Kanter,Williams or Williams???

[rollie mass]

How do the Celtics bigs match up? How will Theis match up and being finally recognized will some of the breath fouls and incidental contact be halted? Will the Celtics get back to a major strength of Theis proactively clearing and sealing  lane for Jason? I missed that in the last series.
Will it be Timelord spelling Theis except in 4th quarter .Timelord could alter Kelly O,s shot and his pump fake is so obvious. G Williams could muscle KO and KO has those short arms.
I hope this the end of zones and box and ones triangle and twos.
Timelord might bother Jimmy Butler, who is a more power finisher than tricky.
Kanter is an elite elite offensive rebounder  who could he match up against due to Miami perimeter game??

Clueless how the Celtics match up .Will they exploit Miami's 3 pointer rookie and attack his defence.

[Surferdad]

It is naive to think that Spoelstra is not looking at what Nurse did to neutralize Kemba with the box-and-one, and not try the same thing.  I expect to see it.

I do like the center match-up better than in the Raptors series.  Theis and Rob-Will should do better vs. Bam/Olynyk.  IMO, Kanter is purely an injury insurance policy, at this point.  Really a shame that a big guy like that can't be a better defender, but this is the playoff and you can't take chances.

[SHAQATTACK]

RobWill is having to grow up fast ,  he seems better each game as his confidence grows . 

Here is another chance to shine before his final exam .

[gouki88]

I think Spo will have been paying some considerable attention to the different looks Nurse was throwing our way, but I also think his roster is less suited to playing that way. I also think Stevens and Kemba really came to an understanding about how to beat the box-on-one.

Pre-game the sideline reporter was talking about how Brad had dug up some old screening actions he used in college when he faced similar defensive schemes, but Kemba apparently rejected them. Once the last 20 minutes of the game rolled around I thought Kemba did a good job of playing as a decoy, finding his spots in the midrange and setting up others. His numbers don't look great, but he was much better towards the end.

In regards to our big man situation, I do not think we will see Kanter play this series except in garbage time, if there is any. Chris Silva is probably the only Heat big man Kanter could play on and he's injured. Theis and Timelord are physically well-suited to Bam and Olynyk I think. I think Grant will be able to get some minutes as theoretically I see no issues with him defending Iggy, especially at this age.

The one thing we have to do is stay aware on the perimeter. Dragic, Crowder, Robinson and Herro have been combining for 28 three point attempts per game this playoffs, and are making 39% of them! That's basically 33 points per game just from beyond the arc from those 4 guys! Tatum, Kemba and Smart will have to be ready. I would like to see Langford get some run, his activity on defence could help

[BitterJim]

 

I think Spo will have been paying some considerable attention to the different looks Nurse was throwing our way, but I also think his roster is less suited to playing that way. I also think Stevens and Kemba really came to an understanding about how to beat the box-on-one.

Pre-game the sideline reporter was talking about how Brad had dug up some old screening actions he used in college when he faced similar defensive schemes, but Kemba apparently rejected them. Once the last 20 minutes of the game rolled around I thought Kemba did a good job of playing as a decoy, finding his spots in the midrange and setting up others. His numbers don't look great, but he was much better towards the end.

In regards to our big man situation, I do not think we will see Kanter play this series except in garbage time, if there is any. Chris Silva is probably the only Heat big man Kanter could play on and he's injured. Theis and Timelord are physically well-suited to Bam and Olynyk I think. I think Grant will be able to get some minutes as theoretically I see no issues with him defending Iggy, especially at this age.

The one thing we have to do is stay aware on the perimeter. Dragic, Crowder, Robinson and Herro have been combining for 28 three point attempts per game this playoffs, and are making 39% of them! That's basically 33 points per game just from beyond the arc from those 4 guys! Tatum, Kemba and Smart will have to be ready. I would like to see Langford get some run, his activity on defence could help

I like the Grant on Olynyk matchup, KO isn't going to punish you on post ups and Grant is the big best suited to defending on the perimeter. Based on game 7, I think we'll see him getting plenty of minutes when Kelly is on the floor

[apc]

I think Spo will have been paying some considerable attention to the different looks Nurse was throwing our way, but I also think his roster is less suited to playing that way. I also think Stevens and Kemba really came to an understanding about how to beat the box-on-one.

