Much has been made of the homecourt advantage all Conference Semifinalists have enjoyed this season. Detroit is the only team to have won on the road, and even they trailed by 15 during that game (and they played arguable the weakest or second weakest team remaining). I read today Elias Sports Bureau confirms that this SA-NO series is the first ever to have the home team win by 10+ for 6 games straight. So what gives? S.A. has shot the lights out at home (and vice versa), but could there be something more sinister at work?

I thought I'd try a little experiment with a Spurs fan (Graydon from 48 Minutes of Hell). Both of us counted up the number of "gracious" foul calls each team received (i.e., questionable charge/blocks, touch fouls, etc.) and compared our tallies.

At the end, I counted a mere three calls that went against the Spurs that shouldn't have, and just three that went against the Hornets that shouldn't have. A quick list:

1. Pargo getting called for his second block- Feet totally set, body in perfect balance, Ime was out of control and hit him square in the chest. Not sure how this was a block.
   
2. Parker getting fouled on the fastbreak- I think every single Hornet player knew that he was fouled. Also, seeing him say "You know that was a foul. You know that was a foul" to the ref was hilarious. As much as he's been killing us this series, TP is and will continue to be one of my favorite Association members.
   
3. Duncan getting the call after missing a 2 footer- If I remember correctly, this happened in the second third first fourth .. oh, forget it. It happened in of the four quarters. There was literally zero contact between himself and Tyson Chandler, and the whistle blew well after the miss.
4. David West Fighting Through the Screen- This one was the only foul that really irritated me. Udoka was moving through a screen and got tangled with West. That was a critical point in the game, there was contact from both players, so that's a definite no-call, or at worst double foul.
   
5. Tyson Pushing Off Before a Tap-Out- This was another really obvious one that I'm not sure how they missed. TC literally shoved a Spur out of the way (I'm pretty sure Oberto) before making his trademark tap-out. Perhaps if he had rebounded it himself, it might have been more obvious.
6. Chris Paul Pushing Off- I counted one occasion where CP3 blatantly pushed off Parker before getting off a floater, and didn't include one where there was too much traffic to tell.

Now let's get to that third quarter flurry of foul calls. You'll notice that only one play from that stretch made my list. Some Hornets' fans felt like the third quarter officiating decided the game, but the first Chris Paul offensive was a good whistle. The second was less defendable, but still justifiable. The David West offensive foul was a testament to how good Duncan is on defense. What did us in more than the foul calls themselves was how we reacted to the foul calls.

Graydon noticed a few more poor calls than I did (10 total) and scored it 6-4 in favor of the Hornets. On the third quarter flurry: "The only call I included in my tally from that stretch was West's foul on Ginobili (actually a defensive foul), which I thought was ridiculous. West just did not foul him, they were tangled up and got untangled. It shouldn't have been an issue."

The final verdict: I think we both agree that this was a decently officiated game. The Spurs won Game 6 fair and square, thanks to some hot shooting and great defense on D. West. Now it's up to the Hornets to make adequate changes in Game 7.

We'll be counting fouls again on Monday, so it should be interesting to see if anything changes.

Shades of Milwaukee-Charlotte. Anyone remember that series? I'd rather not...

This wasn't supposed to happen...

Obviously not the way I drew up Game 6. Gregg Popovich finally went to the Duncan on West switch, and boy did it pay off for them. If anyone wants to question Timothy's countless All-Defensive Team credentials, they should be directed to footage of this game, specifically his footwork. I don't know if I've ever seen a 7 footer (let alone that he is a 32 year old in his 11th season) move laterally better than that in my life. I mean, Kevin Garnett could be taking lessons from this guy, that's how good he was. But enough with the hyperbole.

Matthew of Pounding the Rock made a great point pre-game- putting TD on DX might fire up West emotionally, a bad thing for us. And that's exactly what happened. DX lost his head after that quick succession of foul calls (I'll do a post about the foul calls later). Duncan's defense got into his head. But I'd like to point out the awesomeness of CP3 at this juncture. What other 23 year old could grab the attention of every player on his team, calmly explain the situation to them, and then rally his guys back? If we could've just made some open shots, this game was there for the taking. We have Chris Paul's composure to thank for that.

