Who guards Giannis?

by **worcester** Wed Apr 27, 2022 10:41 pm

Time Lord? Al? Theis? A rotation of the three plus a bit of double teaming by Smart?

What say you?

by **prakash** Wed Apr 27, 2022 11:35 pm

Have to get him away from the basket at the defensive end so that he can’t rebound and push the pace. After that they will orchestrate switches to get smaller guys on him. Have to bump him, slow him down and help. 1-1, it will be Al matching up his minutes with Giannis.

We now face a team that will be bigger than us. Have to break down their defense. Interior scoring will be much harder for the Celts.

Getting ready for an epic series. Looking forward.

by **prakash** Wed Apr 27, 2022 11:36 pm

Have to get him away from the basket at the defensive end so that he can’t rebound and push the pace. After that they will orchestrate switches to get smaller guys on him. Have to bump him, slow him down and help. 1-1, it will Al matching up his minutes with Giannis.

We now face a team that will be bigger than us. Have to break down their defense. Interior scoring will be much harder for the Celts.

Getting ready for an epic series. Looking forward.

by **dbrown4** Thu Apr 28, 2022 6:45 am

Ahh. The trick question! WWID? What Would Ime Do?

Well, if the first round is any indication where we embarrassed two of the top players/scorers of all time, Ime's gonna pause for just a minute and realize once this is just one guy and not even let enter his brain how great he is when drawing up a game plan. Sure Giannis is a great player, but he's not going to be allowed to make a difference in this series. Just ask BKN.

Ime showed with KD in particular that a great player can not only have one bad game, but you can have a whole series of bad games and made to look like a G-Leaguer. With Kryrie, Ime may have blown him back to the Ice Age since he had a great first game and Kryrie not even know it. But trust me after that shellacking, Kryrie will eventually come around (I know, it's a stretch) to the fact that he just got punked and that he is nowhere near as great a player as all the headlines are telling him, at least when he plays against this well coached team.

Ime will approach Giannis the exact same way because nothing has changed and the way he did this in the first round is exactly the same as he will do it in the 2nd round since it worked beyond belief. The media is still scratching their heads. (And surprisingly the media is saying well the first round was a joke/fluke, but now THIS round and THIS match up is what we want to see. No it isn't, the media is going to be severely disappointed, amazed and befuddled AGAIN.) All Ime is going to do is ask the team to ratchet up the defense to a whole other level and make Giannis look like he did his first year in the league. Swarm him, never even let him pass to the 4 other guys that may be wide open. But he's hardly going to even see much less touch the basketball in G1 and if he does, it will be like flies on a fresh pile of horse manure..completely covered. Bees in a hive.

And if what I saw in MIL's closeout game last night is what I think I saw, Giannis is getting away with AT LEAST 2-3 charging calls. Now maybe it's Chicago, but CHI was playing pretty good defense, not great, but pretty good defense standing there for about 10 seconds and Giannis comes barreling through in his normal euro fashion, knocks down all the pins and there are no calls. That ain't happenin' in our series. Not with the DPOY and all our DPOY wannabes. Try playing and winning when your boy is straddled with fouls watching from the bench most of the game. That will add to MIL's frustration and desperation. You can't just clean/clear people out of your way. Refs won't allow that. We're going to be right up in his grill with zero separation all the time. If Giannis breathes the wrong way, he'll get clocked with a foul.

Now MIL does have a lot of weapons, scoring weapons. But once again, that's not going to win this series nor the championship. Horrific, all-out, balls-to-the-wall, assassin-like defense is our calling card. And if you can score against it, our hats are off to MIL. But until I see evidence to the contrary, expect a carbon copy of the BKN series. And I mean that all the way through. You don't think Boston can sweep these guys as well? Re-watch the first round.

Ime's initial goal is to cut the head off the snake G1. And we will see the full arsenal. That will be our boy Giannis on the receiving end just as it was KD in Round 1. I think we can all say with complete confidence and in total agreement that Ime and the Celtics reduced KD to a G Leaguer for that series. Pedestrian at the very least. You don't think Boston is like a caged animal that hasn't eaten in days and now looking at Giannis?

Yeah, someone for MIL may have an unexpected big first game, but it won't be Giannis and it will be in a losing effort. Then the BCD (Boston Constrictor Defense) will raise its ugly head, enter the building and leave nothing to the imagination nor anything in its path.

I bet for these coaches planning meetings behind closed doors, Ime's a different character than his smooth, calm, general-like demeanor on court. More like John Belushi in Animal House. Kyrie? Dead!! KD? Dead!! Antetokounmpo?!! DEAD!!

