't mean Nash, or anybody for that matter, gets a free pass in the postseason.

"I think on my part -- and I think [Nash has] been in the league long enough to realize -- it's just basketball," Horry said. "I can understand if I had clotheslined him and tried to hurt him, but that was just a bump. Hopefully, in his eyes, he'll look at it as just basketball and no hard feelings. Because when you're trying to win, you have no friends until you walk off the court."

Horry probably doesn't have many friends in Phoenix, not that he cares. He said Stoudemire and Diaw have only themselves to blame for getting suspended.

Tim Duncan and the Spurs were too much for the Jazz on Sunday.

"They complained … like I can get in their heads and play Nintendo with their minds and bodies and get them to walk out onto the court," Horry said.

No, he said, this was about something more basic. This was about the unwritten code of playoff basketball that Horry, now in his 15th season, learned during the 1994 NBA Finals. The New York Knicks vs. Horry's Houston Rockets. Horry went in for a dunk, and Knicks enforcer Anthony Mason took him out. Horry bounced hard against the wooden floor.

"I had two sprained wrists and a hairline fracture in my ass after it happened," he said. "I knew what had happened, but I was hurt. I got up after that, but it was still painful. You just played on. You don't worry about it. Nobody [from the Rockets' bench] ran over there trying to push and shove, trying to cause anything. It was just a hard foul, and you get up and go."

Nash eventually got up, but it was obvious after the Game 6 closeout loss that he felt the suspensions had denied the Suns a chance to compete on an even level. I agreed and told Horry the best postseason series had been reduced to what-ifs.

Horry scoffed at it.

"Every year's going to be a what-if," he said. "That's the game of basketball. What if a guy turns his ankle? What if a guy gets in a car wreck coming to the arena? There are so many different aspects that could happen that nobody knows. Only the man upstairs knows."

Except that Horry's foul on Nash wasn't an accident. It was done on purpose and with the Suns' victory already assured. Doesn't matter to Horry. The playoff code is the playoff code. And he isn't the only one who thinks that way.

"It's a part of our game," said Fisher, an 11-year veteran. "It's not like he picked him up and threw [Nash] over the scorer's table. He hit him."

So I asked Horry what he'll do if the same set of circumstances presents itself in the series against the Jazz. Utah guard Deron Williams dribbling down the court … the Jazz comfortably ahead in the final minute … seconds ticking off the game clock.

Horry looks at me as though I've asked him whether he wears socks during the game. Of course he'd foul Williams.

"But I'd fall down this time and make it look like I'm trying to take a charge," he said. "I've got to look like I'm trying to get ready to take a charge and fall down. Then everybody would be like, 'Oh, he got knocked down, too.'"

Horry is laughing now. He gets up from the chair in front of his locker and begins to walk away.

"Can't tell more secrets," he said.

Gene Wojciechowski is the senior national columnist for ESPN.com.

[Reality]

I agree the bump was vastly oversold by Nash.
I also have no problem with Phx what-iffing, but bottom line they knew the rule and they had a full squad for Gm 6.  The Spurs had nothing to do with the ruling unless you buy the urban myth that SuperBob Horry knew the bump would draw Suns off the bench.

Can't find the link, but its quotes from Phx bench coach(s) saying just prior to the playoffs they were warned about this rule being enforced and relayed it to all Suns players.

[westkoast]

D'Antoni's agenda for typical Suns practice:

1:00 PM - Stretch
1:30 PM - Go to back room after instruction team to 'Just do what Nash says'
3:30 PM -  Come out to teach flopping drills
6:30 PM - Work on motivating team with all kinds of off the wall items like free meals and 2 for 1 coupons

[rickortreat]

Bob is a jackass. Pure and simple.

A hard foul is something done in context, like to prevent someone from scoring on a layup.  Hitting someone hard to get them out of bounds or get a foul called when a simple shove would have done it, is excessive and shows an extreme lack of sportsmanship.

If everyone played the way Bob advocates, there would be fights and suspensions all the time as players use excessive force and violence against each other.  This isn't football or hockey, where they wear helmets and pads. 