Pre-game the sideline reporter was talking about how Brad had dug up some old screening actions he used in college when he faced similar defensive schemes, but Kemba apparently rejected them. Once the last 20 minutes of the game rolled around I thought Kemba did a good job of playing as a decoy, finding his spots in the midrange and setting up others. His numbers don't look great, but he was much better towards the end.

In regards to our big man situation, I do not think we will see Kanter play this series except in garbage time, if there is any. Chris Silva is probably the only Heat big man Kanter could play on and he's injured. Theis and Timelord are physically well-suited to Bam and Olynyk I think. I think Grant will be able to get some minutes as theoretically I see no issues with him defending Iggy, especially at this age.

The one thing we have to do is stay aware on the perimeter. Dragic, Crowder, Robinson and Herro have been combining for 28 three point attempts per game this playoffs, and are making 39% of them! That's basically 33 points per game just from beyond the arc from those 4 guys! Tatum, Kemba and Smart will have to be ready. I would like to see Langford get some run, his activity on defence could help

I like the Grant on Olynyk matchup, KO isn't going to punish you on post ups and Grant is the big best suited to defending on the perimeter. Based on game 7, I think we'll see him getting plenty of minutes when Kelly is on the floor

Agree on Grant, RW had a hard time with Ibaka Shooting 3s. It will be the same with KO.

[seancally]

It is naive to think that Spoelstra is not looking at what Nurse did to neutralize Kemba with the box-and-one, and not try the same thing.  I expect to see it.

I do like the center match-up better than in the Raptors series.  Theis and Rob-Will should do better vs. Bam/Olynyk.  IMO, Kanter is purely an injury insurance policy, at this point.  Really a shame that a big guy like that can't be a better defender, but this is the playoff and you can't take chances.

I dunno, we might see a box-and-1 in spots, but that is a tough D to pull off over the course of an entire half. You need your guys in the box to move and switch seamlessly. You need your 1 guy to hound Kemba constantly. TOR had what the no. 2 defense in the league? I don’t think you play the box-and-1 out of the blue, maybe for a possession here and there. But your larger point is spot-on - Spo will examine the Raptors series and learn from it. Maybe more zone in general?

[jambr380]

I think Spo will have been paying some considerable attention to the different looks Nurse was throwing our way, but I also think his roster is less suited to playing that way. I also think Stevens and Kemba really came to an understanding about how to beat the box-on-one.

Pre-game the sideline reporter was talking about how Brad had dug up some old screening actions he used in college when he faced similar defensive schemes, but Kemba apparently rejected them. Once the last 20 minutes of the game rolled around I thought Kemba did a good job of playing as a decoy, finding his spots in the midrange and setting up others. His numbers don't look great, but he was much better towards the end.

In regards to our big man situation, I do not think we will see Kanter play this series except in garbage time, if there is any. Chris Silva is probably the only Heat big man Kanter could play on and he's injured. Theis and Timelord are physically well-suited to Bam and Olynyk I think. I think Grant will be able to get some minutes as theoretically I see no issues with him defending Iggy, especially at this age.

The one thing we have to do is stay aware on the perimeter. Dragic, Crowder, Robinson and Herro have been combining for 28 three point attempts per game this playoffs, and are making 39% of them! That's basically 33 points per game just from beyond the arc from those 4 guys! Tatum, Kemba and Smart will have to be ready. I would like to see Langford get some run, his activity on defence could help

I like the Grant on Olynyk matchup, KO isn't going to punish you on post ups and Grant is the big best suited to defending on the perimeter. Based on game 7, I think we'll see him getting plenty of minutes when Kelly is on the floor

Agree on Grant, RW had a hard time with Ibaka Shooting 3s. It will be the same with KO.

KO has a lot of holes in his game, but he can hit much more difficult 3s than the stationary wide-open ones Ibaka was getting. I imagine laying off him was by design since TL clearly has the speed, agility, and length to hang with Ibaka, but whoever our Center is while KO is out there will need to focus more on KO's movement and less on hedging the guard off the PnR.

[footey]

How do the Celtics bigs match up? How will Theis match up and being finally recognized will some of the breath fouls and incidental contact be halted? Will the Celtics get back to a major strength of Theis proactively clearing and sealing  lane for Jason? I missed that in the last series.
Will it be Timelord spelling Theis except in 4th quarter .Timelord could alter Kelly O,s shot and his pump fake is so obvious. G Williams could muscle KO and KO has those short arms.
I hope this the end of zones and box and ones triangle and twos.
Timelord might bother Jimmy Butler, who is a more power finisher than tricky.
Kanter is an elite elite offensive rebounder  who could he match up against due to Miami perimeter game??

