Didn't I just help you with the poll yesterday afternoon?Quote:
Originally Posted by Fool
In any case, I should have noticed your vote before my last post, that's on me.
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Didn't I just help you with the poll yesterday afternoon?Quote:
Originally Posted by Fool
In any case, I should have noticed your vote before my last post, that's on me.
Had already voted. Played you like a violin.
All they need are one or two younger pieces to replace the old guys and they'll be pretty solid once again.Quote:
Originally Posted by Fool
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/dailyd...ge=dime-080506Quote:
Easier Than Expected For Hornets
By J.A. Adande
ESPN.com
NEW ORLEANS -- At one point in the third quarter there was an energy that swept through New Orleans Arena, as if the 17,972 fans collectively realized: This is happening.
The Hornets' defensive schemes really are working more effectively as the series progresses. Chris Paul really is able to do whatever he wants out there. The Spurs, one of the smartest defensive teams around, really are leaving Peja Stojakovic open for 3-pointers. And the Hornets really are ahead, 2-0 in this series.
On the surface this shouldn't be a surprise, that a team that beat the other team for the division championship won two playoff games at home.
But these are the DEFENDING CHAMPIONS we're talking about, getting handled by a group that's never done anything in the playoffs together, never been to the playoffs before.
The Spurs have a long list of accomplishments during their four-championship run of excellence, but one thing they've never done is come back from a 2-0 deficit to win a series. The last time they found themselves in such a hole they were swept out of the 2001 Western Conference finals by the Lakers.
The next natural skeptical step is to wonder if the Hornets can do this on the road. But it's time to stop doubting and start believing. The Hornets have answered every playoff challenge thrown at them so far except once, when they fell apart in their first road game at Dallas. Paul has made dominance look so routine that it's hardly worth mentioning he had 30 points and 12 assists in the Hornets' 102-84 victory.
It's the Hornets who are dictating how things are going this series. The Spurs are the ones playing out of character. In the regular season 25 percent of the Spurs' shots were 3-pointers. Forty percent of the shots the Spurs have tried in this series have been 3-pointers. And those EZpass lanes to the basket Ginobili and Parker enjoyed against the Suns are closed.
The Hornets are growing more convincing by the quarter. This time there wasn't a fluky statistic such as a playoff career-low five points by Tim Duncan in the opener, which even Hornets coach Byron Scott called "Not a very Tim Duncanish type game." He scored 18 Monday night, and could do no more because the Hornets kept him from dominating the game.
"They did a great job of double-teaming me," Duncan said. "I got a couple of things to fall for me and that was the only difference, but I didn't have any stretches where I was extremely effective for periods."
That was thanks to the long arms of Tyson Chandler (who also swatted away a couple of Tony Parker drives) and an array of smaller players who dropped down to annoy Duncan. Even little CP3 got in the act, blindsiding Duncan for a steal once and forcing another turnover when he knocked the ball off Duncan's legs and out of bounds. When Duncan did pass, the Hornets did a great job of rotating so the Spurs' shooters were always taking contested shots.
It's the Spurs who have to answer the questions now. Why haven't they found a way to counter what the Hornets are doing? Why do they keep falling out of the game in the third quarter? Actually, they might not want to know the answer to that one, like a woman trying on a dress that's one size below realistic and asking if it makes her look fat.
This series is making the Spurs look old, as if all those birthdays and all those playoff games are catching up with them.
The Spurs have been blasted by a combined 65-35 in the two third quarters.
"In general they seem to get stronger in the second half," Spurs Coach Gregg Popovich said. "I thought we went the opposite way."
"They just accelerate the offense," said Tony Parker, who missed six of his first seven shots before hitting a 3-pointer that gave the Spurs the lead at halftime. "We make some mistakes in transition. We let Peja hit some threes and Chris Paul was going to the basket a lot. We just have to play better defense. Our defense was breaking down a lot."
Yes, the Hornets have the challenge of trying to duplicate this effort on the road, and surely the Spurs will be more comfortable and more of their 3-pointers will fall back at the AT&T Center.
But it's the Hornets who know that they're the group with the superior athletes and the better game plan to date. They're hitting the road, but they're packing the knowledge that their way is working.
"We've got to stick to our principles," Chandler said. "I thought we played better defense tonight than we did in the first game."
So go ahead and hop aboard this New Orleans streetcar. Not only is it impossible to root against this city while it still has ravaged houses and abandoned blocks leftover from Hurricane Katrina, but this team doesn't constantly hit you over the head with a "Nobody respected us" hammer, just because people picked the more experienced Mavericks to beat them in the first round, or the Spurs to knock them off here.
"Logic will tell you that these teams were probably in position to beat us just because we're new here," David West said. "As long as we don't start doubting ourselves, we don't worry about other people's opinions. It's not worth it."
Maybe they didn't worry about other people's opinions. They sure are starting to change them.
SpursLovers,
Where y'all at?
Defend your team!
I'm sure they are about to turn it on any time now (since it's the playoffs).
Also, the series is still going 7, I think.
The image above has been resized. Click on it to see the full version.
The Spurs need to lose one at home first before I'm declaring this series officially over.
If the Spurs win next year, are they still considered DONE?
My claim is that this core (Duncan, Floppy & Little Tony) is DONE winning championships together.
Any other claims by others here are their own.
