Experience Matters

1st I want to start out with a positive stat for the Spurs

Small number but its since 1970.

This is only the 4th time a road team won game 1 and game 6 in the CC to force a game 7 and they are 3-0 in those games.

CC home teams are 14-7 SU at home game 7 since 1980.

If you look at those teams 4 of the road teams who won had been proven teams winning championships in the previous 2 years.

2 of the other teams had previous played the same team and lost in 7 games the year before.

Only 1 team either did not have a previous recent title or play their opponent the previous year and lose and that was the Celtics beating Miami in 2021.

I am not playing this game I have a Spurs future but I do think it leans towards OKC but many of these games were close and I am sticking with my original Spurs opinion and future

BOL

Can a 22 year old in his first playoff year lead his team to a title?

Probably not.

Magic Johnson won at 20 and Parker won at 21 but they had Duncan and Jabbar.

Injuries for OKC could be the difference though

Spurs could win here and lose to Knicks?

I want to bang OKC but the injuries are a concern.

Id like to see the results of the Game 5 winner in a best of 7 series 

I think the fact only championship teams or teams that have played each other to a game 7 last year have won on the road says quite a lot. Only 1 exception. The Celtics had made the playoffs many years in a row before that and had a bunch of guys there that were experienced for years. 

But like I said injuries......

Teams who win game 1 and 6 are now 4-0 in game 7 on the road

Weird its only happened 4 times in 55 years

Injuries plus 2nd apron.  They had to trade away Jrue/Porzingis and Horford left with the uncertainty of how quick Tatum might come back from the Achilles injury.

The front office would've figured something out and Al probably would've stayed on for one last run if Tatum didn't get injured, or if they had some idea that he'd be back as quickly as he did.