ATL East Final - Boston @ New Jersey (game plans up)

[Sky]

Coming off tightly contested 2nd round victories, Boston and New Jersey are now just a step away from the Finals. In an ironic twist, Bill Russell stands in Boston's way. Russell and Dr. J host Larry Bird and Tiny Archibald at the Meadowlands. rdog leads the Celts, jamas33 calls the game rules as the Nets are the 1 seed.

Game rules due today
Starters posted by Sunday at 6 pm
Game plans are due Sunday, September 23rd at 6 pm pacific
Judging writeups due Friday September 28 at 10 pm

Boston



New Jersey

[jamas33]

Good Luck RDog
_________________

[rdog]

You too Jerome...not looking forward to going up against Doc and Russell.
_________________

[jamas33]

NEW SCHOOL RULES:
STARTERS:
PG - Tim Hardaway
SG - Latrell Sprewell
SF - Julius Erving
PF - Amare Stoudemire
C - Bill Russell
_________________

[rdog]

Starters

PG: Tiny Archibald
SG: Mitch Richmond
SF: Larry Bird
PF: Dave Cowens
C: Robert Parish
_________________

[Critter]

Should be an exciting east final.
_________________

[jamas33]

ATL News Flash...
The New Jersey Nets has announced the hiring of Larry "Bad Dad" Bird's daughter to be on our pole dancing cheerleading team. More on this as it develops.

DAD... I'm gonna cheer for the Nets!!!

_________________

[rdog]

Larry Bird hopes that Julius Erving is offering parenting advice.


_________________

[jamas33]

OPPONENT: Boston Celtics
INTRO:
We face a Celtic team with two of the hardest guy to defend, Bird and Archibald. The team is loaded with hall of famers and all stars. A great team but how does his starters adapt to new school rules?
Cowens – all defense status becomes null and void with the no grabbing, no kicking new school rules. We will run use Amare in backside picks with our SG to force Cowens into isolations.
Bird – Will not be able to grab and hold vs. Erving’s out of this world athleticism and have to deal with a Box and One Defense geared to stop him.
Archibald – out of this world penetration with horrendous 3 shot (20%) can be zoned up or played for the penetration.
Richmond – We feel can adapt to it despite his glaring 3 turnover a game, but he will playing against an all defense Sprewell with Russell covering his backside.
Parrish – The Chief touches the ball 20-24 times a game and only 1.8 apg and 2.8 TURNOVER per game
As far as toughness, we can match them mano y mano. Bill Russell and Buck Williams are two of the most respected warriors in the history of the NBA.


MINUTES BREAKDOWN:
PG: Hardaway 30 Minutes, Parker 10 minutes, Petrovic 8 minutes
SG: Sprewell 36 minutes, Petrovic 10 minutes, Parker 2 minutes
SF: Erving 38 minutes, Prince 10 minutes
PF: Stoudemire 22 minutes, Buck Williams 16 minutes, Prince 10 minutes
C: Russell 38 minutes, Stoudemire 10 minutes
TOTAL MINUTES PER PLAYER:
Tim Hardaway 30 minutes
Julius Erving 38 minutes
Mark Aguirre
Buck Williams 12 minutes
Bill Russell 38 minutes
Amare Stoudemire 32 minutes
Latrell Sprewell 36 minutes
Tony Parker 18 minutes
Tayshuan Prince 20 minutes
Drazen Petrovic 18 minutes
Brad Miller


OFFENSIVE GOALS:
We will try to set up an early offensive attack with Dr. J and Sprewell in one on one situations, If early offense is not available we will run three primary set offense and One Situational Offense (Four Down)
The Triangle vs the Zone 35%
The UCLA vs the Zone and Man to Man 25%
The Power Offense vs The Man to Man 20%
Four Down 10%
Fast Break 10%


