'12 Thunder v Spurs WCF showdown battle. KD/Russ/Harden vs Duncan/Parker/Ginobi/Kawhi

[LeCroix]

Spurs started a slick lead of the series with a 2 game edge lead . Spurs started this series 2-0. At this time Spurs had won 10 playoff games

they were clicking strong. started the playoffs on a 10 game winning streak. we can dial this back more because actually spurs had a 20 game win streak going back to reg season and post season. this means: SPURS WERE RED HOT in 2012. what a amazing team but the strong triple mvp thunder stopped them somehow. what a year of basketball

[warriorfan]

That Thunder team had a great roster but they lacked experience.How many Finals have been won by a team who’s two best players are both 23 years old?

[Roundball_Rock]

The experience argument is bogus. They were in the WCF the previous year. This was their second big run and they dominated the West in the playoffs (unlike Miami in the other bracket).

[LAmbruh]

The experience argument is bogus. They were in the WCF the previous year. This was their second big run and they dominated the West in the playoffs (unlike Miami in the other bracket).

That Thunder team was also 3 points away from sweeping my Lakers in the 2nd round :(

[warriorfan]

The experience argument is bogus. They were in the WCF the previous year. This was their second big run and they dominated the West while Miami had problems with Indiana and Boston in the East. OKC just didn't get it done in the finals.

How many teams have won a championship with their two best players being 23 or younger and with no previous Finals experience?

Don’t worry, I won’t hold my breath.

[keep-itreal]

That series was rigged against the Spurs.

[LeCroix]

That Thunder team had a great roster but they lacked experience.How many Finals have been won by a team who’s two best players are both 23 years old?

kind of a dumb question tho right? because i can easily ask you to think to this

How many teams had two best players both 23 years old as good as KD and Russ and harden? you cant find it ask the 2012 spurs

first a trio of plaeyrs that all won a scoring title and a MVP and played on the same team

[LeCroix]

How many teams have won a championship with their two best players being 23 or younger and with no previous Finals experience?

Don’t worry, I won’t hold my breath.

why you copy pasta? I can do the same, think to this

How many teams had two best players both 23 years old as good as KD and Russ and harden? you cant find it ask the 2012 spurs

first a trio of plaeyrs that all won a scoring title and a MVP and played on the same team. Don’t worry, I won’t hold my breath

[warriorfan]

why you copy pasta? I can do the same, think to this

How many teams had two best players both 23 years old as good as KD and Russ and harden? you cant find it ask the 2012 spurs

first a trio of plaeyrs that all won a scoring title and a MVP and played on the same team. Don’t worry, I won’t hold my breath

Experience is just as important as talent. That’s why you don’t see super young teams ever winning championships.

[LeCroix]

Experience is just as important as talent. That’s why you don’t see super young teams ever winning championships.


but its not all the way true, of course experience helps but not the only reason to win

magic johnson won his finals mvp as a rookie
duncan won his finals mvp as a second year player

jordan didnt win his 1st finals mvp until age of 27

kevin durant won 3 straight scoring titles in a row. i can think to this easily, how many players ever won 3 scoring titles before 23?

think to this, russell, durant, and harden all won 2 scoring titles each and a mvp. that is impossible to match. how many other teams had three players who each won 2 or more scoring titles and a mvp? and then add on the top durant won 3 scoring titles by age 23 and 4 by age 25.

[warriorfan]

but its not all the way true, of course experience helps but not the only reason to win

magic johnson won his finals mvp as a rookie
duncan won his finals mvp as a second year player

jordan didnt win his 1st finals mvp until age of 27

kevin durant won 3 straight scoring titles in a row. i can think to this easily, how many players ever won 3 scoring titles before 23?

think to this, russell, durant, and harden all won 2 scoring titles each and a mvp. that is impossible to match. how many other teams had three players who each won 2 or more scoring titles and a mvp? and then add on the top durant won 3 scoring titles by age 23 and 4 by age 25.

Magic Johnson was playing with Kareem Abdul Jabbar when he was 32 years old, already had won a championship and Finals MVP. Even still, Magic Johnson was a bit of an outlier rather than the norm. Kareem also won a championship as the man when he was very young as well, but again he was playing with a veteran ATG as well in Oscar Robertson, and Kareem was already experienced in huge games from being the greatest college player ever while leading UCLA to three National Championships. The point is that you need experience to win championships, there’s no two ways around it.

To your point about Jordan, I don’t understand where you are coming from, the fact he didn’t win until 27 shows you that he needed to gain experience before he was able to go all the way. It can’t be done on talent alone.

With all the individual season records you posted. That’s an entirely different point all together. Putting up production in the regular season is not the same as winning championships.


Edit: Missed the point about Duncan. Similar theme, he had an ATG Veteran in David Robinson and excellent coaching. If you notice something about all of the guys you mentioned they are all considered within the top 2-7 of all time. And they still needed veteran teammates with experience to get it done.

[LeCroix]

Magic Johnson was playing with Kareem Abdul Jabbar when he was 32 years old, already had won a championship and Finals MVP. Even still, Magic Johnson was a bit of an outlier rather than the norm. Kareem also won a championship as the man when he was very young as well, but again he was playing with a veteran ATG as well in Oscar Robertson, and Kareem was already experienced in huge games from being the greatest college player ever while leading UCLA to three National Championships. The point is that you need experience to win championships, there’s no two ways around it.

To your point about Jordan, I don’t understand where you are coming from, the fact he didn’t win until 27 shows you that he needed to gain experience before he was able to go all the way. It can’t be done on talent alone.

With all the individual season records you posted. That’s an entirely different point all together. Putting up production in the regular season is not the same as winning championships.


Edit: Missed the point about Duncan. Similar theme, he had an ATG Veteran in David Robinson and excellent coaching. If you notice something about all of the guys you mentioned they are all considered within the top 2-7 of all time. And they still needed veteran teammates with experience to get it done.

age of finals mvp
magic 20
magic 22
duncan 22
kawhi 22
kareem 23
wade 24
parker 24
dumars 25
maxwell 25

so how can you say kelvin durant cannot win it at 23 with also having russell and harden?

you get the picture message

[warriorfan]

age of finals mvp
magic 20
magic 22
duncan 22
kawhi 22
kareem 23
wade 24
parker 24
dumars 25
maxwell 25

so how can you say kelvin durant cannot win it at 23 with also having russell and harden?

you get the picture message

It’s because Harden and Russell had no championship experience. They were all 23 and 22 year old kids. The Finals are different. The lights get brighter, the rim gets smaller, the play gets more intense. It’s a different game and if your team is green you just won’t make it. Check out all those players that you listed, they had teams deep with experienced veterans. The Thunders core had zero Finals experience. Where between the Heat’s big 3 they had 5 Finals under their belt and a FMVP collectively. That is huge.