Starting 5:
Key role players:
Minutes:
Wall (40)/Dooling (8)/Thomas (2)
George (36)/Pietrus (10)Thomas (2)
Pierce (40)/Pavlovic (4)/Pietrus (4)
Garnett (38)/Stiemsma (6) Johnson (4)
Hibbert (34)/Stiemsma (12)/Hollins (2)
Offense:
With Wall's youth, we'll look for him to attack hard this series. With Nelson/Bayless on him, he'll be able to shake them off going iso. We'll need him to share the scoring load with Pierce. KG still has that uncanny adrenaline that will keep him going this series. He'll be able to still knock down his mid-range & money baseline shots. Paul Pierce will need to continue to be our number one scorer. We'll have Wall and George use their athleticism and ability to score and look for Pierce to close out the game. Any signs of KG getting tired, we'll lean on Hibbert to do all the big man scoring while Stiemsma does the dirty work defensively.
Defense:
-We can only contest Wade. He'll more than likely do his damage every game but George with his longer frame should be able to make it difficult for Wade to get easy buckets. He'll have to work to get his.
-We're not too worried about the supporting cast. Wade will want the ball in his hands as well as Bosh. KG should be able to lockdown Bosh one-on-one.
-Defend the 3. Nelson, J-Rich, Bayless, and Q-Rich will all be camping out at 3. Defend it, nothing easy.
-Force Courtney Lee to take outside shots. Protect the paint against him.
-Pekovic is most effective with a pass first PG. He'll look to get points off putbacks/second chance opportunities. Box him out and strip the ball out of his hands in the paint.
Defensive match ups:
Wall - Nelson
George - Wade
Pierce - Richardson
Garnett - Bosh
Hibbert - Pekovic
