Okay - time to reply before Kane slanders my whole team...
Starting Lineup For Series vs GS
1 - Ellis
2 - Bradley
3 - James
4 - Ibaka
5 - Jordan
Strategy vs GS
-Pressure Ball to limit shot clock time in half-court sets
-Isolate and attack Hibbert on offense to draw fouls
-Body up Hibbert
Regarding GS Offense
As we have all seen in the last few seasons, Rondo-led offenses have the tendency to become stagnate when they are unable to get out in transition. When in half-court situations, Rondo generally pounds the ball and looks to make the last pass for the assist. GS has a dangerous pick-and-pop option with Rondo/LMA, but the other options underwhelm me. I don't see how DeRozan fits into this offense, Rush is one-dimensional, Lou Williams and Reggie Jackson are average-at-best, Bargnani is one-dimensional, and Hibbert is primarily a defense-first player. I don't believe that this half-court offense will be able to score enough points to win when Bradley hounds Rondo for the first 8 seconds of the possession and denies their offense a chance to set up with more than 16 seconds on the shot clock.
Regarding GS Defense
Hibbert is a tower and is a solid, young anchor to a defense - but he should not be mistaken for a LeBron stopper. They play different positions, have different skill levels, and are miles apart athletically. Although LeBron has a capable outside shot, I would expect him to isolate Hibbert on pick-and-rolls and drives to the hoop early in an attempt to draw fouls. The depth behind Hibbert is soft and would throw the GS rotation a curveball if Hibbert were to pick up two or three fouls early.
Regarding Minnesota Offense
As in my last matchup, I expect to get some easy baskets purely from turnovers and missed shots that lead to transition. In the half-court set, I plan to go right at Hibbert off-the-pick and off-the-dribble. Sure he may block a few shots, but he is big and not overly athletic which means LeBron, Monta, Ibaka, and Davis should be able to draw some fouls against him. Once he is off the floor, I will continue to drive to the paint to exploit the weak defense of Bargnani, the average defense of LMA, and the inexperience of his two backup centers. I disagree with Kane's statement that Minnesota has no floor spacers - Korver, Battier, Chalmers, Farmar, and James all shot above 40% from three-point range last season. Ibaka and Davis are great mid-range shooters. Bradley shot nearly 50/40 the season prior to having a double-shoulder surgery. When the GS defense starts to collapse to protect the paint is when the ball gets kicked out for momentum changing three pointers.
Regarding Minnesota Defense
As previously mentioned, I expect Bradley to play over 30 MPG in this series to make life for Rondo as tough as possible and to limit the amount of time GS has to set up their offense in half-court sets. I expect Ibaka and James to cover LMA and contest every shot he takes. I expect Jordan, Davis, Ibaka, and Stiemsma to body up Hibbert to keep him away from the offensive glass and not make it easy for him to get in position for easy close shots. Before I am criticized for Davis' height compared to Hibbert's - remember that Davis wields 285 pounds and is lower to the ground. If Davis can limit Howard, he can certainly limit Hibbert.