So KG abused Beasley, Jamison, Shaq is Rashard next??

[Who]

Most of Rashard Lewis' shot attempts are not created from one-on-one offense.

They are created by dribble penetration, playmaking, pick and roll offense and double teams. They are created by Orlando taking advantage of forcing help defense and kicking the ball out to the shooter.

The key to stopping Lewis' offense is defending Dwight straight up + being able to contain Vince Carter and Jameer Nelson. When those players are contained the Magic's ball movement suffers greatly and Lewis struggles to get enough quality shot attempts.

[Who]

Lewis will get his open looks from the outside.

The difference I expect is KG is going to post him up more.  I don't care how good Lewis is as a low post defender, KG is to strong and to long to be stopped.  

Yup he was even knocking down shots over Varejao who is long and plays pretty good defense also hitting fallaway hook shots.

Hopefully, KG can force the Magic to put Howard on him.  Then KG pulls Howard away from the basket allowing Rondo and Pierce to attack the rim again.

I think Orlando will go big and put Gortat in the game alongside Howard if/when Garnett has a particularly strong offensive night.

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I think Orlando are best off going bigger (at times) with Lewis and Carter on the wings and Dwight + Anderson at the big man spots. Then try to post up either Lewis or Carter against Ray or Pierce because that's a very good matchup for Orlando.

I think that forces the Celtics defense to go up against a different set of problems. A change of pace. A different look. I think that is a very valuable weapon to be able to call upon.

That said, I don't think they'll do this very often if at all. Not unless something goes very wrong and SVG is left searching for alternatives.

Most likely, they'll go with Gortat and try to beat up the Celtics with the superior size + excellent shooting ability 1-3 (Nelson/Vince/Lewis).

[Brendan]

I don't think Lewis will beat KG 1:1. I think Lewis can burn the Celtics if KG is forced to help too often. Can Perk and Rondo defend the pick and role with just help from the wing?

Can Pierce contain Carter?

If so I expect KG can contain Lewis. If KG is forced to roam to far Lewis can go off - and I hate to see a shooter get locked in. Lewis's range and size make it harder to get back to him on rotations.

It will also be up to Perk or Pierce to rotate when KG does commit to help D, and then for the rotations to follow through (Ray Allen over to Carter or KG to stay on Howard, etc.)

[jdpapa3]

You forgot Barkley in the title. 

[the_Bird]

Gortat's a 13 MPG player for them; are they really going to go with a two-center lineup when they haven't really done that all year?  I know he played a few more minutes against Charlotte, but Dwight Howard didn't crack thirty minutes per game all series (or have fewer than five fouls). 

Doesn't make sense to me to give a major role to a guy that's been somewhat incidental to their success all year.  They'll spread the court as they do and hope that Dwight has more success this year than last, going up against Perk one-on-one.

[Who]

Gortat's a 13 MPG player for them; are they really going to go with a two-center lineup when they haven't really done that all year?  I know he played a few more minutes against Charlotte, but Dwight Howard didn't crack thirty minutes per game all series (or have fewer than five fouls). 

Doesn't make sense to me to give a major role to a guy that's been somewhat incidental to their success all year. 

The Magic used that combination in the regular season against the Celtics and it was very successful. Stan Van Gundy is an intelligent coach, he'll have made note of that.

I'm not saying they'll use it as a main lineup but if they need to make a change and shift a bigger more talented defender onto Garnett at some point, then I think Stan will go with Gortat in order to keep Howard free to play help defense around the rim.

A situational lineup. Not a primary one. If Orlando wants more size on KG or needs to shore up it's interior D.

[Who]

Here is a link to that game I was talking about -- click here

That'll take you to the popcorn machine game flow chart which shows Stan Van Gundy used Marcin Gortat + Dwight Howard alongside one another for 10:38 minutes in the fourth quarter which sparked led to a +10 point advantage for the Magic and gave them a comeback victory. Also, on the court were Jason Williams and JJ Redick in the backcourt and Barnes/Lewis at the small forward position.

It was the game where Rashard Lewis hit the game winner.

