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So, in recent games, the San Antonio Spurs seem to have lost their sense of quiet dignity and confidence. As of late, they have changed their tactics from detailed, methodical basketball to taking cheap shots whenever they can. Exhibit 1:Bruce Bowen kicking Amare Stoudemire in the achilles tendon. For anyone who saw the game, or the subsequent replays, it is obvious that Bruce Bowen intentionally kicked Stoudemire. Exhibit 2, Bruce Bowen kneeing Steve Nash in the unmentionables. He said he was trying to create some space. Are you kidding me? You clear space with you elbows and hips, not your knees, Bruce. I guess in the end, he did clear the space. The only problem was that the result was Steve Nash writhing in pain on the floor. Exhibit 3: Robert Horry checking Steve Nash into the stands. Robert Horry has always been revered as a solid player with a flair for the dramatic in big games. Big Shot Rob is what they called him. Now, he is Cheap Shot Rob. There was no fathomable reason to do what he did to Steve Nash. It was completely uncalled for, and the NBA should have suspended him for a longer period of time and slapped him with a fine.

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Now, one question arises. Is this Spurs team worse than the infamous Detroit Pistons of the late 80’s? With the likes of Bill Laimbeer, Dennis Rodman and Joe Dumars, I don’t think there has ever been a tougher team to ever take the court. The Pistons played tough and dirty every game, pouncing on every chance to take a cheap shot. They successfully rattled almost every great player of that era, including Jordan, Magic and Bird, to name a few.

However, the question was not who is cheaper or dirtier. It was who is worse. In my estimation, the Spurs are definitely worse and here’s why: The Pistons knew they were tough and dirty. They revelled in the fact that teams feared and despised them. Not a single player on that team denied the fact that they were a hard-nosed, grind-it-out sort of team. Again, having Bill Laimbeer and Dennis Rodman on your team, how could you possibly think that you play clean? But at least they admitted it. The Spurs, on the other hand, act as if they they never do anything wrong. In fact, they are always surprised when the whistle is blown on them. Tim Duncan espceically. I swear, if he gets all bug-eyed and puts his hands on his head in disbelief one more time, I am going to bust up laughing. It is absolutely ridiculous. Furthermore, him telling the media there isn’t a single dirty player on the Spurs is downright wrong. Had he, the poster boy of the NBA, been kneed in the groing a la Steve Nash, he would have cried bloody mary. And that is exactly what is wrong with the 2007 Spurs. The old school Pistons knew that they were in for a tough game every night. The Spurs, though, seem to think that everyone else has to walk around on egg shells while playing them, even though they are giving out cheap shot after cheap shot. Something is just not right about that. The Spurs remind me of that little brother everyone has who can dish it out, but can’t take it in.

So, to answer the question of who is worse - the 2007 Spurs or the Pistons of the late ’80’s - the Spurs are. They are a dirty team, but they are too weak to admit it.

This article was written by Nishan Wilde at Robbins Sports and Athletics