So now that the Clippers series is over, will McHale go back to Jones in the starting lineup or will he keep Smith? T_Man
Smith of course, but we might have to change something up if Terry is proven he cannot contain anyone on that Warriors team.
It matters more who finishes games and I say rotate. Game 6 it was Josh, game 7 it was Terrence. Go with who is hot and who is creating bigger matchup problems.
Actually putting Smith in the starting line up was a huge difference maker.. Yeah the ending is important also, since you want to go with the hot hand. But inserting Smith into the starting line up was a huge difference maker.. T_Man
NO NO NO. Ariza needs to be on Thompson. His skill set is much more suited to shut down somebody in Thompson's mould than Curry's. We need to follow a similar game-plan that we had against the Clippers which was to allow Paul to get his points, but not his assists. If we can shut down the Warriors role players, we stand a much better chance than TRYING (and probably failing) to contain Curry.
I say go with Smith. Jones seems to do better with the second unit anyway. Harden needs a safety valve and Smith helps with that.
Our 18 point lead was cut to 6 points with the second unit and Jones. Jones is more efficient as a starter. I think Jones can lock down Green. Jones can guard any PF who isn't over sized or Blake Griffin. Smith can come in and continue to dominate their PFs. If we neutralize the role players Curry cant do it alone. Harden Brewer Ariza Jones Playoff Dwight
I agree with the Jones theory on Green. Green's not really a post up player, he can hit from outside, but Jones's footwork should be a good matchup with the undersized albeit tenacious Draymond.
fine, you can keep ariza on thompson, but then still start brewer over terry….and stick brewer on curry
I've been saying this all along and been telling my friends that Brewer should start and guard Curry. But the Beard should play point guard. I think he fits in better as a point guard than a shooter.
I agree with this. Ariza needs to do everything he can to shut Thompson down as much as possible or at least make him work really hard for his points. Keep him out of the lane for easy buckets. For some reason, they destroyed us in the paint in the reg. season, no Dwight/unhealthy Dwight I guess. We will need to play Thompson like we did Redick from Game 5 on. Send Brewer at Thompson also to chase him around and make him get back in transition D. I really think if we can keep Thompson under wraps that will be the key since he will most likely be guarding Harden. Make him work on both ends like Mathews and the Blazers did to Harden last year. Thompson is a good defender but if he can possibly get tired (doubtful) maybe James gets him in foul trouble and gets him off the court. Have Harden on Barnes/Iguodola when he is in. James needs to play solid help defense and keep Barnes from going nuts on his corner 3's. Maybe play James at 4 if Draymond Green is creating matchup issues. I do expect big things from Jones this series. He should have a quickness/athleticism advantage over David Lee and strength/size over Draymond. He just needs to play big and grab boards when he can. There is no reason David Lee should be able to contain Jones or even Smith for that matter. I do worry about Draymond on Smith though and vice versa. Having Smith contesting 3's is not ideal at all which is why I think Draymond is not a good matchup for Smith but maybe we can contest and still help on pick and rolls and drives in the lane. We will have to hope Terry continues to turn back the clock and can at least keep Curry from getting Thompson/Barnes/Green going from deep. If he is on from deep so be it. Can't let him get easy buckets/layups for himself or his teammates. We really need to play him like CP3 and hopefully Terry and Prig are up for the challenge again. If not, then this whole plan goes to hell quickly and will need to see if Ariza can slow down Curry and put Brewer on Thompson. Our bench needs to outhustle theirs and Capela needs to dominate Ezeli or Speights and protect the paint. Our bigs will have to dominate overall. Somehow the Warriors are solid in the paint. Bogut is good but let's hope Dwight can continue his dominance and get Bogut into foul trouble because the Warriors will suffer without Bogut anchoring the paint. I just can't believe Bogut is a dominant playoff Center even in today's NBA.
Bogut is not a dominant center. He is a drama queen with occasional blocks. Lets get him in foul troubles. If he is in foul trouble, even Clint is going to have a field day with offensive boards. Don't forget Livingston. He is the one that concerns me.
I really hate when fans say this.. seriously.. **** that.. **** that gravy too... Put the best lineup out there to WIN!
I wouldn't mind a lineup of Harden / Brewer / Ariza / Jones / Dwight. Brewer on Curry Ariza on Thompson Harden on Barnes
I like having the point guard/point forward combo with Smith. It was a little disruptive at first but it is now clicking. This will take pressure off Harden to play more defense. The point forward also allows the Howard - Smith Hi-lo game. Finally, we are able to stretch the floor with Smith's three shot and let Howard rape Bogut in the post. All these fools thinking he can hold down Howard is crap. The guy doesn't even jump. His game is to hold as much as possible.
Jones was +16 on that final game - he was probably a +30 or something before that run - but it isn't like he was providing nothing with the 2nd unit. [he was +32 over the 3 games off the bench] I would stick with Smith as starter at least for the first game. We have just won 3 straight, no sense in making a change. And I feel like Smith can 'get his' offensively, the quality of the defender is irrelevant - he will either be on, or off. If he is on, Green won't restrict him, if he is off, Lee will look like a superstar defender. Use Jones with that second unit - Lee is terrible defensively, especially away from the hoop, Jones should be able to go by him.
