Robert may not be a Rocket anymore, but it sure makes me feel good to know that he was rooting right along with me for a Mavs' implosion. Spurs' Horry relishes Mavericks' defeat Web Posted: 06/22/2006 12:00 AM CDT Johnny Ludden Express-News Staff Writer Robert Horry watched only the closing two minutes of Miami's clinching victory in the NBA Finals on Tuesday night. It was enough, however, to make him smile. If Horry and the Spurs couldn't win another title, he at least was glad Dallas fell short in its quest to win its first. "That's the first time I ever rooted for the East," Horry said. "You usually never root for the East, you root for the West. But the way (the Mavericks) acted, it just put a bad taste in my mouth. "All the whining Dallas did, the way (owner Mark) Cuban acted, the way (assistant coach) Del Harris acted on the sideline a couple of times, I was happy to see Dallas lose." While Cuban and Dallas coach Avery Johnson were criticized for their behavior after losing Game 5 of the Finals, Horry didn't like how the Mavericks acted while eliminating the Spurs in the Western Conference semifinals. In addition to saying that Mavericks guard Jason Terry didn't deserve to be suspended for hitting Michael Finley in the groin, Cuban called Tim Duncan a "crybaby," labeled Spurs fans the "rudest" in the league, and called the River Walk "an ugly-ass, muddy-watered thing." Harris also mocked Duncan for complaining about calls during Game 4 of that series, Horry said. "I know the one game we won in Dallas, Avery was crying about the refs," Horry said. "I was like, 'You're crying about the refs?' We're the only ones who should be crying about the refs. We're the ones who are down in the series. "There were just a lot of things that they did that I didn't think were characteristic of a team that's supposed to be in the (top) class." Horry didn't play much against Dallas, averaging 11.6 minutes in the final five games after Spurs coach Gregg Popovich went small to better match up with Dirk Nowitzki. In contrast, the Heat often stayed big against the Mavericks because their power forward, Udonis Haslem, proved athletic enough to guard Nowitzki. Nowitzki averaged 27.1 points on 52.7 percent shooting against the Spurs. Haslem, who was on the Spurs' summer-league team before signing with Miami three years ago, and James Posey helped limit Nowitzki to 22.8 points on 39 percent shooting. "It was almost like (the Heat) said, 'Don't do what the Spurs did because they lost the series,'" Horry said. Horry, who turns 36 in August, jokingly called himself a "dinosaur" during the playoffs but still thinks he has enough left to contribute. He has two years remaining on his contract but said he might retire after next season. "My ultimate goal is to play 15 (years), and this would be 15," Horry said. "But if I'm feeling spry, I'll keep going." LINK
nationally, Dallas is really taking a little hit for Cuban's behavior, the team's behavior and the city planning a parade after the second game
Ditto. You guys have absolutely no idea what some of my co-workers (non of whom follow or care much for the NBA, but wathed the games) were dissing the Mavericks' collective behavior in this series, the one word I heard the most today was "crybabies". Ahh, I am enjoying this.
I would say Horry's a reliable source. Think about how many playoff games he's been involved in, and how many teams he's played against. Have you ever heard him say anything this negative about another team? Yes, he took a few jabs at the Suns in 1995, and wasn't highly complimentary of his own Lakers teams, but I've never heard him go so far as to criticize another team like the Mavericks. Again, Cuban fosters this mentality and attitude among his team. With his single-minded determination to right the wrongs of NBA officiating, perhaps his players and coaches have bought into some sort of conspiracy mentality, who knows? I do know that one's boss can rub off on the whole team, whether it be in the corporate or sporting world.
No one outside of Dallas and Miami cared for the Finals. Horry merely stated what everyone else was thinking. Dallas is a bunch of pansies.
i'm in houston. i cared. the finals were a blast this year. first time in a long time i've been able to say that.
And further evidence: http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/VideoPlayer/videoPlayer.php?vidId=71868&catId=342
Just watched that fan reaction clip. I swear, the lil kids had better and smarter comments out of their mouths than the adults. "Blah blah conspiracy this, they hate cuban that" Just ridiculous. Congrats heat for winning it all and shutting those babies up.
bwahahah, watching a few of those guys was priceless, obvious colleagues of 2005 Stunned Mavs Fans guys.
I diagree with the entire notion of the complaints about Dallas, other than the Terry suspension (which was 100% the right thing to do), and the comments about Cuban (which are spot-on). First, let me say that, apart from being a Rockets fan, I think that basketball is the best game on earth. I love the game, and don't like bad play calling. Second, although I live in Dallas, I am not a "Mavericks" fan, even when they aren't playing the Rockets. With this said, I think that the Mavericks got f-squared by the officials in this series. If a Mav farted next to Dwayne Wade, the refs blew a whistle. If Wade travelled (palmed) the basketball, the refs didn't call the whistle. If Nowitzki got shoved by Posey or Haslem, the refs ignored it. And more importantly, what was up with the backcourt violation in Game 5 before Wade got "fouled" and went to the line to hit those two crucial free throws? Yeah, Mark Cuban needs to shut the f-up because he hurts his team by talking too much, but the players have the right to be pissed off. It's not like all of you guys weren't whining about Finley swiping the ball from out of bounds while playing for the Mavs in the 2005 playoffs. The officiating was just terrible in the Heat-Mavs series. Period. The game should be won or lost by the players, not the refs.
Finley's play was a violation. Wade's wasn't. He did get fouled too, whether you personally think it should have been called or not.
