Playoff Pit Stop #9: Hype in NO (Updated)

Hornets-Spurs is about to begin, and this is SS's way of adding to the hype.

For all of the up-and-coming; for youth; for the new guard, the Hornets are your team.

For the veterans; for the experienced; for the old guard, the Spurs are yours.

--

Updated: Spurs Advance

91-82, reigning-champ-veteran-experienced-old guard-Spurs.

In the NBA's second game seven in two days, the senior members of the Spurs, Robert Horry and co. made all of the difference.

Searching for his 8th NBA Championship Ring, Robert Horry picked a good night to fire his all-too-familiar Playoff 3's.

But in all fairness, the 2008 Robert Horry narrative really began in Game 6. As every pundit has discussed, he back-picked Hornets All-Star F David West in the garbage time of the Spurs win. Dirty or not, it was an important play. The back-pick hit West where he already hurt, in his back.

As it turns out the injury-to-West-angle proved moot--West bounced back tonight with 20-and-9, including a monster first quarter. The lasting impact of the play however was Robert Horry's re-emergence. Related to the back-pick or not, Horry played a major role in the Spurs game 7 victory. Tonight, while booed and booed, he buried and buried his trademark 3's.

After committing more fouls (26) than scoring points (15) in the Spurs first 11 playoff games, Horry's 6 points and two 3's in tonight's Game 7 were an efficient surprise.

Along with the rest of the Over-30-Spurs-Bench--Kurt Thomas (age 35), Michael Finely (35), and Ime Udoka (30)--Horry (37) was sensational. Aged to perfection, this bunch rendered the Playoff Semi-Finals home-court advantage obsolete.

In a combined 54 minutes, the quartet produced:

22 points, on 8-15 shooting, with 6 three's, 8 offensive rebounds, 18 total-rebounds, and 3 steals.

As great as Hornets super-sub Jennero Pargo's 16-point 4th quarter was, it paled in comparison to the balance and breadth of the Spurs' output.

Aside from the 22 points and the ages of these Spurs, their 6 threes and 8 offensive rebounds jump out most. While the threes sent daggers into several Hornets mini-runs, the offensive boards proved just as critical. On several occasions, the O-Boards not only forced the Hornets into 24 seconds of more defense, but they also provided the Spurs with a handful of easy bunnies.

As the Spurs built a double-digit lead and then held off the Pargo-led rally, it more than compensated for the streaky play of Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili, and Tony Parker--it won the game.

With the win, the Spurs join the other deep and veteran teams in the NBA's Final Four: the ever-balanced and competitive Pistons, the enigmatic (but still effective) Celtics, and the surprisingly complete Lakers.

And after tonight's outcome, the young showmen of the NBA--LeBron James, Chris Paul, and Dwight Howard--and their just-incomplete-enough-teams are absent.

Surprisingly, the timing of each team's exit correlates to the quality of each team. Of the three, the Hornets are the most complete (tonight), followed by the Cavs (yesterday), and finally the Magic (May 13). Tough NBA justice for the 3-up-and-coming stars.

But as exiting as those three are and have been, tonight belongs to the Spurs' 30+ group. As over-matched as the they looked during stretches in the first 2 games of this series, they were ever-ready tonight.

So with that said, here is the NBA's 2008 Final Four:

(1) Boston Celtics v. (2) Detroit Pistons

(1) LA Lakers v. (3) San Antonio Spurs