The fact that he said that tells me that he hasn't gotten the message.  When the suspensions came out, I thought Bob got off light.  Now, I know he has.  He just doesn't get it.  Stern should have suspended him for the rest of the playoffs.  Then he would understand that there's a difference between a foul that causes someone to miss a shot, and a foul that could cause an injury.

Considering what happened it's too bad a Suns player wasn't able to clock Bob in the face.  Then he'd understand that if you don't respect other teams' players enough to avoid trying to hurt them, that he risks revenge.  Of course that's why Amare and Diaw were suspended, they don't want players retaliating.  That goes against human nature, when someone does something so egregiously wrong, it invites retaliation.  The key is to prohibit them from fouling like that in the first place!

The revenge is what escalates the types of fights the NBA wants to avoid, like between Detroit and Indiana 2 years ago.  That doesn't happen when players don't do anything ridiculous, like body-checking a player out of bounds, when a simple push would have done the same thing. 

I really hope Bob has a chance to be as unsportsmanlike in this series.  Then he could get suspended again, for the rest of the playoffs.

[Laker Fan]

Want it both ways again huh Rick? "it's too bad a Suns player wasn't able to clock Bob in the face"? You advocate that action but not Horry's hipcheck? How is that "sportsmanlike" but Horry is a jackass?

You crack me up dude!

[Lurker]

A hard foul is something done in context, like to prevent someone from scoring on a layup.  Hitting someone hard to get them out of bounds or get a foul called when a simple shove would have done it, is excessive and shows an extreme lack of sportsmanship.

The revenge is what escalates the types of fights the NBA wants to avoid, like between Detroit and Indiana 2 years ago.  That doesn't happen when players don't do anything ridiculous, like body-checking a player out of bounds, when a simple push would have done the same thing. 

It was in context...if Nash would have gotten past Horry he had a clear path to the hoop and a layup.  You had no problem with Barbosa's two hand push on Parker WHILE HE WAS IN THE AIR...which had more potential for injury than Horry's hip check.  So in some ways you could say the Horry's foul was a retaliation for Barbosa's and the Suns were at fault for starting the hard/dirty fouls in that game.

Also since Nash was running full speed, a two handed push would have resulted in the same result: Nash running into the scorer's table, falling to the floor and stretching out while down there. 

[Reality]

Still can't believe y'all pooh pooh Nashs right foot to right ankle trip of Bowen.
That's fighting material where i come from.

Earlier in the game Stoudamires decking of Horry.
BooHoo Suns.

[WayOutWest]

Still can't believe y'all pooh pooh Nashs right foot to right ankle trip of Bowen.
That's fighting material where i come from.

Earlier in the game Stoudamires decking of Horry.
BooHoo Suns.

That play was worse than what Horry did to Nash. 

[rickortreat]

Want it both ways again huh Rick? "it's too bad a Suns player wasn't able to clock Bob in the face"? You advocate that action but not Horry's hipcheck? How is that "sportsmanlike" but Horry is a jackass?

You crack me up dude!

It's like this-you either respect players or you don't.  Players who don't respect each other don't deserve respect. Or is that logic to hard for you to follow.

Punching someone in the face is not sportsmanlike at all.  Bob lost that entitlement when he crossed the line.

[Lurker]

Want it both ways again huh Rick? "it's too bad a Suns player wasn't able to clock Bob in the face"? You advocate that action but not Horry's hipcheck? How is that "sportsmanlike" but Horry is a jackass?

You crack me up dude!

It's like this-you either respect players or you don't.  Players who don't respect each other don't deserve respect. Or is that logic to hard for you to follow.

Punching someone in the face is not sportsmanlike at all.  Bob lost that entitlement when he crossed the line.

Did Marion cross the line with a two-handed shove to Parker's back (no call)?

Did Melo cross the line in the first round with a forearm to the back of Bowen's head (he got an offensive foul)?

Did Davis cross the line with his shot to Fisher?

See, Rick, the problem is you want to cherry pick when to apply the rules.  So is every player who ever got a flagrant unsportsmanlike?  What is your brightline test...whether you like the team involved?  Whether you want a team to advance? 

[westkoast]

Want it both ways again huh Rick? "it's too bad a Suns player wasn't able to clock Bob in the face"? You advocate that action but not Horry's hipcheck? How is that "sportsmanlike" but Horry is a jackass?

