What are the keys to success against Orlando?

[GeoDim]

IMO, the most important thing is to attack the basket early and often.  There really is no way that we'll be able to contain Howard, so the key is to make him a non-factor, by getting him into early foul trouble.  Skip will not be able handle Rondo defensively, so it's important that he penetrates the lane from the get-go and keep the tempo high.  Perkins also needs to see the ball in the post a lot in the first quarter.  Regardless of how ineffective he may be going one-on-one with Howard, what's important is that he initiates contact.  We can't go into this game with Paul and Ray taking jump shots.

[BigAlTheFuture]

Keep Howard in check. Let his teammates take jumpers. Try to get him in foul trouble early and get a big lead by halftime.

[GeoDim]

Also perimeter defense will be huge, which Boston has lacked this season.  A couple of threes can turn momentum around and this team really likes to take them.

[BASS_THUMPER]

^^^i agree with GeoDim^^^

cant let them get too comfortable shootin 3pts

howard can be slowed down...moore can give him problems

mmoore is gonna have to cause i see perk gettin in foul trouble early in the game

and scalabrine..man..lol rose blockin scals dunk was one of espns 10 ten plays and i dont wanna see dwight posterizin scal and gettin 3 spots on espn monday night

[jackson_34]

I really don't think Howard deserves anymore attention than Perk on him, Perk has played him extremely well in the past. We have to make sure we keep Hedo and Lewis in check and make their driving lanes are cut-off. That way Howard won't get any 2nd chance points!

On offense we definently need to get to our mid-range game going, and make sure Howard is working his ass off on help-D.

It's vital we win our first two games aswell keep the momentum going in our favour!

[Roy Hobbs]

We need to keep Perk out of foul trouble.  I think he can contain Howard, but obviously only if he's in the game.  Perk can't pick up any stupid offensive fouls, etc.  Our perimeter players will also have to play good D on their men, instead of releasing them with a full head of steam to Perk.  The good thing is that Orlando doesn't really have the penetrators that Chicago did (with the exception of Turkuglu).

That also means the officials will be a big key to this series.  If they allow some bumping down low, we have a good shot.  If they decide to protect Howard and give him superstar calls, it's going to be a much tougher series.

As mentioned above, it will help if we can get Howard in foul trouble, because Orlando has as thin of a big man rotation as we do right now.  That means we have to go inside, rather than shooting jump shots.

[amenhotep04]

The bench has to show up.

Orlando is smaller at the four, so that will give Doc a little bit more flexibility. But overall the bench has to show up.

[CoachBo]

We need to keep Perk out of foul trouble.  I think he can contain Howard, but obviously only if he's in the game.  Perk can't pick up any stupid offensive fouls, etc.  Our perimeter players will also have to play good D on their men, instead of releasing them with a full head of steam to Perk.  The good thing is that Orlando doesn't really have the penetrators that Chicago did (with the exception of Turkuglu).

That also means the officials will be a big key to this series.  If they allow some bumping down low, we have a good shot.  If they decide to protect Howard and give him superstar calls, it's going to be a much tougher series.

As mentioned above, it will help if we can get Howard in foul trouble, because Orlando has as thin of a big man rotation as we do right now.  That means we have to go inside, rather than shooting jump shots.

Quoted for truth. TP.

I like the backcourt and quickness matchups for us. The Rashard Lewis matchup is a tough one, one that has led me to think Scal should start and defend him. We bring Baby off the bench at the 5, and Mikki Moore gets a little burn to burn fouls - pun intended.

Dribble penetration will be incredibly critical, so Rondo's got to shake off the last two games of the series, fiddling and diddling - which apologies to Johnny Most - with the ball up top instead of creating off the dribble.

We need quality defensive minutes off the bench from House and Steph, as well. House proved Saturday night - again - how he can jack this club up with his offense. He's got to play enough defense to stay on the floor, and I'm optimistic about that from the quickness standpoint.

[EJPLAYA]

Rondo needs to return to attacking the basket and not settling for the easy outside jumper. I like that he is getting more confidence in it, but he shot about 33% from the outside in that series. Most of the makes came in 2 games. We need him to get to the rim and score, or dish when Howard collapses.

PP needs to expose Hedo's hideous defense. He should be lighting the guy up all series, and not just settling for jumpers.

We need to not allow them to beat us from the three point line and challenge their shots with good rotations. (Rondo is going to have to move out there and not float around the top of the key watching like he likes to do)

Follow up offensive rebounds are going to be key with Howard going after every shot inside. We should be able to catch them off guard watching Howard try and block the shot getting a lot of second chance points inside. Use his aggressiveness against them.

Do NOT get into foul trouble with our bigs. Play Howard straight up and make the guy hit the shots. No double teaming.

Most importantly, let's not try to get into a shooting match with them. Play hard nosed defense and we win this series. Then maybe KG has a shot at returning in the conference finals.

[Eeyore III]

1. Keep Perk out of foul trouble.  When you push Howard out just a few extra feet, so he has to make post shots instead of dunking, he goes from Superman to Average Man.  Perk can do that.  And if you can play Howard straight up, you're then in a position to defend the perimeter tight.  But it all depends on Perk not fouling.  It doesn't matter (much) if he gets any baskets or rebounds: if he can stay in the game and contest post position defensively, that will be huge.

2. Defend the perimeter.  Some guys who can both drive and hit the outside shot, like LBJ, you want to turn into jump shooters.  Turkoglu and Lewis are the opposite.  The Cs MUST get up in their grills.

