The rule is the rule man.. it is there for a reason... to avoid an all out brawl like back the in the day knicks vs heat, when van gundy got stomped on... or more recently the palace mayhem. I dont understand why you guys consider the Spurs a dirty team. Which team can boast a classy trio like Ginobili, Parker and Duncan. There is a big difference between playing physical and dirty. Just because Phoenix is too finesse and cannot play physical does not mean that San Antonio is dirty. I think that everyone seems to think that playing good defense is playing dirty.