Experience Again

Another thing about "playoff experience"-based doubts about the Hornets is that it's not entirely clear how inexperienced the team really is. Starting center Tyson Chandler went to the playoffs with Chicago in 2005 and 2006, Peja has a ton of experience in the U.S. and internationally, Morris Peterson was in the 2007, 2002, and 2001 playoffs, guys like Bonzi Wells off the bench have experience, etc.

Now obviously Chris Paul doesn't have playoff experience and he's an important part of the team. But after watching him play in the first round, was there any reason to think he'd suddenly dissolve in round two? The Hornets may yet lose the series (though they probably won't -- tied series after four games almost always go to the team with home court advantage), but if they do I don't think experience will be the problem.

Comments

David West barely has any playoff experience either--he came off the bench during their first round loss to the Heat when he was a rookie 4 years ago. So when your two best players have basically never been in this situation before, it's plenty reason to be concerned, at least in theory.

Where I would agree is that the way the Hornets played in the first round dispelled a lot of that concern. Dallas may well have been tottering and overrated, but I don't think many people expected New Orleans to house them the way they did. That series definitely convinced me that the Hornets were a legit title contender right now, which--because of the experience factor--I didn't think they were going into the playoffs.

Posted by Haggai | May 14, 2008 2:26 PM

but if they do I don't think experience will be the problem.

One area where experience may play somewhat of a role is coaching.

I grew up a huge fan of Byron Scott, and he's doing an amazing job - and I'm rooting for him. But he doesn't have tons of playoff coaching experience, espcially compared to Popovich.

Of course, he has tons of experience being coached in the playoffs/finals - so it is probably a wash. To the extent experience = "knowing what it takes to win," he certainly does. But to the extent that coaching and playing the #2 are different...

My guess is Spurs in 7, but not because of experience - or talent. I just see Ginobli, Parker and Duncan digging in.

Who knows.

Posted by SoCalJustice | May 14, 2008 2:28 PM

Only Pat Riley and Phil Jackson have more coaching experience than Popovich. Byron Scott has been to the NBA finals with the New Jersey Nets. For what it's worth Scott has plenty of experience too.

Posted by joejoejoe | May 14, 2008 2:35 PM

Scott coached both of those Nets teams that made the Finals. Yes, they were mediocre teams benefitting from an extremely weak conference and had no chance whatsoever in the Finals, but he's still been there twice, which definitely counts for some experience.

Posted by Haggai | May 14, 2008 2:36 PM

My guess is Spurs in 7, but not because of experience - or talent. I just see Ginobli, Parker and Duncan digging in.

Hornets in six. (I might even believe that.)

Posted by SomeCallMeTim | May 14, 2008 2:36 PM

Whoops - scratch that about coaching experience. Forgot about the Nets. Thanks.

Posted by SoCalJustice | May 14, 2008 2:40 PM

Finally, Matt posts on a topic he knows something about, as opposed to the day-to-day crap he pulls out of his ass.

Posted by volum | May 14, 2008 3:22 PM

My guess is Spurs in 7, but not because of experience - or talent. I just see Ginobli, Parker and Duncan digging in.

What does that even mean? Are the Hornets not going to dig in? If them "digging in" is enough to win, what it that if not experience or talent?

Posted by nolaboyd | May 14, 2008 3:25 PM

I think that where playoff experience really matter is in exposing overhyped stars and in making it difficult for role-players to contribute. Paul is succeeding b/c he is just damn good. West is the kind of player I'd be worried about. He's an important element of the team, but you could imagine him being taken out of his comfort zone in a tough series and neutralized. He seems to be doing okay so far, though.

Posted by mpowell | May 14, 2008 3:47 PM

In between coaching experience and individual experience is a team's experience playing as a unit -- something many of the Suns cited as a reason why the Spurs were able to out-execute them in crunch time of games in Round 1.

I think this is what SoCalJustice meant by "Ginobli, Parker and Duncan digging in"... and it's a huge credit to the Hornets' coaching and the talent of Paul/West/et al. that it hasn't been a factor in New Orleans' playoff wins.

Well, that and the fact that there hasn't really been a "crunch time" in those games. But as someone from L.A. who remains traumatized by the Bull-Lakers finals of '91, I can vouch that this is what it looks like when time-tested experience, execution, and poise is outmatched by youth and athleticism.

Posted by Swopa | May 14, 2008 3:53 PM

West is the kind of player I'd be worried about. He's an important element of the team, but you could imagine him being taken out of his comfort zone in a tough series and neutralized. He seems to be doing okay so far, though.

I don't see that happening. West seems to be an incredibly heady player. The guy is really patient and never seems to take bad shots.

Posted by WillieStyle | May 14, 2008 3:59 PM

the thing about this series is that there hasn't been many game situations where experience is a premium--in close games in the last 2-3 minutes. They have all been blowouts. If the spurs could just drag them into the fourth and stay within 5 points, i think their savy would manifest itself.

Posted by MP | May 14, 2008 4:06 PM

What does that even mean? Are the Hornets not going to dig in? If them "digging in" is enough to win, what it that if not experience or talent?

They might, and they might win.

But adding to Swopa's comment re: team play, I also think the Spurs can out hustle the Hornets, with the will to go after the loose balls, throw their bodies around, play with reckless abandon, etc...

The Spurs are gritty - and that doesn't necessarily fall into the talent or experience column. This is the (perhaps b.s.) that analysts always refer to as "the intangibles."

It's clearly an evenly matched series. You'll notice I ended my post with a "who knows".

Some teams just seem to try harder than others, which is not the same as shooting or rebounding (talent) better.

Posted by SoCalJustice | May 14, 2008 4:16 PM

The Hornets are inexperienced, relatively speaking (Bonzi Wells could play for 20 years and I wouldn't call him "experienced"). It's just that Chris Paul is a Magic Johnson-level playoff beast. We're watching one of the best playoff debuts for a guard ever.

I'm not that surprised about the Hornets playing well in Rd. 2, not because I knew all about New Orleans, but because I'm not that impressed with San Antonio. Round 1 was a combination of the Suns utterly choking and the Spurs flopping and diving their way to that last win. Duncan and Parker were pretty pathetic.

Don't throw the experience argument out the window. The Celtics are clearly not ready for the big time. They were flat-out amazing this season, and they're performing worse than most teams in the West would in their position. I don't care how many time KG has lost in the playoffs. The team as a whole is not playing playoff-level basketball, and it seems to have somethig to do with experience, mental toughness, what-have-you.

Posted by Colatina | May 14, 2008 7:14 PM

The Spurs are gritty - and that doesn't necessarily fall into the talent or experience column. This is the (perhaps b.s.) that analysts always refer to as "the intangibles."

As a general rule, I hate "intangibles" claims. They should just call it "Mysterious Factor X." OTOH, I think you're right about the Spurs--they really do seem to have less quit in them than most teams--and I do wonder if it's related to experience. Specifically, I wonder if it's related to the experience of improbable comebacks, or having won ugly at times. It must be easier to continue to work hard if you know that occasionally that yields success.

Posted by SomeCallMeTim | May 14, 2008 7:53 PM