3.  Exploit the Magic backcourt.  Does a Skip To My Lou/ Courtney Lee backcourt scare anyone?  Really?

4.  Play our reserves. I think Scals and Mikki can effectively defend the Magic perimeter bigs.  I think TA can be very effective against Redick and Pietrus.  This is a series where our bench has a chance to play a lot, because of matchups.

Cs in 7.

[boscel33]

how about not letting pierce handle the ball.  is it me or has his ball handling skills gone down hill.  i still like his shot, and the ability to get it off, but please don't put the ball in his hands, when it requires dribbling.

[Celtic]

Perk usually does as good a job as can be done against Howard, Dwight is going to get his no matter what, but Perk will keep him from getting out of hand. Attacking the paint and forcing contact is mandatory, Lewis/Turgkolu/Alston all play zero defense, get in the lane and go at dwight, get him out early.

As for defense, as has been said before, the 3's are key, the Magic will be more than happy to post up Dwight and kick out to open 3 point shooters. The C's can not drop down and leave guys open, I think for the Magic you adopt the let Dwight get his and stop everyone else theory.

[Thruthelookingglass]

IMO, the most important thing is to attack the basket early and often.  There really is no way that we'll be able to contain Howard, so the key is to make him a non-factor, by getting him into early foul trouble.  Skip will not be able handle Rondo defensively, so it's important that he penetrates the lane from the get-go and keep the tempo high.  Perkins also needs to see the ball in the post a lot in the first quarter.  Regardless of how ineffective he may be going one-on-one with Howard, what's important is that he initiates contact.  We can't go into this game with Paul and Ray taking jump shots.

Personally, I don't see why our team doesn't make more of an effort to establish Perk at the beginning of the game.  A generation ago we did it with Parrish just about every game.  The championship Bulls teams always established their centers at the beginning of the game.  On this team, Perk's a stablizer:  he's consistent and effective.  When the others get rattled, Perk still does what he does and it gives the rest of the team a little opportunity to calm down and get back into the offense. 

I think that calling plays for Perk at the outset does a couple things:  (1) it allows the rest of the C's a chance to get the "yips" out; (2) we prove to ourselves that we have the solid option of interior scoring; (3) we show the other team that we can ram it down their throats, which takes some heat off our outside gunners; and (4) in this series, the opportunity to saddle Howard with early fouls seems to good to pass up.

Seriously, how about some comment?  Am I off base here?

[vwoodruff]

Here are my 5 keys to success:

(1) Contain penetration. Rondo and Pierce need to stay in front of Alston and Turkoglu to keep Perk from picking up cheapies.

(2) Setting up Perk. The Bulls weak side shot blockers ate up our penetrators. We need Pierce, Rondo, et al to drive so that Perk is on the weak side of the floor and take advantage of Howard's propensity to try and block every interior shot. This could mean a dunkfest for Perk until the Magic adjust, which will then allow the Cs some unfettered penetration.

(3) Feeding the pig. Perk needs to be a star defensively in this series and Ray Allen needs to take advantage of his matchups. For Games 1 & 2 he is lined up against Redick, who is a horrid defender. He needs to expose Redick and force either Anthony Johnson to play out of position against him or run Pietrus ragged. Either way, it decreases the Magic's offensive potency. If the Cs can get Allen off in Games 1 and 2, it puts a lot of pressure on Lee to make in impact on his return.

(4) Make Howard beat 'em on the offensive end. As good as Howard is, he still isn't a dominant one-on-one force. If the Cs can guard the perimeter enough that the offense runs through Howard on the post, they should be in good shape. The rest of the Magic squad is not necessarily known for their dominance of the offensive boards.

(5) Bench play/management. Scalabrine needs to start and chase around Lewis. While many will argue that the Magic need to adjust to our matchups, I believe the tenet for this philosophy needs to be that the team whose mismatch can be most advantageous should play their cards. Lewis can do more harm on Davis than vice versa. Plus, this substitution for the Cs immediately plays dividends in their bench. Suddenly, the Cs have at least one player that the Magic need to pay attention to. If House can show up for four games and Marbury can realize that he has a green light to get the second unit involved (it was nice to see a few glimmers last night), then the Cs have just one issue to address in order to advance: how to get Pierce some rest. There's an answer that is pretty polarizing on these boards and I'm gonna say it: Bill Walker. Honestly, the Cs margin is slim enough that Tony Allen makes little sense in this series. There is really no one on the Magic that I look at and say "Allen could be effective to slow him down for 10-15 minutes a game." If he gets burn, it will likely be opposite Pietrus. Pietrus is a hell of a defender and could really take advantage of some of Allen's boneheadedness at the offensive end. And Pietrus is so limited offensively, that it really doesn't make sense to take the chance. Walker, on the other hand, can limit Pietrus as much as Allen (due to physicality, may actually be a better matchup for keeping Pietrus off the boards) and would be less likely to make any major offensive mistakes because he isn't all that involved in the offense when in there. Doc could put him out there with Ray Allen, Davis, and Rondo and really limit the need for his offense.

[GeoDim]

how about not letting pierce handle the ball.  is it me or has his ball handling skills gone down hill.  i still like his shot, and the ability to get it off, but please don't put the ball in his hands, when it requires dribbling.

TP...I forgot about this one.  It seems like whenever Pierce tries to develop something on his own, he loses handle of the ball half of the time.  Luckily, he usually regains possession, but I still cringe whenever I see him with the ball at the top of the key.  Let Rondo do his job.

The problem is, I can't remember Pierce ever being a spot-up shooter from inside the perimeter.  He is used to making everything happen on his own and it shows.  Other than threes, he seems to always need to put the ball on the floor before he takes his shot.