You crack me up dude!

It's like this-you either respect players or you don't.  Players who don't respect each other don't deserve respect. Or is that logic to hard for you to follow.

Punching someone in the face is not sportsmanlike at all.  Bob lost that entitlement when he crossed the line.

Did Marion cross the line with a two-handed shove to Parker's back (no call)?

Did Melo cross the line in the first round with a forearm to the back of Bowen's head (he got an offensive foul)?

Did Davis cross the line with his shot to Fisher?

See, Rick, the problem is you want to cherry pick when to apply the rules.  So is every player who ever got a flagrant unsportsmanlike?  What is your brightline test...whether you like the team involved?  Whether you want a team to advance? 

I don't have a problem with people calling Bowen and Horry dirty or cheap if the same thing applies to others who have made those types of plays.  If Horry is cheap and dirty then so is Raja Bell, Baron Davis, and Shawn Marion.  If those were just hard fouls then so was Horry's.

Problem with Horry is he was on the Lakers (eliminated Sixers in playoffs) and now the Spurs (Eliminated the 6ers west in playoffs).

[rickortreat]

The line has to be objective, not arbitrary.  Where do I draw the line?  Where the potential is there for an injury to result from the play.

Most fouls aren't even intentional.  The idea is to avoid them.

In the context of the game in question, the Spurs were only down by 3 with enough time left to win.  A foul was in order.  So Horry was intentionally fouling Nash.  No problem with that.  Only with the amount of force used.

Nash wasn't about to take a shot from that position on the court there was no danger of the Suns doing more than scoring a basket.  A soft touch by Horry would have been enough to get the whistle blown.  That's why his action was out of context.  The fact that some of you are attempting to justify a call which resulted in a suspension is absurd!

Any contact which results in a player loosing his balance or footing at high speed is a high-risk play that could result in an injury.  The most dangerous ones occur when a player is driving to the basket and gets undercut.  The problem is with the specifics of the play.  Is the offensive player causing the foul by driving into someone who is in position, or did that player arrive late?  Most of the time the most dangerous ones are where the offensive player has already gotten behind the defense and a defender chases to reach them and pull them down.

Anyone who plays basketball knows when an excessive foul occurs. They are rare, because if they happened more often most players wouldn't finish the season. Foul them hard enough to prevent them from scoring if you can do so without hurting them.  Foul them hard enough to injure them just to prevent a basket- that's what makes a player a jackass.

[Lurker]

Rick, you are still cherry picking.

When Raja clotheslined Kobe last year there was no play on the ball and it "wasn't in the context" of the game.  But you aren't on here claiming that Bell is a jackass.  See the difference?

Bell or James undercut Parker in game 1 or 2 and you didn't raise a fuss.

Parker was in the air for a layup and was fouled just a few minutes before Horry fouled Nash.  That was potentially more injury prone than Nash being checked while running.  At least Nash's feet were on the ground.  But again no calling Barbosa a jackass.

You can't have arbitrary lines or else you end up looking foolish.  Am I justifying Horry's hit?  No, I am just trying to show your hypocrisy in calling out this one play when there have been several examples this post season of far more dangerous hits with no calling out by you.

[Laker Fan]

On top of what Lurker just said Rick, I don't recall anyone here saying he didn't deserve a suspension, I absolutely think he had 1 game coming, but he didn't deserve 2 games. Bell's clothesline of Kobe last year should have put him out of the post season, or at least that series, funny how quiet your were and are about everyone but Horry. Spin it all you want but Horry's foul was a good hard foul to prevent the easy layup, perhaps rataliation for Parkers getting fouled earlier, perhaps not, but to quote you, "anyone who knows basketball" knows that hard fouls are part of the game. Messages are sent in just such a manner as Horry did, "you hard foul my boy and you have one coming right back at you". Nash's overacting, which I certainly don't fault him for, it is likewise part of the game, made it look a whole lot worse than it was, his comment about still seeing stars afterwards tells me that he was acting because his head never hit the floor, the scorer's table or anything else, seeing stars my eyes, he slid into a PADDED scorer's table and flopped better than Divac ever could.

[Reality]

check out Nash signalling his field goal is good.
http://i43.photobucket.com/albums/e385/redbangin/naship2.gif