When I think back to the games against Atlanta this year, there is one guy on that team who stands out as a star player and that is Millsap. I think the key to stopping Atlanta's offense is going to be matching up appropriately to stop Paul Millsap.
What I'm suggesting is to change-up the Celtics starting lineup. Crowder should start at the 4, opposite Millsap, and guard him the entire game. Shut him down. It won't be the same, or as easy, as defending a high-isolation player. But, its necessary. The Amir-Sully starting backcourt works against some teams, but not Atlanta.
Here's how I'd match it up:
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Teague - Isaiah
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Korver - Bradley
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Bazemore - Smart
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Millsap - Crowder
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Horford - Amir
Then, off the bench, you have to play heavy minutes of Kelly, Evan, Jared, Rozier and Jerebko. I think Sully matches up really well against Humphries. Everyone else on their team is small (Scott, Sefolosha, Hardaway), so Kelly and Jonas will have to force the mismatch and hold their own against the smaller, quicker players. Its tough to lose Marcus' energy off the bench, but he is really well suited to stop & switch between Korver and Bazemore.
I think we have a solid chance at this series, but we can't be shy about using our versatility to our advantage. We can play small and win and we should do just that!
Submitted April 14, 2016 at 01:34AM by secularhuman77