And then there was the Robert Horry play: I believe it was totally 100% intentional. I believe it was a malicious play. I don't care that Mark Jackson called it a "playoff foul." Answer me this- what reason did Horry have to push West in the back as he was backpedalling? One, West was totally out of position, stumbling backwards. Two, Horry had the inside offensive possession to the hoop. Three, there was no way he was setting a screen, because the guard had already gotten past his defender and Horry and West were a good distance from the play. Spurs fans have been calling the Hornets "classless." Tell your "7 time NBA Champion" to exhibit some class before ever speaking on the subject again. Horry knew about West's severe back pain. He knew West was totally out of the play defensively. After this game, I know that Robert Horry is a classless individual.

But back to the game itself- homecourt advantage continued to take its toll on the visiting team. This contest was far, far closer than the final score will say. We consistently got wide open looks in the third only to lay brick after brick. Meanwhile, they got good looks too, and they drilled 'em. Story of the night, story of the night... on to the factors:

1. Shooting (X): I don't know what it is, but it is what it is. The Spurs just shoot the lights out at home. This obviously brings up a coaching conundrum- do you rely on the fact that S.A. can't hit the jumper on the road and keep going under screens? I'm glad I'm not Byron Scott. But seriously, we're going to have to hit wide open shots. DX missed at least 5 of those today. We failed to take advantage of what was clearly a good shooting night for Peja.
   
2. Turnovers (√): It's hard to say you "lost" a game due to turnovers when you have an amazing turnover rate of 10.3. But the majority of those turnovers came in that horrendous third quarter where guys were losing their composure left and right. The second offensive on Paul was a stupid call but the first was legit, as was David West's charge call. We had our chances, we just gave them away when it counted most.
   
3. Rebounding (X): Anyone else miss the Tyson Chandler of old? After two terrific games, his rebounding numbers have gone like so: 8, 4, 8, and 6. Sure he went 7-8, but his rebounding is a critical part of this team. 
4. Free Throws (√): Neither team fouled much (19-21), but the Spurs went to the line five more times than the Hornets. Additionally, New Orleans didn't get a single free throw in the third. When Melvin Ely leads your team in FTA (4), you're in trouble.
   
5. Pace (87): The pace picked up considerably from last time. What stands out about our transition game, though, is the three missed opportunities we had on the break (all in the 3rd). The first was Paul striking Bowen across the face with his off hand, a legitimate offensive foul call. The second was Bowen running up behind Paul, getting brushed by CP3's hand, and picking up another charge call. That was a definite home team call. The final one was where Paul got the rim and left a layup short. If we get three scores on those fast breaks, it's a whole different game.
   

Some final thoughts: While the stadium chanting Robert Horry's name after he injured West was disgraceful, the guys at PtR were very classy about it. Props to them for showing the respect they did. I loved how Peja abused Bowen throughout the first quarter. Even more than that, I loved the scornful glare he delivered at Bowen after each score. We'll need him to play like that Monday. I mentioned this in the game thread but it's worth mentioning again- the long layoff until Game 7 will actually end up working in our favor (due to West's injury) and not the Spurs' as many presumed. Bonzi Wells was a total no-show once again, registering 0 points, 0 rebounds, 2 fouls, and a -5 in 7 minutes. General Pargo was easily the worst bench player, registering a -18 in 15 minutes... how does that happen? That's on the level of Melvin Ely putting up a -3 in 4 seconds of action. After combining for 8 blocks in Game 5, Tyson and DX combined for zero tonight. Finally, you'll notice that this recap was conspicuously evasive of how the game was called (other than the Ben Gay Bob incident) so more on that in the morning...

Welcome to the inaugural game thread! Feel free to drop by any time during the game with your thoughts. As some of you that commented on previous stories already know, the comments are threaded. So this should work as a sort of auto-updating forum.

3 Keys For Game 6  (@tH)

Why the Blowouts? (H247)

Spurs in Elimination Games (@tH)

How SA Can Survive (FoxSports)

No 'House Money' When Spurs Involved (Times-Pic)

Why is the Close Out So Difficult? (@th.W)

Chandler, West To Play  (WWL)


"[If] you can take the champs out, you want to take 'em out."  (Tyson)

Pounding the Rock Preview (PtR)

My "Experiment" (with 48M and Matt Moore) (48MoH)

Timothy on David? (PtR)

AP Preview  (ESPN)

And that's that. Be an At the Hive pioneer and participate today!

Geaux Hornets!!!

Here's a look at some under-looked things we'll need to do in Game 6. Obviously, guarding Duncan, not fouling, shooting a good percentage, blah, blah are the "real" keys to the game. These are specifics that would help us accomplish those overarching goals.