Just sit back and enjoy this sequel movie because it's far better and more amazing than the first one.

db

by **NYCelt** Thu Apr 28, 2022 7:30 am

Different strategy than we saw against KD and the Nets, I think. Bucks are far more physical and Giannis isn’t going to be shut down with a bump and grind attempt. There will be a need to cut off passing lanes to Giannis. There might be more pressure on their ball handlers, even the occasional on the ball double. I would expect the Bucks to get especially aggressive with Tatum and Smart, perhaps using their bench to absorb fouls on those two along the way. Brown and Horford might see some favorable matchups if so, opening opportunities to shoot off the dribble for Brown, or to get to the rim for both. I believe this will go around 6 games.

by **cowens/oldschool** Thu Apr 28, 2022 8:34 am

Lol OMG Love the Animal House reference!!!! Too funny. I worked at a movie theater during college so must have wandered thru and seen that movie 25 times or more.

We will start with Al on him, with another big Timelord or Theis also ready to swarm and either J from the top or side, also ready to pounce on Giannis and we will own the passing lanes. It’s great having elite wings that can cover/swallow little guys on the perimeter and mix it up with the bigs. As we all know, we switch a lot, everyone will get a piece of him. They will get some offensive rebounds, based on the size of their bigs and the bounce of the ball. We will create many turnovers/steals and BAM transition fastbreak baskets by us that suck the life out of a team, ask KD. No one plays the ensuing passing lanes like us, expect more of the same as Giannis is no faster than Durant. He is stronger and a step slower than Durant, he will get the full barrage and expecting Smart, GWill and White to collect alot of charging fouls. Overall this Bucks team is bigger, but a lot slower than that Nets team, this will make our defense look even faster.

A friend of mine was saying Durant is a string bean and should have been defended like this years ago; okay I pointed out yeah but what team has a plethora of pitbull elite athletes that play defense like us? The biggest playoff emergence defensively to me was Tatum and GWill. Tatum just owned KD getting into his airspace, effecting and shutting him down like I’ve never seen anyone come close to doing. GWill was a brick wall, pressing on KD without fouling making him scared of contact. Giannis will not be afraid of that contact which could easily play into our hands as NY Celt pointed out, with charging fouls as we will send wave after wave of elite athletes at him and be up on the passing lanes at the same time too. Until you face us you have no idea at the pace and relentlessness of our defense.

by **sinus007** Thu Apr 28, 2022 9:18 am

Worcester,
To answer your question with one word - everyone.
Similar to BKN, Bucks have only one-headed dragon which makes it a bit easier for our defense.
Unlike BKN i.e. KD, Giannis isn't as skilled shooter, so they probably try to contain him on the perimeter, make him shoot from afar which all our starters can do.
Also, he can be frustrated, irritated, in other words there are doors into his head and, I'm sure everyone on our team will be encourage to explore.
Also, his sidekick CM won't be playing (according to AWoj CM's going to miss the whole series vs Celtics) which will make Giannis' life much harder, which is add on bonus for us.

AK

PS Sorry, my bad. It should be KM - Khris Middleton - instead of CM.

by **worcester** Thu Apr 28, 2022 9:18 am

Sinus - I think you have the best, most concise answer!

by **bobheckler** Thu Apr 28, 2022 9:50 am

I expect to see Grant play a lot of defense on Giannis, just like Semi used to. He moves his feet laterally quite well, which you need to do against Giannis and he's strong enough to push him off the blocks, like Semi was. He's too short, like Semi, but that doesn't matter that much if you keep him out of the paint and stay in front of him. Don't let him have open shots, stay in front of him and what you've got is Ben Simmons with a heart. We can beat Ben Simmons, even with a heart, especially since Simmons always had a better team around him than Giannis has now that Khris Middleton is out for this series.

Horford could play defense on Giannis in the half court too, I think, like he did against KD. He has the length that Grant doesn't have and staying in front of Giannis in the half court is a lot easier than full court. There has to be a sustained game-long team effort to prevent him from picking up a head of steam full court going north-south. Nobody can guard him then. Full court defense on Giannis begins on the other side of the logo or there is no defense. If you have to double him on his end of the court and force the ball out of his hands, so be it. I'd rather defend a 3-on-2 fast break lead by someone else, anybody else, in the open court than the Greek Freak.

Bob

.

by **dboss** Thu Apr 28, 2022 2:14 pm

Discussion about guarding Giannis should probably begin with our offense.

He is an ultimate run-out guy. He will rebound the ball and then it is a track meet. In the open floor he is virtually impossible to guard.