Clueless how the Celtics match up .Will they exploit Miami's 3 pointer rookie and attack his defence.

The question is, which of our centers matches up best vs Bam?  Bam is their starting center, and the guy who gave us problems last time we played them.  Theis couldn't match his physicality.  Bam went to the foul line 18 times!!!  Kanter played decent as I recall, so maybe he will get more minutes.  The Williams only played meaningless minute at end of game.

[rollie mass]

Kelly can easily be intimidated at least the old Celtic KO. The pump fake to a travel used to drive crazy.
I think Rob Williams length limit Kelly's effectiveness. Give Rob one  intimidation foul on a close out. Just to get Kelly thinking.

Kelly has gotten stronger in Miami but Grant maybe be smart enough to bully him a bit .And they both probably have the same standing reach. .
I guess the first game will be a finding out what works and what doesn't.
If Miami plays box and one they could get picked apart or the newness throw their positioning and timing off..
Both Lowry and Van Fleet had that thick lower centre of gravity strength matched with very active hands.
I don't think Jimmy Butler will enjoy that defence.
Any news on Jaylen's bad split?

[Greenality]

Theis was actually pretty good guarding Bam (6/14, 3 AST/3 TO), Brown on him - 3/7, no AST, 1 TO (but 6 FT along with it, 5 made). Jaylen also is a guy on our roster, Bam was guarding the most (not very successfully - 6/12, 3/5 3P, 4/4 FT). So my main concerns for now are: Kemba and can he be more productive vs Spoelstra's team; Dragic also (this is where Rob can have a tough time, so I expect GWill switching on him occasionally). I really like Jimmy, but hopefully Tatum will prove himself as the best player on the court once again. And their 3p shooting can be deadly; I guess it's just up to our guys to stay focused and not giving them open looks.

[tstorey_97]

TP to rollie for lighting fuse on this debate.

Grant is a great player and he is going to be undersized against every center he will ever play in his NBA career. H is, in my opinion a thick #2 guard. He was #1 in the SEC for foul shooting and has a terrific handle. At Tennessee he "brought the ball up court" a lot especially at the end of big games. NCAA first team All American...SEC player of the year...against Vandy he hit 23/23 from the line...a record.

Stevens seems concerned with how opponents attack Kanter. He's good on offense, but the Celtics have four of the league's top shooters.

Robert looks better and better. Opponents do, however, attack him when he's out there. Good education for Robert in the bubble.

The box effect on Walker is interesting. The most important element of the whole show is that the Toronto Raptors shut down Walker, but LOST THE SERIES 4-3. Not good for Kemba's stats, but, great for the team.

Nurse gave up stuff to stop Walker and he still lost the thang.

I have not seen where Miami will be at the highest level on defense. They are very good, they trashed the Bucks, but the Raptors and Celtics were on another planet. Brown eliminated a "star" power forward all by himself.   

If you commit to shutting down one player? You are leaving something open for the others.

[Walker Wiggle]

 On the defense that Toronto employed... it wasn’t just scheme but also execution. They’ve got a ton of food defenders and play really well as a team. After game 2 they were “digging” for the ball really actively (and quite frankly fouling with no calls) and I’m just not sure Miami can replicate that. Their guards also were busting their rear-ends in the pick and roll to get back in the play and swipe at the ball when Kemba was attacking and I think this is one thing that threw Kemba off (not just the box and 1). I just don’t know if Miami has the personnel for that.

Miami does however play a ton of zone. Most in the league during the regular season, if I recall. But the Celtics are not new to this. They’ve shown all year they can defeat a zone, and they’ll be ready.

Miami’s offense involves tons of movement and some deadly shooting. That is going to be a challenge. But honestly, besides perhaps Toronto, which team in the league would be better equipped than the Celtics to deal with that?

The Celtics should win this series. I’m not saying it will be over in 4 or 5, but Boston is the better team, especially if Hayward is close to normal.

[radiohead]

I am so excited to see Robert Williams’ performance this series. I think he’s gonna be the first big off the bench.

[trickybilly]

Grant on KO is a good call. I don't hate a little bit of Kanter on Adebayo, but generally it should be Theis and RWill splitting 24 minutes each.