Last week when there was a large amount of hub-hub about Utah Jazz fans being classless, I understood why a lot of people were upset. The guy holding up one eye? Yeah, that guy is pretty clearly a waste of human space. And if the fans were actually chanting "Cancer" at Derek Fisher? Well, then, they've won "Classless Fans of the Year 2008", hands down. But for rooting against a guy who left their team to go to a rival, when there's not a lot of information (nor should there be) about which hospital his daughter spends more time in, Los Angeles or New York? I'm not a fan of it, but fans are going to boo just about anything. And the LA Times' one-sided over-dramatization of it was a little much.

But if we're going to talk about "Classless Fans of the Year 2008", we have a late contender! Last night, after Robert Horry's "completely clean, incidental, and admirably 'playoff-level'" whack to the injured back of David West, which sent the New Orleans star to the locker room and may affect his appearance in Game 7, a funny little sound started to come from the arena. Slowly it grew louder and louder.

"Horry! Horry! Horry!"

That's right. After a player delivered a forearm that knocked an opponent out of the game with what was obviously a pretty painful back injury, the San Antonio fans decided to chant Cheap Shot Bob's name.

Now that's class.

But then, maybe we should chant his name! I'll tell you why after the jump.

For the second straight playoff season, Robert Horry finds himself in the middle of a "dirty/not dirty" play controversy. After setting a back pick for David West that knocked the Hornets' star from the game, everyone is going to the video of last year's hit on Steve Nash and saying something to the effect of, "look, he did it again!" First the clip of the play on West (at the 1:29 mark), then the discussion.

I'm the last person in the world that you would expect to come to the defense of the Spurs' edition of Robert Horry, but I'm going to do exactly that -- at least a little bit.

Sitting there trying to reflect on what the possible loss of David West would mean to the Hornets ("devastating" and "series-ending" come to mind at first), I couldn't help but think of what Robert Horry did to Steve Nash last year. That's because Mark Jackson, Mike Breen and Jeff Van Gundy kept mentioning it. And with good reason -- West was hobbling to the locker room because Horry stuck him in the back with a pick under the post.

It probably was not illegal. And it probably does not deserve a flagrant foul. But it certainly was not what a "winner" would do, as Jackson (who seems less and less concerned with sounding intelligent now that his coaching gig has vanished into thin air) kept proclaiming.

What I want to know is, are all of Big Shot Bob's ridiculously, um, big shots from years past clouding our judgment about the way he's been utilized over the past few years? He's accruing a foul every 3.4 minutes this year, and maybe that's just a direct representation of Greg Popovich's Hack-A-____ strategy thus far. But if it is, doesn't that kind of indicate even further that Horry is his quiet enforcer on the floor?

I don't want to call Horry a dirty player, because he has given the NBA some ridiculously memorable shots over the years (his role in Hitch notwithstanding). However, the quietly discomforting abuse of personal foul rules that the Spurs are using this year has already been discussed publicly by the commissioner.

In another of our continuing series, five things to keep an eye out for tonight in the Hornets-Spurs Western Conference Semifinals Game 6 this evening.

1. Backs To The Wall: Well, here we are, San Antonio. The Spurs are not very used to having their backs against the wall, they usually are the ones doing the shoving. But tonight at home will either be the last stand of one of the most quietly dominant dynasties in NBA history or the night where the old gunslingers draw the line in the sand. With a raucous (and possibly, maybe sell-out) crowd behind them, the odds are in the favor of the boys in black and silver. However, against a Hornets team that's going to be feeling the momentum and smelling blood, they can't let up. They need to make some of the same adjustments they made in Games 3 and 4, and some new ones to prevent the Game 5 massacre. Like, oh, I don't know, keeping David West from single handedly annihilating you.