The Celtics therefore will need to reduce those opportunities by shooting well and getting offensive rebounds. Number 1 on the must do list will be ball protection.

The Celtics want to put him in a half court meat grinder.

There will be one overall strategy but with a variety of different tactics. We will see our infamous switch everything defense, wall building zones, trapping on the perimeter and in the post and some individual one on one assignments against him.

The Celtics will be looking to take away things that he likes to do and force him to get off of the ball.

He had his way with the Bulls because the Bulls do not have one high quality defender on their entire roster. That will not be the case going against Boston's defense.

by **Ktron** Thu Apr 28, 2022 2:39 pm

dbrown4 wrote:Ahh. The trick question! WWID? What Would Ime Do?

Well, if the first round is any indication where we embarrassed two of the top players/scorers of all time, Ime's gonna pause for just a minute and realize once this is just one guy and not even let enter his brain how great he is when drawing up a game plan. Sure Giannis is a great player, but he's not going to be allowed to make a difference in this series. Just ask BKN.

Ime showed with KD in particular that a great player can not only have one bad game, but you can have a whole series of bad games and made to look like a G-Leaguer. With Kryrie, Ime may have blown him back to the Ice Age since he had a great first game and Kryrie not even know it. But trust me after that shellacking, Kryrie will eventually come around (I know, it's a stretch) to the fact that he just got punked and that he is nowhere near as great a player as all the headlines are telling him, at least when he plays against this well coached team.

Ime will approach Giannis the exact same way because nothing has changed and the way he did this in the first round is exactly the same as he will do it in the 2nd round since it worked beyond belief. The media is still scratching their heads. (And surprisingly the media is saying well the first round was a joke/fluke, but now THIS round and THIS match up is what we want to see. No it isn't, the media is going to be severely disappointed, amazed and befuddled AGAIN.) All Ime is going to do is ask the team to ratchet up the defense to a whole other level and make Giannis look like he did his first year in the league. Swarm him, never even let him pass to the 4 other guys that may be wide open. But he's hardly going to even see much less touch the basketball in G1 and if he does, it will be like flies on a fresh pile of horse manure..completely covered. Bees in a hive.

And if what I saw in MIL's closeout game last night is what I think I saw, Giannis is getting away with AT LEAST 2-3 charging calls. Now maybe it's Chicago, but CHI was playing pretty good defense, not great, but pretty good defense standing there for about 10 seconds and Giannis comes barreling through in his normal euro fashion, knocks down all the pins and there are no calls. That ain't happenin' in our series. Not with the DPOY and all our DPOY wannabes. Try playing and winning when your boy is straddled with fouls watching from the bench most of the game. That will add to MIL's frustration and desperation. You can't just clean/clear people out of your way. Refs won't allow that. We're going to be right up in his grill with zero separation all the time. If Giannis breathes the wrong way, he'll get clocked with a foul.

Now MIL does have a lot of weapons, scoring weapons. But once again, that's not going to win this series nor the championship. Horrific, all-out, balls-to-the-wall, assassin-like defense is our calling card. And if you can score against it, our hats are off to MIL. But until I see evidence to the contrary, expect a carbon copy of the BKN series. And I mean that all the way through. You don't think Boston can sweep these guys as well? Re-watch the first round.

Ime's initial goal is to cut the head off the snake G1. And we will see the full arsenal. That will be our boy Giannis on the receiving end just as it was KD in Round 1. I think we can all say with complete confidence and in total agreement that Ime and the Celtics reduced KD to a G Leaguer for that series. Pedestrian at the very least. You don't think Boston is like a caged animal that hasn't eaten in days and now looking at Giannis?

Yeah, someone for MIL may have an unexpected big first game, but it won't be Giannis and it will be in a losing effort. Then the BCD (Boston Constrictor Defense) will raise its ugly head, enter the building and leave nothing to the imagination nor anything in its path.

I bet for these coaches planning meetings behind closed doors, Ime's a different character than his smooth, calm, general-like demeanor on court. More like John Belushi in Animal House. Kyrie? Dead!! KD? Dead!! Antetokounmpo?!! DEAD!!

Just sit back and enjoy this sequel movie because it's far better and more amazing than the first one.

db

db, I must have been in a coma the last few days. Either that or your seeing/hearing a source thats unaccessible from where I reside. I have not heard or seen anything that says our win over The Nots was a fluke or a joke. Ive seen where they’ve emphasized how bad the Nets played etc but even then the ones I’ve seen always tag it with Boston was the best exam etc. Just curious, Where are you hearing this nonsense?

by **worcester** Thu Apr 28, 2022 2:51 pm

Ktron...these reports must be coming from the Kyrie Irving News Network.

by **dbrown4** Thu Apr 28, 2022 3:02 pm

The more I thought about this, we're all missing the point. The physical aspect you're going to get for free. Cowens/oldschool is hinting around this as well.