Triangle Offense 35 %



1. Triangle offense will be run using the post split and forcing Bird and Archibald to be primary defenders vs. Hardaway/Sprewell and Erving. On the weakside, Amare sets up a screen for Sprewell/Petrovic to isolate at the Wing vs. Cowens or if their SG goes over or under the screen we create an isolation at the elbow of Stoudemire vs Cowens. You try to Zone this offense up you have open shots for the SG or one of the cutters (1 and/or 3) Russell with his high bball IQ makes a great apex of the triangle.
2. Using the triangle forces them to do a hybrid zone/man type defense. The New School Rules allowed Zones, but as soon as you are playing defense for the rim ie. Sitting in the paint not guarding anyone, a defensive technical is called. In a Zone we substitute Petrovic for Hardaway and run the big guard that Phil Jackson loves. Sprewell and Erving running the triangle with Petrovic setting up for the three on the weakside.
3. With lineup of Sprewell, Petrovic, Erving, Stoudemire, Russell – Sprewell will bring the ball up court and give it to Petrovic at top of the key then sets up with the triangle with Erving and Russell.
4. Weakside matchup with Amare vs Cowens, Sprewell/Drazen vs Richmond will take advantage of the Isolation of Amare vs Cowens. Amare is too fast, too big and too explosive for Cowens that will result in Cowens in foul trouble.


UCLA Offense 25 %



1. Continue attacking Archibald and Bird with the UCLA Offense. High Screen rub by Russell vs Archibald and Erving at the Wing. Pick your poison, Hardaway/Parker cutting towards the rim, requiring help from Parrish. Resulting in Erving iso on wing vs Bird. The New School Rules allowed Zones, but as soon as you are playing defense for the rim ie. Sitting in the paint not guarding anyone, a defensive technical is called.
2. Weakside on the UCLA Offense sees the backpack coming from Amare to free Sprewell/Petrovic at the elbow or top of key for THREE! If they switch it leaves Richmond vs Amare, if they don’t it gives Sprewell/Petrovic an open shot or lane.

Power Offense 20 %



1. Power offense vs. Man to Man creates isolations on the wings. This falls into our gameplan of attacking Bird. Isolations on the Wings. Our strongest point of attack is our wing players (Erving, Sprewell)
2. If they switch on the picks, we see Amare or Russell on the blocks. Hardaway and Parker also looks for Amare vs Cowens/Richmond on the blocks.


Four Down Offense 10%


1. We can run this offense with numerous possibilities.
2. Prince (.386% three) at 3 and Petrovic (.449% three) at 2 gives us three point threats. Parker is not a shabby .395% in threes and Sprewell at .361% is also a threat.
3. The matchup on the four down works like this:
a. Parker vs. Archibald
b. Erving (5.0 APG) vs Bird
c. Hardaway vs. Archibald
d. Or we can flip the script a little and go Amare vs Cowens.

IF/THEN:
1. If they hide Bird at PF, we will go to Amare on the low block and mid block position he gets with the Triangle/UCLA and Power Offense
2. If they bring Barnes in at SF and Move Bird to PF, We attack Bird.
3. If they play the zone 90% of the time, we will Run the triangle and UCLA to force them to guard a man not just the rim (defensive technicals).
4. If they run a box and one vs J, we still run our main offense. The Offense we run is predicated on movement on all players, causing mismatches and wide open shots when you pay extra attention to Dr. J
5. When all else fails, Russell finds a way to get offensive rebounds and put backs.


DEFENSE

Defense
Man to Man 30 %
Box and One 30 % (When Prince is in the game vs Bird)
Triangle and Two 15 % (Prince on Bird, Parker on Archibald)
Half Court Trap 15 %


DEFENSIVE GAMEPLAN

1. Our gameplan will be to try to take the ball out of Archibald and Bird’s hand and force the playmaking into Richmond (3.1 assist to 3.0 turnover ratio)
2. We will give Bird and Archibald different defensive looks. As explained below:

1. Man to Man Matchup:
a. Hardaway vs Archibald – will be a tough cover for Hardaway. Hardaway will lay off Archibald and play him for the penetration and funnel him to the inside defensive help of Russell, Amare, and Buck
b. Sprewell vs Richmond – we are confident in Sprewell’s ability to cover Richmond. Play him for the the outside shot, force him to be the playmaker (3.0 turnover per game to 3.1 apg) and funnel him into the teeth of the defense.
c. Erving vs. Bird – Confident in Erving with his athleticism and all defense year. Erving wont be covering Bird all game. The game plan is attacking Bird on offense and giving him different looks on defense and keeping him off balance (Man to Man, Box and One, Triangle and Two, Halfcourt Traps)
d. Stoudemire vs Cowens – Stoudemire will use his size and athleticism edge to cover Cowens’ short jumper and prevent him from scoring inside.
e. Russell vs Parrish – Parrish will have to deal with one of the greatest Defender in the history of the NBA.

