IT on Teague/Schroeder

[GreenWarrior]

ok this match up is my least favorite facing Atlanta. I think Atlanta starts salivating when they see IT.

It's a glaring match-up nightmare. while i'm not ready to bench IT I do feel it needs to be addressed and if we don't address it going into game 1 we will not win this series.

obviously benching IT isn't an option...we need his offense. but something drastic needs to happen. the Hawks pick n' roll killed us with IT n' Teague/Schroeder involved, they used IT against us.

personally I'd consider putting IT on Korver, or we need to flat-out deny Teague/Schroeder getting the ball as much as possible when IT is out there.

[Celtics4ever]

I worry about the  Sully/ Horford  match-up some too.    But their PG are nasty and they have depth.

[green2k16]

honestly i think the biggest thing is just making a conscious effort to guard the perimeter. all 5 of the hawks starters will take shots, so D up. I understand some of them came from the defense collapsing inside due to penetration, but we honestly didnt even try to guard the perimeter a lot. a lot of milsap's 3's could have been prevented imo. start respecting his shot.

i'm sure brad wont keep giving them free looks

[RockinRyA]

Yeah this is a problem, on some teams we put Bradley on the PG and hide IT on the SG. Not with Korver though, Korver is going to shoot over him and last thing we want is for Korver to get hot in this series. Smart has done a good job in our last 4 meetings limiting Korver. This is why I wanted the Heat, IT has a better chance guarding Dragic than he does with Teague/Schroeder

[GreenWarrior]

Yeah this is a problem, on some teams we put Bradley on the PG and hide IT on the SG. Not with Korver though, Korver is going to shoot over him and last thing we want is for Korver to get hot in this series. Smart has done a good job in our last 4 meetings limiting Korver. This is why I wanted the Heat, IT has a better chance guarding Dragic than he does with Teague/Schroeder

sure korver could shoot over IT but so couldn't every other SG we put him on. my main theory on doing this is maybe IT will work out better at denying Korver the ball instead of involving him in defending picks against their PG's....which we have absolutely no chance against. also the hawks will likely try to post Korver up with IT on him, which will in turn force us to double team(which we were going to have to help IT anyway) thus turning Korver into a passer and not a shooter.

i'd prefer that.

[greece66]

ok this match up is my least favorite facing Atlanta. I think Atlanta starts salivating when they see IT.

It's a glaring match-up nightmare. while i'm not ready to bench IT I do feel it needs to be addressed and if we don't address it going into game 1 we will not win this series.

obviously benching IT isn't an option...we need his offense. but something drastic needs to happen. the Hawks pick n' roll killed us with IT n' Teague/Schroeder involved, they used IT against us.

personally I'd consider putting IT on Korver, or we need to flat-out deny Teague/Schroeder getting the ball as much as possible when IT is out there.

Ehm, I honestly don't think this will work. You try avoid a bad matchup by setting up an awful matchup.

[Smart457]

I worry about the  Sully/ Horford  match-up some too.    But their PG are nasty and they have depth.

Sullinger is a gamer. He plays big in the playoffs. He's one of the few guys I don't worry about.

[Smart457]

Why get stressed about our best player? He's going to play a ton and keep us in most games.

I'm more worried if players like Olynyk and Turner will show up and if Crowder can finally find his shot. We need to shoot better than we have lately if we are going to have a chance. Crowder, Smart, Olynyk and Jerebko, someone is going to have to drain some threes and open things up for IT.

[billysan]

Regardless of who starts, we will see Sullinger head for the bench first and either Marcus or Evan come in the game.

IT - Teague
Avery -Bazemore
Marcus/Evan-Korver
Amire-Horford
Crowder-Milsap

I am betting it is Marcus first and Evan comes in for Avery but it could be opposite.

I really hope sully can handle Horford but he hasn't yet.

My biggest worry is keeping Marcus and Crowder out of foul trouble.

When IT goes to the bench I think Avery will take over Teague or schroeder and Evan is point forward. We will not see rozier unless somebody gets in foul trouble. Likely in the third quarter.

[RockinRyA]

Yeah this is a problem, on some teams we put Bradley on the PG and hide IT on the SG. Not with Korver though, Korver is going to shoot over him and last thing we want is for Korver to get hot in this series. Smart has done a good job in our last 4 meetings limiting Korver. This is why I wanted the Heat, IT has a better chance guarding Dragic than he does with Teague/Schroeder

sure korver could shoot over IT but so couldn't every other SG we put him on. my main theory on doing this is maybe IT will work out better at denying Korver the ball instead of involving him in defending picks against their PG's....which we have absolutely no chance against. also the hawks will likely try to post Korver up with IT on him, which will in turn force us to double team(which we were going to have to help IT anyway) thus turning Korver into a passer and not a shooter.

i'd prefer that.

No, Atlanta is going to be very hard to beat if Korver gets anything going. Yes, other SGs could shoot over IT, but they arent as good shooters as Korver.

[rollie mass]

Why get stressed about our best player? He's going to play a ton and keep us in most games.

I'm more worried if players like Olynyk and Turner will show up and if Crowder can finally find his shot. We need to shoot better than we have lately if we are going to have a chance. Crowder, Smart, Olynyk and Jerebko, someone is going to have to drain some threes and open things up for IT.

tp-turner could get crazy good and kelly has to start taking threes and stop traveling in the paint
the combo of turner ,kelly ,smart and jerebko is critical

[crimson_stallion]

None of the matchups worry me too much.

Isaiah covering Teague to me is really no more scary than the proposal of Teague having to cover IT.

Personally, I feel this series might well be determined by the performances of three guys:

- Avery Bradley
- Amir Johnson
- Kelly Olynyk

I know that sounds crazy, but I see those three guys as "dark horses" for this team.

Bradley brings it on the defensive end every single night, but when he has a good offensive game to go with that, the Celtics are REALLY hard to beat.  For an opposing guard, having to constantly play through Bradley's defensive pressure is hard enough - if he is making you expend energy guarding him as well, then he can pose a truly exhausting matchup.

Amir has had some quiet games this year where he hasn't done a lot, but when he turns it on he's capable of impacting the game in a massive way.  His ability to produce on offense while also dominating on defence and on the boards allows him to completely change the court of a game when he is playing well.  To add to this, he may well be THE best rim / paint protector in this series...since neither Atlanta or Boston really has another rim protector of any magnitude.


Finally, when Olynyk is aggressive he can completely change the nature of a game.  His ability to hurt opposing teams in multiple ways (as a playmaker, by driving to the basket, and by stretching the floor with his shooting) on offencse makes him a very tough cover any time he is in an aggressive mode.  His ability to impact the game on defence is grossly underrated too.

I feel that when Bradley, Amir and Olynyk are all having a quiet game, it is very difficult for the Celtics to win.  But if one (or all) of those guys is feeling it, it can be a really tough team to match up with.

Possibly the most intriguing thing for me in this series?  With all the contracts that are non guaranteed for next season (Turner, Sully, Amir, Jerebko, etc) I am very curious to see which players will step up in the playoffs, and which players will fade among the bright lights.  I feel like this could be the big chance for some of those guys to earn their chance to come back next year.   

[GreenWarrior]

I think everything trickles down from the  IT/Teague/Schroeder aspect.

[Smart457]

Why get stressed about our best player? He's going to play a ton and keep us in most games.

I'm more worried if players like Olynyk and Turner will show up and if Crowder can finally find his shot. We need to shoot better than we have lately if we are going to have a chance. Crowder, Smart, Olynyk and Jerebko, someone is going to have to drain some threes and open things up for IT.

Thought this might happen. Horrible shooting.