Spurs-Hornets Series: Emerging Youngsters or Golden Oldies?

What a heck of a series this has been! For me, this was probably the most exciting series for me (other then the Spurs-Suns series because of Tim's three in overtime).

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What a journey Chris Paul has had throughout the playoffs. He is being put to the test with the most consistent defensive team. Sure, he had a 30-point game, but the bench went 8-of-24 (33 percent) in Game Three.

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The Hornets' starters are doing great! However, New Orleans needs support from its bench. The starters shot 33-of-59 (55 percent) in Game Three.

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The Spurs played with more intensity in Game Three. When Duncan gets doubled, he finds a way to kick it out to Finley, Ginobili, Bowen, or Barry.

 

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The Keys for the Spurs

Three-point shooting

The Spurs take the most threes in these playoffs, averaging 25 threes a game. When you have a team with the average age of 31.5, you'd rather shoot the open three rather than take it to rack. Also, when you have Brent Barry, Michael Finley, and Manu Ginobili, you would like to shoot the three ball most of the time.

Manu Ginobili, Tony Parker, and Bruce Bowen

The series is pretty much up to these guys. When they take 57 shots from the field, they either make the Spurs or break them. Bruce Bowen, Tony Parker, and Manu Ginobili scored 74 points combined in Game Three. When you have a handful of the best shooters in the league shooting 48 percent, then you're bound to win.

Tim Duncan

Tim has been struggling in the first two games, averaging 12 points in both of those games. Sure, he isn't doing the best this series scoring wise, but he is helping them in the rebounding department. He had 13 rebounds in game three.

The Keys For The Hornets

The Hornets Bench

They shot 33 percent in Game Three. They have to do a more consistent job off the bench.

The Hornets Starters

They had their best game in the series in Game Three. They shot 55 percent in Game Three. Tyson Chandler went 5-for-5 from the field in Game Three. They have to be more consistent when their playing at one of the hardest places to win. It's all in their hands!

Prediction 

My prediction is a 101-89 win for the Spurs. I think it will be more of what happened in Game Three. The Spurs' starters will have a big game today!