2. Box and One:

a. Bringing in Prince for either Amare or Erving (as situation dictates) and running a Box and One with Prince covering Bird (think what Michael Cooper did) in the Box and one, Sprewell will be given the responsibility on spying, helping out on Archibald’s penetration.
b. As a side note. Vs. Orlando and McGrady and Vs. The Lakers and Kobe, Prince was able to slow them down with the help of The Wallace Boys (Ben and Rasheed) this time he defends vs Bird with the help of Bill Russell and Buck.

3. Triangle and Two:

a. Prince on Bird, Hardaway/Parker on Archibald.
b. Funnel to Russell and cover passing lanes. In the case of Archibald with his floater and midrange jumpshot, have Latrell Sprewell help and spy on him like an NFL linebacker spies on Tomlison.
4. Defensive Trapping:
a. Trap Bird on the wing using a very athletic combination of Russell and Erving to force the ball out of Bird’s hand.


b. Trap Archibald at halfcourt using the Length of Sprewell and Hardaway/Parker to take the ball out of Archibald’s hand




CLOSING
Looking at the Celtics, their primary playmaker is Bird and Archibald. We designed a defense to take them out of their customary role and have them giving the ball up and being support players. We tried to take advantage of their starting frontcourt lack of athleticism by creating movement in our frontcourt thru backpicks and screens, moving our bigs from high to low and vice versa. Creating problems to expose Cowens and Birds lack of footspeed . This will result in them bumping or hand checking to slow down movement of our players, which in new school rules are fouls. On offense we went with trying to free our best players on offense. Running the Triangle attacks both Bird and Archibald and having a weapon like Petrovic to spot up for Three is what every coach dreams of. In closing I hope the judges see our vision and allow us to continue into the championship game.



The last 5 minutes of each half will see the lineup of:
PG- Hardaway
SG-Sprewell
SF-Julius Erving
PF-Amare Stoudemire
C-Bill Russell

IN CASE OF EMERGENCY
Russell gets in foul trouble: Stoudemire moves to C and Buck Williams to PF
Dr J gets in Foul Trouble: Aguirre will get minutes. He is more than capable of taking the scoring load and increasing Prince’s playing time to run the Box and one vs. Bird.
Any of the guards get in trouble: Depth at PG with a Finals MVP as the backup
if Sprewell gets in foul trouble, we will bring in Drazen for his murderous three point shot or Prince for defensive intensity.

CRYSTAL BALL
We feel the Celtics will use Bird at PF to hide his defensive shortcomings. If this is done then we go to Amare to expose Birds lack of defense on the blocks. If Archibald is unleashed in various pick and pops and penetration, we will make sure that Sprewell trails the play to help block Tiny’s little jumper in the paint from the backside. They will probably bring in Bad News Barnes and Wallace to help with defense. Bringing Ben Wallace in means we win. It will be 4 v 5 on offense with Wallace being a non factor. In an ATL game this is huge. As far as Barnes, he is the unknown product. Bad news has never really delivered in the playoffs, on the playground sure, but he is faced with playing SF vs Dr. J.

WHY WE WIN:
1. Athleticism and New School Rules, exposes their starters.
2. Running our offenses geared to attack his two best offensive players takes their legs away from them in the crucial crunch times.
3. Defensive gameplan designed to slow down their best two players. Different defensive looks, from Box and One, Triangle and Two, Trapping and Man 2 Man keeps them unbalance and not knowing how to attack. We can afford this by having the backline guarded by Russell, When all else fail, might as well depend on the guy who is considered the greatest defensive player in the history of the NBA.
4. Our Offensive gameplan is designed to take advantage of our biggest strength and freeing our most dangerous weapons.
5. A Bill Russell team is one of the hardest team to beat in the NBA Playoffs.
_________________

[Sky]

Boston game plan vs. New Jersey

INTRODUCTION - Scouting Report

Jamas has done a great job putting this team together. The Nets were one of the last teams taken in the draft and he has turned them into the favorites of the East. He has a nice mix of great frontcourt players and good backcourt players that have given both Washington and New York fits.

