Marquis to see more playing time?

[gar]

Doc seemed to have a pretty good sense of how to use Powe and BBD. I don't know why he can't use Tony and Q or Sheed and Shelden in a similar situational fashion. If they are killing us on the boards we definitely need to be able to make the move.

[Fafnir]

Given the foul trouble that all the wings will likely get into, they'll probably need all three.  Something else to consider: with Jamison getting big minutes at the 4, will we see more of the small lineup?  There's really no reason that PP or Finley can't guard him.  Jamison is listed at 6-9 235, which makes him (when weight and height are considered together) smaller that LeBron. 

Putting PP on Jamison and Ray on Delonte would keep both out of foul trouble and allow Marquis and TA to go all out for 20-25 mpg on LeBron without having to worry about fouls and fatigue. 

They play Jamison at the 3 a lot too though.

This is going to be a tough series...

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Prediction:

Quisy will get minutes guarding LeBra due to the inevitable foul trouble of anyone/everyone else put on him.  The first line of defense in stopping anyone is keeping the ball out of their hands, and Quisy's length is an advantage there over other options.

TA will still get minutes guarding Mo Williams to keep him from getting hot.  He will backup both Rondo and Ray, still getting his 16 min/game.  This is critical, as the series will depend more on shutting down the rest of the team than in stopping LeBra.  Expect that to be the focus.  If the C's keep Mo Williams, Jamison, and Shaq/Iggy/Andy from having big nights, Lebron's points won't matter, as he'd need to average over 50 for the Cavs to win.  That ain't happening.

[Jon]

Given the foul trouble that all the wings will likely get into, they'll probably need all three.  Something else to consider: with Jamison getting big minutes at the 4, will we see more of the small lineup?  There's really no reason that PP or Finley can't guard him.  Jamison is listed at 6-9 235, which makes him (when weight and height are considered together) smaller that LeBron. 

Putting PP on Jamison and Ray on Delonte would keep both out of foul trouble and allow Marquis and TA to go all out for 20-25 mpg on LeBron without having to worry about fouls and fatigue. 

They play Jamison at the 3 a lot too though.

This is going to be a tough series...

True, but after the first quarter (when subs are in), if we find ourselves with LeBron at the 3 and Jamison at the 4, if I'm Doc, I don't hesitate to put PP at the 4 and let someone else guard LeBron. 

Essentially, the less time PP has to spend guarding LeBron, the more time he can be productive on the offensive end. 

[misha]

I think the odd man out will be Michael Finley. Tony and Baby will still see the lion's share of the bench minutes, Rasheed will get his 12-14 minutes per game and Daniels will take over Finley's 9-10 minutes per game because defense on Lebron will be more important that an extra few points off the bench from the SF position.

Just my 2 pennies.

That lineup will be too much offensively limited. We need someone on the backcourt with that second unit that could be a threat from the outside.

[hwangjini_1]

Honestly, nobody on our bench really matches up well with LeBron at all.  Finley comes closest since he's 6'7'', but he's too old and slow to do the job.  I'm fine with Daniels defending perimeter SGs and TA defending slashers, but neither is really equipped to defend a big 6'8''+ PF with a diverse game.

Pierce is the only player on our team who has anything close to the tools to defend LeBron.

perhaps, but i dont see how this provides a solution to the problem of guarding lebron. regardless of who is on the celtic bench, those are the players doc will have to use.

actually, daniels should be able to harass lebron by playing him close and using fouls. just help to wear him down a bit and make him work hard.

[celticinorlando]

hope so

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Let Lebron score 50.  Contain everyone else to 10 pts max.

Lebron   50
Jamison  10
Shaq     10
MoWilliams 10
Others     10
Cavaliers:  90

Can we score 95 points?  Yes.

Can we keep everyone else in check?  Yes.

Will Lebron average 50?  No.  35, quite likely.

This is our best chance to win:  Lebron doing most of the scoring.  Let's quit worrying about matching up with Lebron and focus on beating the Caveliers.  Cool?

We are one of few teams that can match up with Shaq (Perk, Sheed, and even BBD as post defenders).

We have an advantage at PF due to KG's length.

We have an advantage at SG if Ray performs reasonably well in most games.

We can defend Mo Williams with TA and Rondo and keep him in check, but Mo can't keep Rondo from creating offense.

It's still a team game, folks.  It'll be a dogfight, but we match up well against them, in spite of Lebron's dominance.  Varejao can get easy hustle buckets because his defender so often watches Lebron instead of him.  I imagine that I could score 10 points in the NBA if I wasn't even watched, let alone guarded (even at 5'10").

Do we not remember MJ's 63 point playoff game against the C's in '86?  "God disguised as Michael Jordan" said Larry.

The Celtics won that game, and the series.

[misha]

Do we not remember MJ's 63 point playoff game against the C's in '86?  "God disguised as Michael Jordan" said Larry.

The Celtics won that game, and the series.

The Bulls team in 86 was somewhat like Miami - superstar player surrounded with nothing.

[BuckeyeCelt]

I think using our fouls on lebron is a good idea...not hack a lebron, but dont give him dunks and layups...especially in cleveland...keep the crowd out of it...

Obviously if we do that Q will have to play...

[timpiker]

I think Tony and Marquis will be used to keep Pierce fresh and foul free for crunch time.  They will "hack a lebron" and use their fouls throughout the game.  I don't mean to foul him on purpose but they will use their fouls freely.

Then, during the 5 minute crunch time, Mr. Pierce will guard Lebron and they will emply that double team that they've used on lebron and wade, etc that we started seeing 2 years ago when Posey was here.  The one where they "corner" him past the 3 pt line and force him to pass it.

[nyceltsfan]

That lineup will be too much offensively limited. We need someone on the backcourt with that second unit that could be a threat from the outside.
[/quote]

Nate Robinson?  If we are looking for a shooter, it could be a good time to put Nate in...

[Drucci]

I will be glad to see Marquis back in the rotation, I really think he can contribute by playing smart, cutting to the basket and making good passes.

I certainly hope that, if Doc puts him back in the rotation, he never puts Marquis and TA on the floor at the same time (along with Rondo) because the lack of shooting would be terrible and Cleveland would take advantage of it and destroy us with a zone.

[Big_Matt34]

Well 5 games in and if anything Doc has tightened the rotation. Quis got some short spurts early in the series for foul trouble but most of his minutes have come in garbage time, and Finley has played 4 mpg through the series so far.

TA on the other hand has actually seen his minutes go up from 16.6 to 19 mpg while Baby and Sheed are both around 16 mpg. Those 3 have been huge for us, TA's defense has been very, very good and shooting 64% certainly doesnt hurt. Baby brings great energy, and has seemingly regained his shooting touch at the right time.  Then Sheed, he only has 3 points the last 2 games, but his defense and effort (finally) have been fantastic.

[blake]

Granted it was garbage time, but Quis looked pretty good out there on the offensive end.  So, to keep PP fresh and if TA gets in foul trouble it makes sense to use him as he wont be a liability of offense.  I wouldn't mind seeing TA and Quisy burn up 12 fouls on bron bron as he starts his bull rush.