Experience to a certain point, but I put more stock into drive than anything else. Just look at the 79ers/Celts series is prime example. 6ers should have been dumped games ago, but they keep fighting (also doesnt hurt that the Celts are kinda old). But the drive that they have and the motivation that Doug is giving them is having them play WAY beyond what they should be doing right now. I just wish that the Pacers would do the same (maybe Bird's pep talk will light a fire for Game 6).

I hear ya coolio. It upsets me when people claim youth is a problem. I've seen many young teams win big games against older more experienced players. I just don't put stock in it.

gotta love this headshot gif watched it about 10 times and I'm still laughing it's quite easily to make men laugh

The Flight of the Frenchies video is great as hell (it reminds me of art of flight tho )

QotD: I think experience is quite important in sports but by far not the most important thing about a player.. look at bryce harper for example: this guy is 19 and every night I watch him I think about somebody being at least 10 years older... if there are two guys at the exact same quality (doesn't matter if it's in sports) I ALWAYS go with the younger one! so in this case I'd say clearly no!

Experience plays a huge factor but it's usually in clutch situations..if you been through a certain situation you know what to look for rather than trying to make something happen. Kobe doesn't really create his last second shots because he's situations unfold in so many different ways. So he just lets things fall into place and he reacts because he has seen situations. He knows the opposing team is looking for him to take the last shot so he goes and reacts accordingly to whatever they are doing.

Also, game 7 situations when it's win or go home. More experienced teams are more likely to go through the motions rather then trying to force things. Younger teams usually try to force things trying to win because they know it's all or nothing. Watch the Celtics they will be composed and focused and you will see the Sixers looking a little lost against a veteran team. But that's just my opinion.

Experience matters greatly. If experience doesnt matter and teams just step up, the Houston Texans would have beaten a more experienced Baltimore Ravens Team. A Young Bengals Offense wouldnt have lost to a Texans team who had never been to the playoffs. A Young 2010 Alabama Crimson Tide team wouldnt have gone 9-3. Experience matters because you have guys that know how to handle a situation and not be overwhelmed by the moment. You dont walk into into a job without training of some manner. You must have experience which is college or training. Then you get more experience by being thrown into a situation that you may not be ready for but you either fold and dont get the job done or you fight through whether you succeed or fail but yet you learn from it.

youve seen young temas win...but how many young teams win it all? all over sports teams with expirence win in all lakers celtics red soxs yankees packers colts patriots giants, spurs...you see those team with vets win it all. When the moment comes to make a big play the expirence of being there shows, i played football my whole life up until i graduated college and the diffrence between my freshman year of ball and my junior year of ball was the amount of snaps and experience i had obtained. 3rd and short as a freshman i didnt know what i was doing i knew it was a hig pressure situation and somebody needed to make a play i would ususally do something to takle myself out of the play cause i hadnt been there to know what to do in the situation. as a junior 3rd a short was a high pressure situation but i kew HOW to make the play and didnt do stupid things to take myself out the play.

Sometimes the inexperience is a benefit. Most young athletes are too naive to know what scale they are actually playing on, especially when they make it to the playoffs and beyond. Some of the vets know they have a limited amount of time left and perform very poorly when the lights and pressure get turned up.

QoTD: Experience is huge. Why do you think the Celtics are still playing? They are a bunch of broken down old men playing ball but because of their experience they are able to stay competitive.

What experience does for you is this, #1 players are rarely faced with something new. New defense, offense, etc. Nothing catches you by surprise. The second part is what I think is the most important. Experience sharpens your anticipation skills. Even when your ability may decline, once you have been in a situation so many times you begin to understand what will happen next before it actually happens. If you took two players of similar skill, only one had been playing in that activity for 6 years and the other only 1, the six year guy will have a serious advantage because of everything he has seen over the past.

Bottom line: Experience erases doubt and sharpens your tools for battle.

Just to throw it out there. What happens if the Celtics lose, does this "experience factor" not get discussed? Are they now too old and not experienced? The Cowboys have won a Super Bowl when they were the youngest team in the NFL. Everyone predicted them to lose. I think experience plays a factor, but not quite as much as people think.

True but didn't the Cowboys beat a Buffalo Bills team that proved they couldn't win the big game..? And if the Celtics lose they just lose. True they are getting up there in age but with basketball being more about matchups the ball could easily bounce the other way but with a 17 - 7 record in game 7's I highly doubt a the Sixers will pull it out. But crazier things have happened.....

Experience doesn't guarantee a win but it's definitely a good thing to have when the pressures is on. The less you have to analyze and learn the more you can focus on just playing the game.

It's like driving a car, the first few times you might be a bit jumpy and the ride might not be so smooth because you're still thinking about driving( this is what often gets new drivers in trouble) With time however you start thinking less about your own actions and more on whats going on around, you're more alert and ready to adapt if something unexpected does happen.