Starting five:
PG - Brandon Jennings || SG - Joe Johnson || SF - Kevin Durant
PF - Carl Landry || C - Samuel DalembertKey Reserves:
PG - Andre Miller
SG - Chase Budinger
SF/PF Luc Mbah a Moute
PF - Antawn Jamison
C - Amir Johnson
SG - Jodie Meeks
SF - Mickael PietrusRotation / Minutes:PG - Brandon Jennings (33) // Andre Miller (15)
SG - Joe Johnson (38) // Luc Mbah a Moute (10)
SF - Kevin Durant (40) // Luc Mbah a Moute (8)
PF - Carl Landry (18) // Antawn Jamison (15) // Luc Mbah a Moute (15)
Cc - Samuel Dalembert (34) // Amir Johnson (14)
(Chase Budinger and Jodie Meeks could also get spot minutes at the 2 spot as well as 3-point specialists)Gameplan:Offense:We're going to go for the throat EARLY, running the floor and scoring in transition as well as seting up and running our half court offense. Jennings will overwhelm Nash on the offensive end, as Nash is 39 and Jennings is 23 and known for his quickness. We will run some 2 man basketball with Jennings/Landry and we will also take advantage in iso situations with Durant torching Chandler Parsons. Even when Kirilenko is in, we feel Durant will get his. Wade should slow down JJ, but we still think that Johnson will get his as well, as he has against Wade in the past. We will be making Millsap work a lot in this series, rotating Landry/Jamison on him for offense while also getting Moute in there to frustrate him on the other end of the floor. Durant/JJ isolation game, Jennings drive and dish/finish game and transition scoring should tire out this older Nets team
Defense:Jennings // Miller vs. Nash // BarbosaWe will ask Brandon to stay in front of Nash and giving him the green light to go for some steals, which is when BJ3 thrives on the defensive end, which should contribute to our transition basketball. We will also be giving Miller some minutes so play with more savvy and physicality, as he has had a few rodeos with Nash in the past. We feel like this platoon will more than hold their own against the
39 year old Nash and the out-of-position Barbosa.
Johnson // Moute // Budinger vs. Wade // MatthewsWe are just going to let JJ let it all hang out against Wade and dig deep to play like the allstar that he is. Wade is nearly impossible to totally contain, but JJ and Moute being rotated on him throughout the game should frustrate the hell out of him.
Kevin Durant // Moute // Budinger vs. Parsons // KirelenkoWe will ask Kevin to contain Parsons, which shouldn't be difficult for him to do. Durant is a pesky defender that can use his hands to create steals and his length to block shots. We won't worry much at all on this end when AK47 is in the game. Moute may see minutes here, otherwise Budinger could get some burn to knock down shots.
Landry // Jamison // Moute vs. Millsap // Brockman // ScalabrineMillsap is a nice player, but we have 3 very good players being rotated on him, Moute as much as possible, and he doesn't have an adequate backup. We will tire him out with our depth here, making him defend Carl and Antawn while bringing in LRMAM as much as possible to put the clamps down.
Dalembert // Johnson vs. Bogut // HillDally can go toe to toe with Bogut, and is the more durable center. Will Bogut really stay healthy for an entire series? Do you really trust Hill to be a good backup center? We aren't worried about Andrew, he's turned into a rather irrelevant center due to his bad shoulders, knees and back.
The Final Word:I have a two-headed monster in JJ/Durant, a lightning quick scoring threat in BJ3, a platoon of seasoned and extremely effective PF's, the best perimeter defender in the world in Luc Richard and two shot-swatting big men in Dally/Amir. I can go 12 deep if need-be, but what will my opponent do when fouls add up or when their
39 year old point guard gets gassed or when their injury plagued center goes down? All of these factors plus my easily superior depth will allow Milwaukee to advance in this series.