1. Let Mo Be the Silent Assassin: After Games 1 and 2, one of the Spurs' primary goals was to shut down the hot shooting Peja Stojakovic. Gregg Popovich smartly realized that he wouldn't be giving up much by switching Tony Parker onto CP3, so he moved Bowen onto Predrag. And whamo! Stojakovic's production shot down like a rocket; he averaged just 2.0 three point attempts per game in Games 3, 4, and 5 after averaging 6.8 per during the season. But this strategy lets Mo-Pete creep into the three point game, as he did effectively in the Game 5 win. Look at the season stats: Peterson shot 40% from downtown, just 4% below Peja. He's averaged as many as 5.5 3PA/G in his career. He has the ability to take and make a ton of shots. And with San Antonio continuing to key in on Predrag, Morris Peterson needs to temporarily "be" Peja Stojakovic. Heck, I'll even make a giant Mo head on a stick if necessary.
2. Don't Get Down Big: This seems pretty obvious- don't let the other team jump on you quickly and get off to a big lead. But in this series, the relevance of this key is exacerbated for two reasons: the slow pace and the low turnover rates. Simply put, if you get down big, you won't have the necessary possessions to get back in the game. We've seen this happen in every single game so far- one team takes a large lead midway through the third and the other team can't respond. In this series, 15 minutes of time "isn't 15 minutes of team. It's substantially smaller because possessions/minute is so small and the number of extra opportunities off turnovers is virtually nonexistent.
3. 3. Make Ginobili Go Right!/(At Least Guard Him...?): I have a strong feeling that Game 6 will see Manu spearhead the Spurs' offense. With the flurry of doubles New Orleans has tossed at Duncan, there's no way Pops lets his season ride on Tony Parker's jumper (I'm assuming we go under screens again). Ginobili has been a turnover machine, and he may flop all over the court, but he's one freakishly talented player. TP has a history of disappearing in the big game (more below) but Ginobili and Duncan have really shone.

Ginobili, like most great NBA'ers, can finish with his off hand, but his left hand is virtually unstoppable when he gets within 5 feet of the hoop. Our closeouts will play a huge role in his performance- if the guys are overzealous and close out too aggressively (see: Bonzi Wells earlier this series), he will go left with ease.

The Spurs' dominance of the Western Conference over the last decade hasn't been a good thing for other West teams. Turns out it is a good thing for amateurish bloggers seeking to predict the future. San Antonio has been involved in so many series and so many games (with roughly the "same" team) that we have a decent sample size to work with. How have the Spurs fared in elimination games in the Duncan era? Glad you asked.

2006, WC Semis, Game 5 (trailing 3-1), @ San Antonio, (v. Dallas) WIN

Unable to stop the Mavs' offense all series, the Spurs played some big defense down the stretch to keep their season alive. This was the "Bruce Bowen block" game where he forced a jump ball versus Dirk as the fourth quarter concluded. More notably, Tim Duncan was a monster (36-12) and Tony Parker chipped in 27 (but had 5 turnovers).

2006, WC Semis, Game 6 (trailing 3-2), @ Dallas, WIN

The second of back to back elimination games, SA staved off elimination once more. Jason Terry was suspended for punching Michael Finley in Game 5. Tim Duncan had 24, and 8 and Manu Ginobili picked up for Tony Parker (3-15) by scoring 30.

2006, WC Semis, Game 7 (tied 3-3), @ San Antonio (v. Dallas), LOSS

San Antonio failed to become just the 8th team ever to come back from a 3-1 hole. Despite Duncan's 41 and 15, Parker's 24, and Ginobili's 23, the Spurs fell in OT.

2005 NBA Finals, Game 7 (tied 3-3), @ San Antonio (v. Detroit), WIN

This Finals is frighteningly similar to the current Hornets-Spurs series. For the first four games, the home team won by an average 21 point margin. Then the Robert Horry Game happened (in Detroit, thanks to the 2-3-2 format). Duncan and Ginobili combined for 48 in Game 7 for yet another Spurs' championship. Parker went 3-11 with 8 points.

2004 WC Semis, Game 6 (trailing 3-2), @ Los Angeles, LOSS

Another series that saw the home team win the first 4 with large margins of victory. The Lakers pulled off the roadie in Game 5 and closed the series at home. Duncan was solid (20 and 11) and Ginobili adequate (16, 7, and 4) but Parker delivered 9 on 4 of 18.

Well kids, what have we learned? The Spurs are 3-2 in elimination games (where they can be eliminated) and 2-1 at home (where they'll be tomorrow). Tim Duncan is normally a beast in these games, and Tony Parker has a tendency to disappear. So if we can continue our great defensive work on Timothy and let Tony Parker do what Tony Parker has done... I like our chances.