[Spilling Green Dye]

Considering last year we had Mikki Moore & Davis guarding Rashard, KG will absolutely be an upgrade, and I think he'll do pretty well.

Rashard Lewis can be one of the most unstoppable players in the league (on offense) when he wants to be, but he disappears for large chunks at a time.  I'm hoping KG's "bring it every possesion" attitude takes advantage of Lewis' sometimes lazy play.

I really hope KG does more than shoot fade-aways.  I'm also hoping that the Celtics focus in on getting Dwight Howard into foul trouble, which would help out everyone on the C's, including KG.

[the_Bird]

I want to see Paul and Rondo being aggressive and driving to the rim early.  Might get a shot or two blocked, but if we can get Dwight in early foul trouble, that's much more important.

[Who]

Rashard Lewis can be one of the most unstoppable players in the league (on offense) when he wants to be, but he disappears for large chunks at a time. 

I wouldn't be overly concerned with Rashard Lewis' offense. He doesn't have a scorer's mentality.

Take last year's playoffs for an example:

• Regular Season -- Lewis scored 17.7 points in 36.2mpg with a TS% of 58%
• Playoffs vs Boston -- Lewis is matched up against Glen Davis and Brian Scalabrine. Neither player is an adequate defender against Lewis -- Lewis scores 20.4ppg in 40.4mpg. He has only two games where he scores more than twenty points in the series (28 in game three and 22 in game four). Lewis scored the ball on a TS% of 55%.
• Adjusting his regular season scoring numbers for the increase in minutes ... Lewis would have had a scoring average of 19.75ppg in 40.4mpg.

So, Lewis increased his scoring by less than a point (20.4ppg to 19.7ppg in equal minutes) and dropped his scoring efficiency by a substantial margin (58% to 55%). And this was with a major mismatch opportunity against Glen Davis + Brian Scalabrine.

Rashard Lewis isn't going to kill you. Not over a seven game series. Maybe for one night, but not for a series. He simply doesn't have that mentality, that scorer's instinct, to go at his mismatch and beat it into the ground.

[BballTim]

Here is a link to that game I was talking about -- click here

That'll take you to the popcorn machine game flow chart which shows Stan Van Gundy used Marcin Gortat + Dwight Howard alongside one another for 10:38 minutes in the fourth quarter which sparked led to a +10 point advantage for the Magic and gave them a comeback victory. Also, on the court were Jason Williams and JJ Redick in the backcourt and Barnes/Lewis at the small forward position.

It was the game where Rashard Lewis hit the game winner.

  You're talking about a game where KG was nowhere near as healthy as he is now.

[greg_kite]

Here is a link to that game I was talking about -- click here

That'll take you to the popcorn machine game flow chart which shows Stan Van Gundy used Marcin Gortat + Dwight Howard alongside one another for 10:38 minutes in the fourth quarter which sparked led to a +10 point advantage for the Magic and gave them a comeback victory. Also, on the court were Jason Williams and JJ Redick in the backcourt and Barnes/Lewis at the small forward position.

It was the game where Rashard Lewis hit the game winner.

I thought the same thing with Cleveland, that when Brown went big with Lebron at the 2, Jamison at the 3 and Hickson and Varajao at the bigs that the C's would lose.  Luckily Brown was too stupid to remember that and the C's took over.  By the time he realized it was time to go big Garnett was already on fire and was able to get off a few post ups against Varajao.

Granted, Lewis will be better than Jamison, offensively and defensively, but if Doc is smart he will keep going to KG in the post.  That is their only chance to win the title.  KG has to play like he did yesterday.

[Meadowlark_Scal]

One problem with Rashard and NBA defense, is that he likes to lurk on the perimeter....NBA guys won't cover him up close out there...they always want to be near the paint to "help out"..most times it is no help at all...rashard can be great, or he can be invisible......the only way we can stop that is to stay on him...KG needs to pay close attention to that kid, he'll burn us from outside and inside. It is another TA type D, deny him the ball..and he won't ever get going...! (because he isn't a ball getter!).