C – Bill Russell – In my opinion, the most dominating defensive player to ever play the game. In a league that favors defense, Bill should have been the first pick of the free agent draft (sorry Magic) and he has done a great job of leading this Nets team. Not a great offensive player but can handle his own. My gameplan needs to focus on limiting his defensive effectiveness. Parish matches up effectively with Russell, three inches taller and has a remarkably similar game. Advantage to New Jersey.

PF – Amare Stoudemire – A hyper-athletic compliment to Russell at the 4. Against most teams, there wouldn’t be a rebound to be had. I think my team can match up to these two thanks to my HOF backcourt depth. Cowens has the cerebral, basketball ability and MVP credentials to offset Amare’s athletic ability. Advantage to Boston.

SF – Julius Erving – Jordan before there was Jordan. One of the most creative players to ever play the game. Great creator with the ball but not the best outside shooter. This is the ABA version of Doc, younger and athletic and led his team to the ABA Championship. MVP Bird vs. MVP Erving is a great matchup. In my opinion, a top 5 all-time Bird beats a young Dr. Advantage to Boston

SG – Latrell Sprewell – Pre-Carliesimo Sprewell was an athletic doberman who specializes in running and slashing. Not a great outside shooter but makes up for that on the defensive end. Richmond is a good matchup for Spre in that while Spre outquicks and outslashes Rock, Mitch is stronger and is a better outside shooter. Push

PG – Tim Hardaway – Dynamic offensive point guard that is a great penetrating point guard. Needs the ball in his hands constantly to be most effective. Is a defensive liability that Tiny Archibald matches up very well with. I think Tiny can match up with Tim but don’t think that Tim can match up with Tiny – Advantage to Boston.

Bench – New Jersey has nice role players with Parker as a change of pace point guard, Petro as his money shooter, Aguirre as his instant offense and Buck Williams is a solid power forward. I don’t think this matches up with Defensive great Cheeks, HOFers Connie Hawkins and Jerry Lucas and DPOY Ben Wallace.


1. MINUTES

10-Man Rotation
1. Tiny Archibald – 36 Minutes
2. Mitch Richmond – 28 Minutes
3. Larry Bird – 40 Minutes
4. Dave Cowens – 36 Minutes
5. Robert Parish - 32 Minutes
6. Mo Cheeks – 16 Minutes
7. Andrew Toney – 6 Minutes
8. Connie Hawkins – 16 Minutes
9. Ben Wallace – 16 Minutes
10. Jerry Lucas – 14 Minutes

As Needed:
11 – Marvin Barnes – Athletic Scoring Punch
12 – T.R. Dunn – Defensive Backcourt Stopper

Inactive: Mike Bibby, Jerome Kersey, Wayman Tisdale


2. SETS
Percentages you expect for sets or units

Man Offense:
Tiny Isolation – 15%
Triangle - 35%
UCLA Offense – 20%
2-Man Game – 20%
Post Isolation – 10%

Zone Offense:
Versus – 2-3 Zone – 1-2-2 Standard Zone Offense
Versus – 1-2-2 or 1-3-1 – 2-1-2 Cycle Zone Offense

Defense:
Man up – Helpside w/ Funnel to Middle - 40%
2-3 Zone – 40%
Ball Hawk - 10%
Half court trap w/ tempo change lineup - 10%

3. OFFENSE
Man Offense Game Plan

1. The biggest liability that New Jersey has is Hardaway on the defensive end. Tiny is just the guy to exploit this weakness with his quickness. Tiny will look to penetrate with the idea of scoring first, distributing second. Most penetrating point guards look to take it all the way to the rack but Tiny is aware of the swat capability of Amare and Russell. Tiny will look to pull the jumper at choke post with eyes to Parish and Cowens inside. Cowens and Parish both have the opportunity to get garbage baskets based on Tiny’s penetration

2. Establish Triangle Post play in order to take advantage of Bird and Cowens decision making along with the versatility of Parish who can pop out for mid-range jumper or post. This allows Bird to run the offense, with more of Richmond taking some of this role thanks to the D of Doctor J. Biggest advantage for this offense is that it doesn’t require my big men to post to be effective. Parish and especially Cowens can take advantage of spacing and either pop up to the free throw line for the open look or to the baseline to stretch the interior defense, thus neutralizing their D inside.

