Opening
Thoughts
8
UTAH JAZZ
1
SAN ANTONIO SPURS
SAS
back in 1-Hole for 2ND Straight Year
SAS
finishing Regular Season as Healthy as Ever
(4TH
Healthiest NBA Team over the past 3 Years*) &
SAS
is hotter-than 7-Barrels
Yet,
most discussions involving San Antonio
Inexorably
devolve into eternal 64K Question:
Are
the archaic Spurs sturdy enough to Win 16 Postseason Games?
HALF-TRUTH
#1: ‘San Antonio is OLD’
When
we must conclude they aren’t really THAT old…
…Hear
me out
SAS
STARTING LINEUP:
1
Parker 29 Years Old
2
Green 24 Years Old
3
Leonard 20 Years Old
4
Duncan 35 Years Old
5
Blair 22 Years Old
AVG
SAN ANTONIO STARTER: 26 YEARS OLD
‘Old’
Tim Duncan’s 2011-2012 Avg: 28.2 Min/Gm
San Antonio DID get 4.5 Yrs Older in March
Adding 34-Year Old Stephen Jackson from Golden State,
In exchange for 30-Year-Old ‘disappointment’, Richard
Jefferson
NEVERTHELESS,
70% (7 of 10) of San Antonio's TOP 10 MPG Players
ARE UNDER 30-YEARS OLD
SAS
has the #1 Ranked BENCH in the NBA
(Hoopsstats)
Tony
Parker’s sensible 32.1 MPG is the only Spur Player
That’s
logged MORE Minutes than Duncan’s 28.2 MPG Avg
Running
down San Antonio’s Lineup,
SAS
TOP-10 MPG Spur Players have been utilized
w/painstaking
precision by SAS HC Popovich.
Especially
two 30-Something Bedrock, Spurs, Duncan & Ginobili
Moreover,
despite producing sparkling efficiency numbers
SAS
34-Year-Old Manu Ginobili
Still
comes off Spurs Bench, & averages just 23.3 MPG
Ginobili
coming off SAS bench, Year-in, year out, after all these years
Keeps
his effective play at an unthinkably efficient level
And
double-cross opponents flawlessly
Any
player (especially one whom plays just 23.3 Minutes)
To
put up Shooting Guard Numbers 2ND only to D Wade,
While
coming off BENCH at Age 34?
Ginobili,
Duncan & Parker;
Unthinkably
unique players
San
Antonio Spurs
The
most savvy, sturdy & headstrong organization in professional sports
DOES UTAH HAVE A PRAYER?
Not really…yet,
Parallels between this 8 Seed Utah Jazz team
&
Last Season’s 8 Seed Memphis Grizzlies Team are uncanny
2011-2012 Utah Jazz have rapidly re-tooled
w/a successful & makeshift youth movement
Built in the image of Utah’s astute,
New-Generation Paul Silas-Type Head Coach, Ty Corbin
w/a bulldogging, productive, Deep Frontcourt
So, Utah has inexplicably landed in the 2011-2012 Playoffs,
Despite losing vast majority of their Franchise CORE
(Okur \ Boozer \ Brewer)
UTAH looks to be a Year-or-Two Ahead,
Yet
w/right Match-Up they could have been a real sleeper
Ironically, Utah drew the once-bitten, white-hot San Antonio Spurs
The Fingerprint for Utah:
Jazz #2 Most Effective (Rated) FRONTCOURT
#6 PER [4] MILSAP
#3 PER [5] JEFFERSON
Utah’s Frontcourt starters are averaging (combined)
36 PPG |
18.5 Reb?
Damn productive
Utah also w/Above Avg Frontcourt BENCH
1. ‘Non-Offensive’
[4] Evans,
2.
10/7 'Big' w/Favors backing up Jefferson at [5]
Utah is short on experience,
Yet w/energy at a PREMIUM this year,
Utah is well-suited w/Starters Averaging 25.4 Years Old
IF ….
Jazz didn't have so many BACKCOURT Depth & Efficiency
Issues
&/or
IF ... Utah were catching THAT 2010-2011 Spurs Team, limping into
2010-2011 Playoffs o “Slow-Cruise”, w/o Manu Ginobili,
Instead, Jazz draw streamlined, sleek 2011-2012 Vet Spurs Team
At FULL-STRENGTH, w/all the cagey experience of a Crafty Prize Fighter who knows the clock is ticking
Moreover, San Antonio is hitting on all 8 Cylinders &
Spurs are THIS OUT-OF-THIS-WORLD HOT
San Antonio closed w/unreal 90% Winning Clip
Over their last 20
Games
(18-2 Overall | 17-4 ATS)
Spurs are rested, ready....
Not to mention, DAZZLING EFFICIENCY
SAN ANTONIO:
10 Game Win Streak
11 Consecutive Games w/More 3-Point FG's
10 Consecutive Games w/More Assists than Opp
#1 NBA's BENCH (+12.1 Eff/Diff)
#1 OFFENSIVE EFFICIENCY (1.105 O-PPP)
#1 Three-Point Shooting (39%)
The List goes on...
To the Point, Utah facing this San Antonio Team
May have had a Haymakers' Shot - LAST YEAR
Yet this Spurs Team appears remarkably driven...
W-O-W