2. Feet On The Floor, Head In The Clouds: The health of Tyson Chandler and David West will be of great concern tomorrow night. Chandler's foot was so bad that afterwards he said he probably wouldn't walk on it that night but said he would be "fine." He then reiterated that sentiment on his blog, which was quite lengthy for a guy that just played a bunch of minutes in a playoff game against Tim Duncan, I might add. Meanwhile West was in obvious physical pain and still managed to destroy the Spurs in what can only be described as a symphony of catastrophic moves that had to make Spurs fans wonder if he was Satan himself. Still, injuries are injuries and teams that are beat up usually don't do so well on the road. We'll see if the devil gets paid his due tonight or if Manu Ginobili and Bruce Bowen can fire up the fiddle again.

Depending on your vantage point, the fact that a Hornets' fan brought a cardboard cutout of Eva Longoria dressed in Hornets' gear to taunt Tony Parker at the free throw line could either be seen as clever and hilarious, or insulting and over the line.

Ron Hitley at Hornets247 (via TrueHoop) laughed at the time, but upon further consideration, thinks it was a low blow:

One low blow: that dude with the life-size Eva Longoria cutout behind the basket when Parker was shooting free throws in the fourth quarter. I laughed at the time, as did everyone in the Arena (damn you, mob mentality) but in hindsight that was just way too personal. We're better than that, New Orleans.

So a Hornets' fan thinks it was going too far, but arena personnel apparently thought it was fine, as they allowed it to happen.

My thoughts? I'm leaning towards it being more funny than offensive, but that's really for Parker to decide. I mean, he's almost certainly been more offended by things he's heard from opposing fans than he could have been by a photo of his wife in the stands, right?

While I don't think this was anything too terrible, the league should probably put a stop to the fans' being allowed to bring in larger-than-life photos of players' family members to the games. This time it was fairly harmless, but I don't think that version 2.0 of this idea would turn out to be nearly as tame.

Following hot on the heels of commissioner David Stern's comments, where he condemned the elaborate pyrotechnic shows that are seen in certain arenas (*cough* Boston *cough*), Spurs' coach Gregg Popovich offered up his thoughts on the matter, and well, let's just say he's not feeling it.

"When you get that powder and all that stuff on you, people, I think, that have lung problems are really endangering themselves. They can't ingest that stuff, you know. It is dangerous. But in general, every time I'm at a place where they do pyrotechnics, I just tell myself, there's going to be an accident. It's like the stop sign that doesn't get put up until a kid gets killed."

It's one thing to have to play the first quarter through a cloud of nuclear fallout-like smoke, and another to have these types of things set the court on fire and delay a game for 19 minutes while they clean up the mess. But now a kid's going to get killed? Please. At least David Stern realizes that he might not be in the target demographic for this stuff, but Popovich just comes across like a cranky old man. Which he probably is this morning, considering his team is one game away from being eliminated from the playoffs.

Every now and again there are some stupendous, silly, stupid, or downright outlandish individual lines from around the L. Doing Lines lets you know which one tops the list.

Just when people started to wonder if their run was over, the Hornets stomped all over the Spurs to the tune of 101-79 on Tuesday night. Chris Paul (22 points, 14 assists) was his usually stellar self, but David West was simply awesome, scoring 38 (16-25 FG) with 14 boards, five blocks, five assists and a pair of steals.

West is often overshadowed by CP3's almost-nightly brilliance, but the Hornets wouldn't be where they are -- one win away from the franchise's first conference finals appearance -- without their other All-Star.

Also Receiving Votes:
Antonio McDyess' sdouble-double (17 points, 11 boards) may not look all that spectacular on paper, but when you consider the work he did down the stretch coming down with seemingly every loose ball in a close game, it's not hard to see why Rip Hamilton (31 points, 16-16 FT) called him the MVP of the game. Making it all the more impressive was the fact that McDyess played the game with a heavy heart, learning just hours before tip-off that his grandmother, who helped raise him, passed away Tuesday afternoon.