3. Use the frontcourt depth to pound Russell and Amare. I’m not subbing as much in this game as I have in previous because I want to focus on execution and keeping my guys flowing in the game. Unfortunately for New Jersey, his great frontcourt can’t play the whole game and I’m going to take advantage of my depth in both freshness and ability where applicable.

4. We will not force the running game today. NJ’s team is made for transition and I won’t play into his hands. Our offense will be focused on half court execution. We’ll look for the occasional quick outlet with Richmond and Hawkins filling the wing. However, if numbers aren’t there, we’ll be happy to setup the offense.

4. Take advantage of matchups that will come up throughout the game. Look to isolate Hawkins by playing at both the three and the two. When he’s in the game, take advantage of Spre, Petro, Aguirre on the offensive end.

5. Use UCLA Offense to keep the ball moving on the offensive end. Will look to use this when Toney and Hawkins are in the game to take advantage of their quickness. This also allows Tiny to control the offense and use the screening of the posts to free opportunities to get to the hole.

6. Also look to post Bird and Richmond on their men on occasion. Bird can take the Doctor down low and working Erving in the post may help cut his effectiveness on the offensive end. Richmond was tailor-made to post Sprewell or Petrovic and this could be a nice change of pace to put pressure on their 2 guards.

If/Then:
If Tiny’s penetration doesn’t work, it means that NJ is playing him for the outside shot. Tiny is a good enough shooter to make them pay for laying off too much. Two man game with Bird can work to isolate Hardaway with Bird cycling to pop for the short jumper.

If Triangle Post succeeds, keep using this execution to stretch the interior D, limiting their effectiveness and allowing for lanes to be opened for our slashers. Make sure that either Cowens or Parish is in the game at all times as its imperative that a good mid range shooter is on the floor at all times. Let Bird play a little at the 4 to get more minutes for Hawkins at the three. Bird pulls Amare out, limiting his rebounding position and makes NJ think about pulling Amare for a better perimeter defender.

If pounding in the frontcourt succeeds, really look to take advantage of Hardaway in the two man game when he is in the game. Tiny would be a terror in pick and roll situation with Bird. Tiny’s ability to penetrate and Legend’s ability to stop and pop, drive or distribute makes a pretty potent combo.

If putting Bird at the 4 succeeds, take advantage of Connie Hawkins athleticism and freshness to attack the Erving on the offensive end. I’m not planning on using Bird as a decoy but if NJ gears to shutdown Larry with Erving or his sub, Connie presents a whole new set of problems. While I don’t see this as being a huge part of our gameplan, I think it creates a nice change of pace that could be effective.

3a. Zone Offense

Attacking a zone offense is best done by using simple offenses that emphasize movement and quick passing. Any zone can only have either a one or two guard front. It is imperative that whatever the zone that the defense employs, you have to have a counter front. If they have a 2 guard front, you have a 1 that can split the defenders. If they have 1 guard up front as in a 1-3-1 or 1-2-2, you need a two guard front so that the top defender can’t isolate one offensive player.

2-3 Zone

2-3 Zone is generally considered the most effective defense and the easiest to implement. 2-3 with Russell anchoring the middle is an intimidating proposition. I will use a 1-2-2 zone offense keeping with the odd/even principle. The 2 and 3 will be at the three point line extended with the 4 and 5 on each respective block. First pass goes to the 2 or 3 on the wing. 1 flashes through the lane, looking for the ball and goes to opposite corner. Whoever is near side post, posts up for two counts, then clears out. Opposite post flashes to choke post where the biggest hole is. If nothing there, swing back through the two and this creates a nice triangle on the former weakside.

This offense attacks the free throw line and really allows good outside shooting teams to beat the 2-3.

1-3-1 or 1-2-2 Zone

I will go with a two guard front against either of these defenses to attack the weak spots of an odd front zone defense. 1 and 2 are 12 -15 feet apart above the top of the key and the 3 is at the free throw line. 4 & 5 are at the respective post positions. Three cuts through the lane and goes to either corner. Pass goes to the three in the corner who either shoots quickly to take advantage of the distance the bottom zone defender travels, looks to the near side post for inside shot and offside post moves to free throw line for open jumper. If nothing is there, 3 passes to near side guard who passes far side guard and cuts through to opposite corner. This offense will usually get a high percentage shot through two iterations.

