Starting Five:
PG - Tywon Lawson || SG - Joe Johnson || SF - Kevin Durant
PF - Zach Randolph || C - Sam DalembertKey Reserves:
PG - Devin Harris
SG - Randy Foye
SF - Luc Mbah a Moute
PF - Antawn Jamison
Ce - Chris KamanRotation / Minutes:PG - Ty Lawson (34) || Devin Harris (14)
SG - Joe Johnson (34) || Luc Mbah a Moute (9) || Randy Foye (5)
SF - Kevin Durant (40) || Luc Mbah a Moute (8)
PF - Zach Randolph (36) || Antawn Jamison (8) || Luc Mbah a Moute (4)
Ce - Samuel Dalembert (26) || Chris Kaman (22)
Gameplan:PG: Lawson / Harris vs. Irving / ChalmersIrving has the slight advantage over Lawson, but Harris is a much more complete player than Chalmers. This position should be pretty even for each team.
SG: Joe Johnson / Luc Mbah a Moute vs. James Harden / Shabazz MuhammadI like Joe's experience here. From a sheer talent standpoint they are close, but I'd give the edge to Joe there too. I will be using LRMAM to come in and put the clamps on either Harden/Shabazz.
SF: Kevin Durant vs. LeBron JamesThe two best SF's (players) in the world going head to head. We expect each player to get his on offense. LeBron will use his physicality to wreak havoc on offense, but we hope Dalembert/Kaman's help defense will help accumulate blocked shots. Durant will be able to shoot over LeBron with his height/length advantage.
PF: Z-Bo / Jamo / LRMAM vs. LMA / FariedI think we have the advantage here. Randolph will overwhelm Aldridge with his physicality on the block and Moute will play spot minutes to defend him. Jamison will get some minutes to teach Faried a thing or two on offense.
C: Dalembert / Kaman vs. Howard / DavisWe actually like our matchup here too, to a certain extent. It is a lot of defense vs. defense. We don't expect much offensive production from either team here. Most of our offense will come from Kaman, most of theirs from Dwight.
Don't be surprised to see a Lawson / Johnson / Moute / Durant / Randolph lineup often in this series. This allows Moute to focus on LeBron, JJ to focus on Harden, Durant to take it to LMA and Randolph to try to match Dwight's physicality. We expect to steal 1 on the road and take care of business at the Pavilion! Good luck, Sonics.