Dwight Howard: Rebounds are about effort, and effort never slumps, which is why Howard finished Tuesday's game with 17 boards. That said, his shot abandoned him in the most crucial game of the year: he shot just 6-15 from the free-throw line. Howard now has all summer to think about how he missed nine freebies in an elimination game which the Magic lost by five.

Tim Duncan: Sure, he was held to just 10 points, but 23 rebounds? That's just silly.

In another of our continuing series, five things to keep an eye out for tonight in the Spurs-Hornets Western Conference Semifinals Game 5 this evening.

1. Expect The Unexpected: I've worked this game around in my head for the last day, and I still can't get an answer out of it. It's like trying to get a clear choice out of a busted Magic Eight Ball. I can't even get a "Reply Hazy, Try Again." Nothing would surprise me tonight. A Spurs blowout? Of course! They're the champs and they've figured out the Hornets. A Hornets blowout? Well, you saw the first two games, didn't you? A Hornets breakaway in the last five minutes? That's what happens when you're old and slow. A Hornets meltdown in the last five minutes? That's what happens when you're young and inexperienced! A Spurs buzzer-beater? There's a reason Robert Horry, Michael Finley, and Brent Barry play for the Spurs. Armageddon? Why not? There's really no way to predict what will come out tonight in New Orleans.

2. Duncan Go Nuts: Maybe it was just the flu. Maybe the only thing holding Tim Duncan back in Games 1 and 2 were the chills and fever he reportedly had, and it had nothing to do with the stifling and effective double teams by the Hornets. The most likely answer is that it was a little bit of both. Either way, the Spurs have figured a way around that trick. By pulling Manu Ginobili to Duncan's post side and using him as the entry passer, they've presented the Hornets with their two worst matchups at once. Bring the help defender, and Ginobili's either got a three or the step on a drive if the help tries to close out. Don't bring the help defender ... well, let's just say you want to bring the help defender. The Hornets may have to try going to zone tonight and bringing Bonzi Wells over from the weak side block to provide pressure. Most importantly, if Tyson Chandler is guarding Duncan, he cannot do what he did in the last game and give Tim Duncan the baseline. That's just suicide. And it's not painless.

It might be time to change his nickname to "Big History" Bob. After a plethora of memorable playoff moments, seven championship rings, one memorable hip check, and more three pointers than you can count, Robert Horry has etched his name into the annals of NBA lore for the ages. Tonight he has the opportunity to add another page in the gigantic tome that is his career.

With an appearance on the floor tonight, Horry will become the all-time leader in NBA playoff appearances, after tying the previous record holder Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in Game 4 with 237.

It's an amazing feat for a player to just have that many appearances in the games that matter most, let alone to have as many games where said player actually makes an impact as Horry has. He's won championships with Houston, Los Angeles, and San Antonio. He's played alongside Hakeem Olajuwon, Shaquille O'Neal, and Tim Duncan. He's played for Rudy Tomjanovich, Phil Jackson, and Greg Popovich. And he's breaking a memorable record, most likely, tonight, at 37 years old. Horry has drawn his fair share of criticism over the years for his feisty attitude and on the court toughness, but it's no question that he'll go down as one of the most respected veteran performers the game has ever seen. Tonight is just another in a long line of feathers in his cap, in a pursuit of yet another ring for his fingers.

NBA Essentials ranks our six favorite stories of the day.

1. FreeDarko: Why Deron WIlliams has it in for Chris Paul.

2. Third Quarter Collapse: Looks like the ref got cold feet on the final play of the Pistons-Magic Game 4.

3. Alan Hahn, Newsday: Did the Knicks hire Mike D'Antoni to entice LeBron James?

4. Ross Siler, Salt Lake Tribune: Ronnie Price doesn't think Ronny Turiaf should be suspended.

5. Hardwood Paroxysm: "I never noticed the Maginot line had rims on it."

6. The Hype Guy: A singing Shaq comes to Will Ferrell's rescue.