With Tim Duncan struggling from the line, how to accurately measure Robert Horry’s insane, game-of-his-life? Virtually invisible earlier in the series, Horry scored 21 of the Spurs’ final 35 points, posterizing Rip Hamilton in OT with a sick dunk (after leaving Tayshaun Prince flat flooted with a textbook fake), then hitting the game winning 3 (from a neat feed by Ginobili) in the final seconds.
(Ben Wallace ignores Rick Mahorn’s warning that exchanging pleasantries with Kid Rock will jinx the series for Detroit, as well as exposing the Pistons’ locker room to infection)
Short of scientific evidence proving that Tim Legler is human, I can’t think of anything more shocking than Horry’s performance down the stretch — of all the guys you’d expect to put San Antonio on their back, let’s just say he wasn’t in the top 3.
The following are words from a very relieved Tim Duncan during the postgame press conference :
He pulled me out of an incredible hole that I put myself in…I’ll tell you the deal with Rob. Rob just hangs out the entire game, he does it all season long. He doesn’t do anything, he doesn’t feel like playing, he shows up sometimes. Then you put him in the fourth quarter in a big game, whether it be the regular season or the playoffs, and he’s like ‘OK, it’s time to play now. I’ve been hanging out the entire season, it’s time to play now.’ And as funny as it seems, that’s how it is. He doesn’t want to show up, he doesn’t feel like playing until it’s a big game.
And they say Duncan isn’t a quote machine?
Horry assassinating 3s in the Finals is still news? That he drained the game winner after incinerating shot after shot took anyone by surprise? ‘Sheed done fucked up. God bless the wookie, but instead of taunting Horry after his own couple of baskets, Wallace should’ve used his head & shown some respect to the Fresh Prince, er, Big Shot Bob. If this was a baseball game, that last shot would’ve gone down as a fielder’s error. I don’t know if it’d motivate or be counterproductive at this point or not, but Wallace ought to catch static. Great game otherwise.
Horry’s history of draining big buckets in crucial spots is hardly a secret, granted. But he’s like, option number 4 at best on the Spurs and no less a b-ball historian than Stuart Scott (boo-yarragh) thinks he’s 62 years old.
yeah, great fucking game. So good, in fact, that Colin Cowherd’s inane discussion of whether or not Horry should be in the Hall Of Fame (answer : who cares?) was only briefly interrupted by Terry Bowden talking about who will be the top team out of the Big Ten next autumn. Cripes, after all the complaints that these finals were DULL, we finally get a universally acknowledged classic…and it’s time to talk to Carson Palmer about his charity golf event. Cowherd fesses up to having a boner for Courtney Love, but methinks he dry humps a pillow with an NFL logo when he gets home from the job. Football, the 1st and 2nd most popular sports on ESPN radio.
Actually, re TD quote, I was slightly taken aback when, during the postgame interview on ABC, the Tafoya person, having prompted TD to offer his nickname for Horry (“Big Shot Bog,” he said) corrected him. “You mean Big Shot Bobby,” she said. “Big Shot Bobby,” he sad. I was like, if Tim Duncan wants to call the man “Big Shot Bob,” shut the fuck up and let him use the phrase he wants to use! Because that was not a bobby out there, that was, to quote Vescey on Tim Hardaway years ago, a Testosterone Harvest. It was monstrous! it was out of control!
Beyolnd that, you could see why Sheed would want to double Ginobli, but not at the expense of leaving Horry open. The hall of fame question is relevant, and the answer in obviously, “Yes,” assuming the Spurs win it, which is not at all certain, given how tough the Piston’s have been when down. However, that was just out of control. I am amazed. That left handed dunk? That extension? Robert who? I would love to read about some old Rockets teamates talking about this guy. Insane.
the h.o.f. question is, I think, the least interesting thing you could spend a radio show talking about this morning (with the possible exception of interviewing Terry Bowden and Carson Palmer). Colin Cowherd doesn’t have a HOF vote, and neither do I. There’s all kinds of wacky inclusions in the basketball hall (as cowherd noted) and comparing Horry’s career to that of Bill Mazerowski means nothing. (for the record, I don’t think Maz should be in the basketball hall of fame, nor should Waymon Tisdale be in the rock’n’roll hall of fame)
If Horry wins rings with 3 different teams, it’s a worthy argument, but wait until the guy retires. Or have an open discussion of what your specific criteria are. The game itself and Horry’s performance aren’t a waste of time to talk about, but I’m as interested in his HOF candidacy this monday AM as I am in whether or not Pauly Shore runs for President.