Either 1-2-2 or 1-3-1 Zone defenses are tough for defenders to rebound out of. Often, you’re best rebounders are on the perimeter while the offense’s best rebounders are on the block or free throw line. I honestly don’t think that either of these defenses are going to be effective, if only as a gimmick. Our team is too good from the perimeter for these defenses to work.

4. DEFENSE
Game Plan

1. In man defense, I’m going to stick with the same principles that I’ve had throughout the playoffs. I’ve got good man defenders that can stay with their players man up. One difference in this game is that Hardaway, Sprewell and Erving are not great outside shooters. So instead of manning hard and risking the penetration, I’m going to sag more than normal to make his wing players beat me from outside. The only player I’m worried about on the defensive end is Erving. If I can turn him into a perimeter player and not let his high-flying act get started, I’ll be happy

I think Parish matches up well with Russell on the defensive end. Robert has 3 inches on Bill and I don’t think he’ll be near as effective as he would be on the defensive end. Amare’s athleticism scares me a little bit and if his offensive rebounding becomes a problem, Wallace comes in to keep him off of the boards.

I think that Timmy will try to penetrate but by sagging off, letting him get the open jumper and shading towards the middle, Hardaway is handcuffed.

2. I’m going to use a 2-3 zone much more than I normally would for the reason that I think that it will be effective against the Nets as NJ doesn’t have the outside shooters to beat it. If Spree, Hardaway and Doc are jacking outside shots, they’re not playing to their strengths. Also it allows my team to be in better rebounding positions and helps to nullify their offensive rebounding attack. A post player has to be more than just a power player to excel in a 2-3 Zone. I think Russell and Amare have trouble against this defense.

3. We are going to use our depth to keep our defenders fresh. Quality depth is one of our biggest strengths. We’ll keep the defensive pressure on with the idea of being physical.

If/Then:

1. If Erving and Hardaway are effective in breaking down our man defense, I going to stick in Cheeks at the 1 and look to double with the 4 on Erving. Stoudemire won’t hurt me by shading the 4 towards Erving and great defender Cheeks should be able to get the ball out of Hardaway’s hands.

2. If the 2-3 Zone is effective, look to cycle post players through to keep them fresh. 2-3 Zone is a great equalizer and we can use Lucas, Wallace and Hawkins more without worrying about losing much on the defensive end.


5. CLOSING
Final five minutes lineup.

1. Tiny
2. Richmond
3. Bird
4. Cowens
5. Parish

Final five minutes emphasize execution. Celtics as currently constructed are one of the most intelligent and disciplined teams in the ATL. 2 MVPs in Bird and Cowen. 4 Top 50 HOFers. Offensively, we’ll make every late game possession count using Triangle Post, two man game and isolation when applicable. If zone defense is employed, we’ll use whatever offense will matchup to it. He can’t go zone for very long because a zone is beaten by good passing, good shooting teams. I hope NJ zones us, we’ll eat it up.

On Defense, we should be the freshest team for the final five minutes. I’m going to mix it up with both shaded-middle man-to-man and 2-3 Zone. We need to force them into areas where they’re not as likely to succeed. If I’m looking to throw off their rhythm, Hack a Bill may come into effect. With my backcourt depth, I can use some fouls to put their worst free throw shooter on the line.

Finally, I am going to let Larry Bird win this game for me. He’ll either run the offense in the triangle, post Erving down low, or be the trigger man on our zone offense attacks. In this situation, you have to go with winners and our team is full of them, with Larry being numero uno.

6. IN CASE OF EMERGENCY
If everything falls apart, I’m going to look to Cowens to pull Amare outside and make him a focal point of the offense. I think that Dave could really frustrate Amare with his unique ability to hustle and pop the outside shot. This has the added benefit of keeping Amare out of the lane and opening it up for everyone else.

7. CRYSTAL BALL
I think New Jersey will run, run and run. And they might run. The best way to keep a team from running is to focus on offensive rebounds and not letting Russell throw his patented outlet passes. Even if NJ only runs a constant transition game, we will not play into their hands and we’ll keep a very controlled half court game. If this game turns into a grind them out, half court game, we have the advantage.

