House and Powe need to be back

[droopdog7]

in the rotation.  I was a big proponent of replacing House with Cassell and regardless of how Cassell played, I believe it was the right choice.  Now that LA doesn't have the same kind of guard defense (especially off the bench), House needs to replace Cassell in the rotation.  He is much more of an offensive threat and won't be hounded as much bringing the ball up the court. 

As far as Powe, I am still dumbfounded that he was ever taken out of the rotation.  His physical play will make Rony and Walton craw into a corner.

Overall, I like our chances.

[PrimusSucks]

House and Cassell will both get a little more time this series, as they will be able to bring the ball up, which neither could do against Lindsey Hunter.

However, I don't think House or Powe are quite ready. This is the top level of basketball in the world right now. Both House and Powe will get beaten on the defensive end.

Right now the correct way to go is to stick with a short rotation. This is the Finals. The big three need to be on the floor as much as they can possibly handle. The way Rondo and Perk have been playing they need to stay on the floor as well. At this point in the season you need your best 5 to play big minutes, and play well in those minutes.

[X Man]

I dont want to see Cassell the Blind Gunslinger again.  We need Crazy Eddie in the game!  Like Mark Jackson would say, "C'mon Doc you're better than that!!"  well...not really Mark...not really

[Who]

Eddie House should be a lock for the backup point guard minutes.

Leon? I don't know. Less certain. Depends on what Doc wants out of his backup big men (more defense, more size/bulk in the paint, PJ's jump shooting) and I'd be content his decision. I think Leon should be in the team and playing during the Finals. I'd like to see Powe playing as the fourth big in the rotation to start of the series in order to test the waters first.

[Bahku]

I agree ... I'm still stumped as to why Eddie's not getting minutes, (though I refuse to critique Doc tonight no matter what) ... I hope it changes soon. Leon, as well ... the first thing he did tonight when he came in the game was make a huge play. Both these guys give 110% every time they come in, and contribute on many levels ... it's hard not to appreciate their effort and expect more time made for them on the floor.

[kenmaine]

Agreed. House has been erratic, but Sam has been painful to watch.
As far as Powe, maybe it would help if he didn't get screwed by the officials so often! But I love Leon. As long as he's not up against a 7'3" monster like Z, he usually gets the job done.

 

[Chris]

I think Powe is back.  He is a much better matchup against the Lakers, who are not great interior defenders, and do a lot of their offensive damage in isolation type plays.  I expect he will have a very big impact on this series.

House on the other hand is a tough call.  I think he will definitely play at times, but I also think Cassell will as well.  I think Cassell played very well last night, despite a couple mistakes.  He ran the offense better than any backup PG has run this team in a while.  Not to mention, the Lakers do like to use Farmar and Vujacic to pressure the point almost as much as the Pistons.  They don't pressure it as much in the halfcourt, but I actually think they pressure it a little more than the Pistons do when they are bringing it up. 

It is certainly worth giving House a shot, because they could use his shooting...but I have a feeling they might be calling Cassell's name pretty quickly (or just playing Rondo a lot).

[Roy Hobbs]

I agree.  Bring back Powe and House, and bench Sam "10% from the field" Cassell.

[cdif911]

I say go with what got you here and adjust when needed.  I do think TA's dumb injury is a shame, as he could take some minutes on Kobe defensively (when Pierce/Posey are tired and/or in foul trouble) but that's something we don't have the option of doing.  There will be times Leon will get minutes, so will Baby and PJ.  The Lakers have athletic and skilled big men, but not the powerhouse type players we've seen with guys like Maxiell and Horford.  They don't have a freak of nature like Big Z.  I'd say in many ways their guys compare pretty well to Rasheed Wallace/ McDyess (Odom/Gasol) and Szyrbiak (I'm not even trying to spell it here - with Radmanovic).  Kobe is really the focus defensively, you limit him to under 30/5/5 a game, and I think we're in good shape - he's gonna get his buckets, but make him work every possession, rotate fast enough so he doesn't rack up the assists, and then defensively, make him work his tail off (maybe we'll even get some calls against him, stranger things have happened)   

[Redz]

I agree.  Bring back Powe and House, and bench Sam "10% from the field" Cassell.

The common thinking was Sam Cassell was brought here to handle the back court pressure bringing the ball up against Detroit.  Well, not exactly what we expected, but mission accomplished.  The Celts got past Detroit, now it's House's turn to take back over.  Jordan Farmar is not going to offer the same kind of pressure Hunter did. 

Bring back House - I do believe Doc will do this anyhow (even without the invaluable advice of the bloggers that he values so )

I'm all for Leon too.

[pearljammer10]

Doc needs to start playing House and Powe or we are going to have a tough time with the uptempo play of the lakers. I love how PJ Brown has played but I think Powe should be the first big man off the bench. His intesity and tough play really sparked this team at teh mid and ends of the season. This whole PostSeason i have felt that we have been dragging and lacking tempo. Powe hustles and gives us great production on the board and i feel that PJ Brown is lacking in both those categories. Leon is as good as Brown on Denfense and can get us some big offensive rebounds.

Eddie just wants to get minutes and when he is in there he is going to make some big plays for us. Play the young ones doc! I actually hope T.A. can play in this seris as well. Id play him a few rotations on Kobe Bryant every so often.

[sk7326]

I think the problem with Powe in the Detroit series was his lack of girth, which is a problem in certain matchups.  Detroit's bigs are, well, bigger.  Against LA, the bigs are more athletic ... speed as opposed to brute force.  Powe will get more burn here for sure. 

I agree that Cassell was a good pickup, and he might very well be the right answer next season (might have been too much to ask a guy whose style is so different than the team's philosophy up to that point to plug right in).  But House will deserve to be ahead of him.  However, Phil has always loved defending the point with size, and Cassell's own 6'3-ness could earn him some extra consideration.