With the Spurs leading the Suns by 10 with about eight minutes to go in the fourth quarter of Game 4, Steve Kerr – possibly the best color guy in the business – mentioned that the situation could be a “watershed moment” for the Phoenix franchise. It’s an interesting term, so I decided to look it up. “Watershed” is defined as “a crucial dividing point, line or factor; a turning point.” It’s probably a translation of the German term “wasserscheide,” which means “water parting” or “water divide.”
I mentioned in a previous post that I thought that this Suns/Spurs series could be the most important second round series in the history of the league:
As entertaining as the Suns’ up-tempo offense has been over the last several years, it hasn’t resulted in the type of playoff success necessary to launch a league wide movement. But if Phoenix is able to get by San Antonio in the second round of the Western Conference playoffs, we might see more teams shift over to the Suns’ breakneck style. Until then, the Spurs’ grind-it-out (a.k.a. “boring”) attack will be considered the gold standard.
I know it’s a bit passé to quote oneself, but I do so here to underline Kerr’s point. Had the Spurs gone on to win (as they usually do), they would have led the series 3-1 with three chances to put the Suns away. But Phoenix showed some serious resiliency (or could it be championship grit?) by coming back in the fourth quarter to steal Game 4 on the road. Moreover, they did it with both offense and defense, getting several crucial stops with their season on the line.
If the Suns go on to win the series (and the title), we can say with certainty that the franchise turned the corner during the final eight minutes of Game 4.
I can’t comment on tonight’s game without chiming in on the Amare Stoudemire/Boris Diaw suspension situation. I realize by the letter of the law that they should be suspended, but the league should find a way to allow these two players to participate in Game 5. It’s true that the both stepped onto the court, but they were running around players on the sideline before stepping back to the sideline themselves. Both players caught themselves before engaging in any action even before the assistant coaches pushed them back to the bench. In this case, the rule had the intended effect. No punches were thrown by any of the players on the bench. In fact, they made no contact at all. Moreover, it was Robert Horry’s bodycheck that precipitated the entire event. Should the Suns be punished so severely because a couple of young players lost their cool for a split second after their opponent sent their point guard into the scorer’s table?
It will be very interesting to see how David Stern handles this situation. The Suns regained control of the series, but if he suspends both players for Game 5, he is effectively handing control back to the Spurs.
As I said, there’s more at stake here than a trip to the Western Conference Finals.
Choose wisely, David.
Update: For their actions in Game 4, the league has suspended Robert Horry, Amare Stoudemire and Boris Diaw for Game 5.
