Excuses



Look people, it sucks for the Suns that they lost a pivotal game five without two of their best big men, and the rule which lead to these suspensions should probably be changed. It's obviously a racist rule which assumes that large black men should have nothing to do with a fracas, that their intentions could never be to stop it. The hypocracy of taking the 'boys will be boys' attitude only towards hockey and baseball is blatantly racist. The fact that it's okay for rich white kids to drop out of school and pursue early careers in tennis, gymnastics, and iceskating, but not for 'thugs' playing football or basketball is ridiculous. This is a knee-jerk rule born from fear, one that will never be changed after the palace brawl, and one that will continue to punish teams in questionable circumstances.
All of that being said, the Suns lost because the Spurs are a better team, not because of this rule. The Suns hit the wall against a team who has loads of playoff experience and who knows how to win big games. Yes, the rule is not fair, but the rule is in place, and I'm sure that all of the Suns were aware of this rule. Until the rule is changed, it should be enforced like any other rule.

Here's what I don't understand: If Rasheed Wallace gets that second tech in game 6 against the Bulls, I'm pissed at him, not the league. He lacks the ability to control his emotions, and that hurts the team sometimes. I'm never going to buy this whole Simmons argument that players can't be in charge of their own emotions. If someone pisses me off when I'm playing pick-up basketball and I punch them in the throat, I go to jail. I except that. It's another form of racism to assume that these players are too emotional to control themselves when they get in hyper-emotional situations. We are responsible for our actions. That's just how it works. If I was a Suns fan, I would be pissed at Stoudemire and Diaw, not making excuses for them, because they're contributions would have greatly helped this team beat a superior Spurs squad.
I'm sure that everyone reading this blog just assumes I'm a Suns hater, but believe me when I say I hate the Spurs equally. I just have a much deeper respect for their brand of playoff basketball. It won games when I was a kid and it wins games now.
Putting an asterisk next to this series is a fucking joke. The Suns got baited into breaking a rule and they broke it. Then when they were faced with a challenge, they fell short. Big-time teams win big-time games. The Spurs are a big-time team, and the Suns aren't yet. I'm not saying they never will be, but until they learn to play better playoff basketball through adversity, all they're going to be is everyone's regular season darlings.