Boston showed it can bring the physical. That's the drone. Constantly knocking you out of position. Bruising you up. Knocking you on your keister. Willing to take a foul or two to get in the mind of the opponent.

What's really going on here is between the ears. Now, let me qualify this before everyone jumps on the messenger, but of those currently in the NBA and ON THE COURT, does anyone have a greater basketball mind than Keven Durant? Physically, let's face it, he's a string bean and he did get pushed around in R1. You be hard pressed be able to argue a few are more intelligent on the court than KD but it will be few if any. OK.

Does anyone believe that Giannis has a better basketball mind than KD? Anywhere close? OK, Presented By...No One. What Boston did to KD was the old Jedi mind trick. Boston made KD, the greatest current player on the court, doubt his own ability until he just threw in the towel. You see how Kryrie gave up after G1. But we knew there was nothing rattling around up there between his ears. Now Boston gave KD his pride back in the last game and let him go off for 39 but it was too late. The mental damage had already been done.

So will this series be harder for Boston pushing GA around? Sure, but not much more difficult.

I currently see no argument for the second round being any different than the first round, except we may finally win a game by more than 7 points.

Currently, the odds for the Celtics and the Warriors winning the title are just about even with GSW having an ever so slight lead.

db

P.S. Great movie. Belushi was...Belushi!

by **dbrown4** Thu Apr 28, 2022 3:05 pm

worcester,

I'm taking a little exaggerative liberty based on feel. Clearly, they were disappointed the BOS vs. BKN didn't turn out anywhere near what they had hoped for, so now they're putting the same pressure and hope on BOS vs. MIL. They're fishing now that they had to dump all that reserve computer memory on anticipated LAL vs. BKN 2022 Finals.

db

by **dboss** Thu Apr 28, 2022 3:33 pm

I want to add to my thoughts by adding "and with physicality" so all the schemes I mentioned and do it with physicality.

The Bucks are also a very physical team unlike the shorts and sandals wearing Nets.

by **RosalieTCeltics** Thu Apr 28, 2022 3:51 pm

Where is Semi when we need him????? He probably would foul out, but he wouldgive Giannis a run for his money

Do not want Tatum guarding him, he would also foul out as Giannis gets to line with the slightest bump. Let's keep Jason away from him. This leaves Theis, Marcus, and the rest of the team to pick up the slack Using Al to pull him away from the basket is another angle, but he is way too big for Al to handle all night long. Defense by design

by **Ktron** Thu Apr 28, 2022 5:06 pm

worcester wrote:Ktron...these reports must be coming from the Kyrie Irving News Network.

That nice lil fella wouldn't do that would he? Razz

by **cowens/oldschool** Thu Apr 28, 2022 6:44 pm

RosalieTCeltics wrote:Where is Semi when we need him????? He probably would foul out, but he wouldgive Giannis a run for his money

Do not want Tatum guarding him, he would also foul out as Giannis gets to line with the slightest bump. Let's keep Jason away from him. This leaves Theis, Marcus, and the rest of the team to pick up the slack Using Al to pull him away from the basket is another angle, but he is way too big for Al to handle all night long. Defense by design

Our defense switches on a whim, there will be plenty of times Jayson and Jaylen will be on him, even if they are not the primary defender, we don’t keep any players away from opposing players or areas on the floor. I trust Tatum will know enough to execute the game plan and stay out of foul trouble.

by **jrleftfoot** Thu Apr 28, 2022 7:23 pm

Giannis is a different animal than KD. dboss is right when he says that we need to keep him from rushing the ball down the court with a head of steam by hitting the offensive boards and making shots; offense thereby limiting his opportunities to drive the length of the court. I believe his principal half court defenders will be Al,Grant and Theiss, because RWilliams is at his best as a roamer. Grant gives away a lot of height, but his footwork is exquisite. Tatum may take him on ocassion, but the last thing we want is JT getting in foul trouble. I expect this to be a more difficult series than Brooklyn, even without Middleton , because Milwaukee is a scrappy team, not a bunch of head cases. I think we'll win in 6, but that's just me. Crossing my fingers re Jaylen's hammy.

by **Ktron** Thu Apr 28, 2022 7:38 pm

Not just deers, there’s crossed eyed Zebras that make the feeble attempt at trying to hoop. They won’t go anywhere either. Sorry kid.

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