5 Things to Keep an Eye on: Hornets at Spurs, Game 6

In another of our continuing series, five things to keep an eye out for tonight in the Hornets-Spurs Western Conference Semifinals Game 6 this evening.

1. Backs To The Wall: Well, here we are, San Antonio. The Spurs are not very used to having their backs against the wall, they usually are the ones doing the shoving. But tonight at home will either be the last stand of one of the most quietly dominant dynasties in NBA history or the night where the old gunslingers draw the line in the sand. With a raucous (and possibly, maybe sell-out) crowd behind them, the odds are in the favor of the boys in black and silver. However, against a Hornets team that's going to be feeling the momentum and smelling blood, they can't let up. They need to make some of the same adjustments they made in Games 3 and 4, and some new ones to prevent the Game 5 massacre. Like, oh, I don't know, keeping David West from single handedly annihilating you.

2. Feet On The Floor, Head In The Clouds: The health of Tyson Chandler and David West will be of great concern tomorrow night. Chandler's foot was so bad that afterwards he said he probably wouldn't walk on it that night but said he would be "fine." He then reiterated that sentiment on his blog, which was quite lengthy for a guy that just played a bunch of minutes in a playoff game against Tim Duncan, I might add. Meanwhile West was in obvious physical pain and still managed to destroy the Spurs in what can only be described as a symphony of catastrophic moves that had to make Spurs fans wonder if he was Satan himself. Still, injuries are injuries and teams that are beat up usually don't do so well on the road. We'll see if the devil gets paid his due tonight or if Manu Ginobili and Bruce Bowen can fire up the fiddle again.

3. Assassin Extraordinaire: David West was absolutely phenomenal in Game 5. He managed to play through a bad back, which is one thing. But to slaughter one of the best defensive teams in a pivotal game using the jumper, post moves, drives, floaters and dunks landed him in the "top performances in the 08 playoffs" discussion. The Spurs shut him down completely in Games 3 and 4 in San Antonio, and they need a repeat of that performance in order to put the clamps on the New Orleans offense tonight. In Games 3 and 4, they used a combination of Fabricio Oberto, Tim Duncan, and doubles from Bowen and Michael Finley. In Game 5, they could have tried to run over him with a truck and he still would have hit the floater. The issue that Spurs fans are loathe to admit is that Duncan can guard West, but not without getting into foul trouble. Conversely, while Oberto just angered West in 3 and 4, in Game 5, he fed off that energy and just battled back in Game 5. The best option it would seem is to give West the lane and tease him into driving, and then commit the weakside defender to harass him when he goes up for a floater or hook. Failing that, they may want to put Robert Horry in and have him stand near the scorers' desk. You know, for no reason at all.

4. Startling Analysis: Whoever Shoots Better Will Win!: I don't buy into shooting streaks. Everything returns to the average over time. However, the playoffs present an interesting problem because of the small sample size. And with two teams as close as these, it's going to come down to shooting. The Hornets shot 53% from three point range in Game 5, the Spurs only 39%. Bruce Bowen was 2 of 4as he continues his skyrocketing escape from statistical expectations, but Parker, Ginobili, Finley, and Barry combined for 4 of 16 from the arc. Each team shoots better at home, though, of course, so I would expect a lot of Finley big shots and Bowen to get a lot more shots tonight. This team is using their three point shooting as life support in certain situations, which I don't think is a solid plan. Then again, I haven't won 4 championships in the last 8 seasons. So I would imagine they have quite a bit of confidence in their shooters.

5. Too Much Wisdom: The Spurs aren't going to panic. Not for a second, not for a heartbeat, not for a half a moment. They're at home, they've proven they can not just defeat, but manhandle this team at home. They have Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, and Manu Ginobili. They have Robert Horry, they have Bruce Bowen, they have Greg Popovich. So I would expect a focused, determined Spurs team tonight. On the other side, I doubt the Hornets will come in with as much lofty headed swagger as last time. They've seen how dangerous the Spurs are at home, and they'll be ready to go full speed to go for the kill. This one might end up being one for the ages. Or it could be a Spurs blowout. They are at home after all, and it would appear that no other analysis is needed in these playoffs.