NJ may try to use Petro to punish me for my zone. I’ll shade my zone to put pressure on him and if he becomes too hot shooting over the top, then we’ll shift to man and lock Richmond on him.

Finally, Erving may try to “lock down” Bird. Bird and Erving had many battles through the years with Larry usually getting the better of him. They don’t call him Legend for nothing. If this game comes down to who does better, Erving or Bird, I win.

8. WHY WE WIN

We win because this team has superior talent and depth and a gameplan that fits their talent. I think the Celtics have arguably the best depth of HOF talent in the frontcourt with no real weaknesses in the backcourt. While Russell may be the most dominant defender to play the game, my platoon of HOF and DPOY big men will wear him down over 48 minutes. The new school rules play into our hands in that the backcourt of the Nets are not good enough shooters to consistently beat the 2-3 Zone. A zone against our team plays to our strengths with Bird and Richmond on the wings with good mid-range shooters in the post

I think the Nets have a great team. I think the Celtics have a great gameplan, superior talent 1-10 and a mix of experienced winners that will carry the day.

[Sky]

Judging

1

very interesting matchup...fundamentals vs. athleticism...

Boston has excellent chemistry and very intelligent and fundamentally sound player. NJ has that much more athleticism, speed and power in their lineup....

Boston

offensively

offensive gameplan is easy for this team....Triangle simply fits this personell and it will succeed when its executed by the players. This team certainly can´t beat NJ in a full court offense so they had to concentrate on half court sets...

defensively

they will have troubles defending those athletes...if the pace is high, thats definitely in NJ's favor...if it slows down its Boston's game. The zone D certainly helps to slow it down. Also the man up is solid in this case, you can´t zone for 48 minutes.

NJ

offensively...

I like the gameplan...it does have some elements I didn´t expect such as triangle offense...I had expected a faster pace or at least an emphasis in trying to pace up the game. The sets are good as always tho, one issue with the triangle is IMO that the personell isn´t exactly taylormade for that offense...Bird was a solid defender but attacking him makes him expand more energy and eventually tire out for money time.

defensively

defensive gameplan is very good. Can´t really call a weakness there. And with Russell you certainly have THE anchor.

game

another one I expect to be close...of course at this stage every game is darn close...The question IMO is will Boston be able to slow it down and win by better execution or is the physical attributes of NJ too much to overcome the lack of speed and athleticism...I expect NJ to come out firing, Boston falling behind early but eventually adjusting and controlling the game in the second half and get back into it...I expect the game to go to overtime...I really have a tough time to call a winner, it can really go either way...I'm gonna pick Boston tho because I`m a bigger fan of fundamentals and I feel like their depth is gonna decide this game with Bird being the guy coming through at the end.

Boston 1-0

2

This is a nice match up worthy of the conference finals.

New Jersey
Nice use of the UCLA offense and triangle
Good use of Petrovic in offense
Good use of forcing the ball into Richmond's hands
Box and one and Box and two will be effective

Boston
Good recognition of the Tiny mismatch
Good use of bench against Russell
Good use of zone

I think that New Jersey's use of the UCLA offense and triangle will create problems for Boston with the superior speed of Erving and Sprewell. Boston's use of zone is a good idea to try to take away NJ's penetration. But even with new school rules, Boston won't be able to sit in the lane, they will need to bring their big men up against the high posts of the UCLA offense. The motion of the NJ offense means they won't have to just shoot jumpers, they will be able to create shots.

Hardaway cannot matchup with Tiny and Boston does a good job of recognizing and taking that advantage. But New Jersey taking away his penetration by playing off of him will take away some of that effectiveness, Tiny hitting jumpers wont be effective for the whole game. Forcing the ball into Richmond's hands will also cause problems and disrupt the Boston offense.

The matchup with Erving vs Bird is intriguing. Hard to underestimate either of them, so it comes down to how they are used in the game plan. I'm not as convinced that Bird's "cerebral" play will win this matchup. With new school rules, Erving is as deadly a weapon as there is in the ATL and Bird won't be able to keep up. Bird will get his, but this will not be a game where the LEGEND dominates.

As much as Boston wants to see Cowens as an advantage over Amare, I think that again, we are playing on Cowens' legend. Savvy and tough are just euphemisms for slow. I don't think that Cowens will get his shot off as easily against Amare, and I think that Amare will get his on offense against Cowens no matter how savvy he is.

