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.
I noticed this phenomenon recently as well and I have a theory. It's gotten to the point in the season where even the young teams are wiped out, and in that respect, they've lost their advantage. See, older teams like the Celtics are used to playing tired, to rallying, and to fighting even though they don't have the energy to do so. Younger teams are used to playing fresh every once in a while, so they weren't prepared for the kind of full-season exhaustion they are experiencing.
ReplyDeleteVery good point! Makes sense
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