MGrand15 wrote:Lots of overreacting here. We did a lot of experimenting last night.
1. We played big at the front court. I think this would've worked with Jeff Green instead of Blake last season but Blake isn't good enough to play 4 against such a good defensive team. Maybe as a 2nd unit thing - it's fine. Milwaukee is too relentless flooding the paint. This needs to be Millsap in this spot - he's a much better shooter + a little more dynamic with the ball.
2. Claxton was guarding Middleton. This is the first time he's been a primary defender on a wing. It's an OK idea but I'm not a fan. He's not comfortable fighting over screens (no center is). His transition defense was a mess guarding a wing. He's great on switches because it's just 1v1. Having to play TEAM and off the ball defense as a perimeter player is a whole different story.
3. LMA. I'm not really a fan. I think the team is hoping he can a viable center against the big teams. There aren't many but Embiid + Giannis/Lopez + maybe the Lakers? LMA is our biggest player. Let's see how he does against Philly. Milwaukee's offense is too spread for him to defend. He's a bad fit with Harden too.
4. Bruce didn't play. I think the idea was to give James Johnson his minutes and see if he could hold his own against Giannis. I think the answer there was hell no. I don't think JJ is a rotation guy. He's too erratic.
5. People need to relax about the effort. It sucked for sure but this team got up for EVERY big game last year. We crushed teams over .500 and we crushed national TV games. I think this is just a fluke.
Overall, I respect the experiments. This is the time to do it. We need to see if a "big" lineup works against Giannis. Still though - we sacrificed too much of our overall identity trying to match up. I think we need to go:
Carter
Harden
Harris
KD
Claxton
Starting line up damn near every game. Elite spacing needs to be more of a priority without Kyrie around. Off the bench - Mills, Brown, Millsap, Blake - with some Bembry mixed in. LMA + Johnson need to be situational guys.
I agree on all of this. perfectly crafted and spot on. hopefully the staff is inline with this thinking. I know we have clifford as a "consultant" but marks may want to consider someone like lawrence frank to sit on the bench and run the Xs and Os like when Kidd was here. it didnt work then because of kidds ego but maybe nash wouldnt be so obtuse to it given he had dantoni here too


