On the other hand, I think that the legend of Bill Russell gets underplayed. To think that just cause Parrish has a few inches on Russell that he could contain him is just...wrong. I can see how a platoon of centers coming in to slow down Russell could work. But again, Russell will get his and having Amare and Buck Williams by his side takes away some of that platoon's effectiveness.

The game:
I see the game as a series of ebbs and flows. I think that Tiny will be effective early, but as the game progresses, his penetration will lessen and he will be left to shoot jumpers. The use of Petrovic will surprise Boston and he will score, but they will eventually adjust to him defensively. Both teams will execute their offenses well, I can't see either team shutting the other down. Richmond will get his, but so will Sprewell. The athleticism of the Nets will start to break the Boston team down, but their depth will keep them in the game.

In the end, it will come down to the superstars. Erving scoring on Bird, Bird scoring on Erving. Bird and Erving will do everything in their power to get the W. But the guy who will make the difference is Russell. No matter how many people they put on him, he will get the big rebounds and blocked shots in the clutch. It will be close, the way that it should be when legends collide.

New Jersey wins.

Tied 1-1

3

Gonna make this short and to the point on both of them.

Nets vs Celtics
My Points:
1. Nets addressed biggest issue in stopping Celtics offense
2. Celtics werent prepared for gimmick defense by Nets.
3. Celtics defense ineffective due to new school rules and basically ignored Bill Russell
4. Nets offense made use of their edge in athleticism
5, Games arent won on talent alone, but cohesiveness of team
and coaching.
Result: Nets in a rout. 102-87

New Jersey 2-1

4

The athleticism and size of NJ sticks out right away as an advantage, especially with new school rules. Boston hopes to slow it down but no hand-checking hurts, plus the lack of size on the glass. Playing NJ to shoot outside gives them a chance but NJ has guys who can shoot it at a good enough clip to keep Boston honest.

Victory goes to NJ.

New Jersey 3-1

5

Boston @ New Jersey]/b]

[b]Rules
Excellent call by New Jersey to go new school rules. This reduces the effectivity of the already poor defending Bird and the physicality of Dave Cowens.

Comments
New Jersey has effectively addressed the issue of Bird playing power forward on defense by placing Amare on him, but has neglected the fact that they also play on the other side of the court. Amare will have problems guarding either Bird or whoever's playing SF.

Boston on the other hand has made a big error of dismissing Russell's effectivity vis-a-vis Robert Parish. Russell has been successful going up against a taller, stronger, and quicker Wilt Chamberlain.

Another mistake is assuming that by allowing Bird to sag out from Erving will make it harder for Erving to score (Erving is a 33% three point shooter which isn't excellent but can do a lot of damage). Erving is not only athletic, but he's also strong that having Erving going to the hoop would present nightmares for Bird.

Game Result
Both teams play the same on offense and defense however with different approaches. One relies on basketball IQ while the other relies on athleticism.

Both teams, when playing man to man, can't stop one another as both teams have the requisite skills to overplay and leave his man. When playing the triangle, both teams can manage to score due to athleticism (for the Nets) and bball IQ (for the Celtics).

The X-Factor and probably the only factor that kills Boston is Russell. He's the only player with a distinct advantage over his starting counterpart (add to the fact that Boston made the mistake of neglecting Russell's ability on court).

Plus, putting Russell in the zone is similar to what Scottie Pippen (while playing for Portland) did to the Lakers in 2000. Pippen effectively disrupted the Lakers' triangle enough that the Blazers almost beat the Lakers in their seven game series.

Nets win by eight.

New Jersey 4-1

The Nets win the east and advance to the Finals.

[rdog]

Jerome,

Congrats on the big win. You had a better team and a better gameplan. Bring the title home to the East.
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[jamas33]

Thanks Ramon. I'll try my best, Sky is gonna be super tough. At this point, we really can look at each other's team and know tendencies and what each one can do, Now its just about looking for weakness and exploiting it or hiding a weakness.

Jerome
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[KB24@CL]

congrats to both GMs in the final
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"It is not how big you are, it is how big you play"
"Basketball doesn't build character. It reveals it"
"Be strong in body, clean in mind, lofty in ideals"