Boston Celtics Super-Secret Don't Tell PJ Game Plan:I see the story like this:
1) Kyrie Irving will not be contained by Ricky Rubio: Rubio's good, he's talented, but when the two met last season, Irving was playing next to what amounts to 4 end of the bench caliber players, with the playoffs out of reach,
Rubio had started to look good again (this is after possibly the most disappointed January on record in Minnesota history) and Kyrie himself recovering from injury, Irving still managed to hang 20 points, 7 assists, and 45% shooting on Rubio, and he wasn't even hot from downtown.
2) My wings are better: Gordon Hayward was better than Kevin Martin last season. Kevin Martin got the benefit of being the 3rd or 4th scoring option, he got to play against reserves as much as he did starters, and he got to play in front of one of the better help defenders in the league, and often as not next to one of the more versatile defenders in the league in Thabo Sefelosha. This amounted to the perfect storm for Kevin Martin, suspect defender, to hideout and pretend he was a changed man.
Hayward also is getting better by leaps and bounds. He's a better player than he was last year, and he's a better player now than he was to start the season. The last 2 times Hayward met Martin, he outscored him, and over the 2 games Martin shot a combined 7-19 (37%).
If you don't believe in Hayward's defense,
you ought to check out the things people have said about him on Team USA. But even if you think him just adequate enough to bottle up a more-stressed Kevin Martin, he's also the better rebounder and passer.
3) Larry Sanders is gonna define the series one way or another: Look, I'm not gonna sugarcoat it; Larry Sanders is a baaaaad man. I think he's got a shot at DPOY next year, and there are small compounds of devoted nerds ready to guzzle Flavor-Aid if he can replicate his production last year and doesn't at least get strong consideration for the award.
And if I allow Sanders to play rover, a lot of my game gets takent away. I have 3 very capable ball-handlers on the wing, and all three guys can penetrate to score on their own, drive and kick, or play the pick and roll. And if Sanders is allowed to do his thing, their impact is greatly reduced. I know this.
4) I don't fear Zach Randolph, and I don't fear Brook Lopez: Screw those guys. Neither one is actually a gifted defender, and neither one can slow down my bigs, let alone my wings.
The gameplan: IF the Knicks are playing a Sanders/Lopez front line, here's my lineup:
Irving
Beverley*
Hayward*
Gallinari
Gasol*
*Will also run a Hayward/Brewer wing unit, and Valanciunas will get time at the 5 on Lopez as well.
That's my Sanders-Kryptonite. 4 3pt shooters, 5 capable creators, 5 able passers.
Gallinari will take Sanders out of the game. He can't cover Gallo out on the perimeter, and once Sanders stops paying dividends defensively, his lack of any kind of actual offensive game will become an obvious liability.
If you don't know who Patrick Beverley is,
I really suggest you read this. Or ask Russell Westbrook.
So that's priority 1; get the Sanders/Lopez and Sanders/Randolph lineups off the floor. Hell get Sanders off the floor period.
Once that happens, Irving/Gallo/Hayward/Beverley/Gasol will assault their eyes and senses with phenomenal offensive displays and versatile skill sets.