Awesome. Our small ball unit should work against most teams come playoff teams with the one exception being Memphis. Memphis will pound us into submission if we try that.
Honestly I disagree... Memphis bigs wouldn't be able to pound us on every possession and it seems Memphis really relies on Conley to run the offense. If we could take him out, then their offense becomes very stagnant Then on the offensive end, gasol would have to chase around Aldridge? Zach gonna chase Batum? I think not
No they aren't. We didn't have Aldridge last time we played them and no Lopez the one before then. We wouldn't have lost 0-3 if healthy. Doesn't matter. Anyone who knows basketball knows we'll finish with the 2 seed. I think mags predicted it.
You know what is funny? The first time we met them, when we were fully healthy, is the time they beat us the worst.
they didn't have jeff green. Just stop with this game of cat and mouse. Memphis is better than us. Can we beat them in a playoff series? Sure, there is a chance, but Memphis would and should be the clear cut favorite and there bigs and Conley are why.
The small ball lineup is great. There are a few reasons we'll want to stick with the starters though; first Aldridge plays better not having to bang with centers the whole game. Aldridge also can stay out of foul trouble if he isn't playing center. Last year in the playoffs we'd always start with Lopez on Dwight Howard. Aldridge was the superior defensive option and we'd go to that in the 4th quarter if he wasn't in foul trouble. Similarly Batum cannot bang with power forward for most of the game. But the small ball lineup works great for stretches. San Antonio actually ran a similar scheme for years winning multiple titles with Duncan starting at PF but finishing the game as a center.
He made the same arguments last year on why we'd for certain beat San Antonio in the playoffs. He said they were a crap team all year; too old and slow. Not sure what his excuse is for that series loss.
I believe this concept isn't for the entire game, but to close out in crunch. I don't think Aldridge minds playing 8 minutes at center knowing our team will get the win. Obviously we use traditional throughout the game. We would be wasting the talents of Lopez, freeland and kaman if we didn't. What I would suggest is using our bigs to tire the shit out of theirs, then switch pace with our small ball. Let's see those big fuckers chase Batum around on that pick and roll after they battled our bigs for 32 minutes!
Memphis can really tighten the screws and play awesome defense, but when they really really need to get a bucket at the end of the game, the best option they have is Gasol. Don't get me wrong, Gasol is a fantastic player, but at the end of the day, they don't scare me if the game is close and they need a bucket. They should be scared of Lillard though.
