StartersC - Alonzo Mourning (1999-00)
PF - Kevin Love (2017-18)
SF - OG Anunoby (2019-20)
SG - Dwyane Wade (2009-10)
PG - Mark Price (1991-92)
BenchF - Trevor Ariza (2012-13)
F/G - Morris Peterson (2003-04)
G - Antonio Daniels (2006-07)
Rotations C - Mourning (38), Love (10)
PF - Love (26), Anunoby (12), Ariza (10)
SF - Anunoby (22), Ariza (16), Peterson (10)
SG - Wade (38), Peterson (10)
PG - Price (37), Daniels (11)
FGA Per PlayerWade can be tricky to build around, but we managed it pretty well with elite shooters at PG and PF, plus a clutch of solid 3-and-D guys in OG, Ariza, and MoPete. That opens up the lane for Wade's slashing game as well as Zo's exploits in the mid-to-low post. Price is a great PG to pair with a Wade type as he's a dynamic creator who also generates an off-ball threat with his shooting. Love gives us plenty of options as he can run pick-and-pops/DHOs with Wade or Price, or simply spot up and space the floor, plus he can still crush smaller defenders on the block. Defensively, Price and Love are the weak spots, but we have amazing help defenders in Zo and Wade, along with the aforementioned trio of wing stoppers, to plug the gaps.
Matchup- We'll start off with Price on Blaylock, Wade on Petrovic, OG on KD, Love on Batum, and Zo on Embiid. Snake is set up to primarily play through Embiid and KD who are both fairly iso-heavy, and Drazen also likes to create with the ball in his hands, so we should be able to avoid too many problematic matchups. Our wing-heavy bench group will allow us to do more switching in those minutes.
- Snake has a big problem with his starting group as far as matching up with our backcourt. Both Wade and Price are lightning quick penetrators who can get into the lane and create all kinds of mayhem, but Snake is only starting one viable point-of-attack defender in Blaylock. Petrovic will get cooked by either, and Batum at this stage is a guy to throw at bigger wings and combo forwards like himself, not explosive guards. Wright can help off the bench, but his limited offensive game (along with Blaylock's) just puts more pressure on Embiid and KD.
- A lot is riding on Embiid here: he's shouldering a heavy offensive load against an elite defender (something he's rarely succeeded at in previous playoffs), and at the other end he has to worry about containing our dribble-penetration while also having a capable scorer in Zo as his primary assignment. With superior playmaking on one end and stronger individual matchups (Wade/OG/Ariza/MoPete to throw at KD/Petrovic) on the other, we're putting Zo in a much better position to succeed here.
Good luck Snake.