May The Old Prevail

Once it was decided that the 2011-2012 NBA season would be a highly condensed 66-game one, it seemingly became obvious to a majority of the people that the young and athletic teams would have the upper hand over the older veteran teams.

The season started just as many thought it would. Young teams like the Philadelphia 76ers and Minnesota Timberwolves were using their athleticism to consistently beat older teams. Older teams like the Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Lakers struggled heavily at the beginning of the season and many were counting them out of any chance of winning a title this year.


However, an odd phenomenon has occurred over the last month of the season. The younger teams seemed to have burnt themselves out and are gasping for air, trying to grab hold of the final playoff seeds in their respected conferences. In the meantime, the Boston Celtics and San Antonio Spurs have climbed in to the top 5 power rankings, according to NBA. com. How is this happening? It has a great deal to do with coaching decisions that ultimately benefit the team, locker room dynamics, team chemistry, and leadership. Sure, younger teams have leaders too, but not leaders that have been running up and down the hardwood for 15 years. Both the Spurs and Celtics have amazing coaches in Gregg Popovich and Doc Rivers and I see no reason why both of these teams can't be considered for a championship this year or next year. The Spurs currently have the best offense in the league and the Celtics have the best defense in the league. I find this fascinating.

Next season, we will see older teams slowly begin to bring their current starters off of the bench. This is already evident in Boston. For the last 3 games, Ray Allen has been coming off of the bench, while Avery Bradley starts. As a result, the teams defense and offense have been off the charts. Bringing veteran star talent off the bench to face the second string of the other team is almost unfair. Ray Allen has proven that he can pick apart the defenses of second strings in these last three games. He has only come off the bench 6 times now in his entire career.

The Surprising Sixers

The Philadelphia 76ers have been a joke around the NBA for a number of years now. Yes, they've made the playoffs a couple of times here and there, but since the departure of Allen Iverson in 2006, the team has been downright lousy and not considered much of a threat throughout the league. Heck, Allen Iverson was having issues with the team back in 2003 before he was eventually took his talents to Denver.

This season though, things have seemed to turn around at the Wells Fargo Arena. Where the team lacks a true superstar, they make up with youth and athleticism. A condensed 66 game schedule is like music to the ears of 76ers fans. For many older teams, such as Boston, San Antonio, and Dallas, this condensed schedule is going to result in a great deal of limping and groaning. The 76ers are one of the youngest teams in the NBA and their 14-6 record is showing it. Over a quarter of the way through the season, Philly is on top of the Atlantic Division (by far) and have yet to have any serious injuries to their team.