For those worried about matchups (specifically, Curry)...what if we just say fuck playing a PG?
Have Shump guard Curry
Have JR guard Klay (or Barnes)
Have LeBron guard Barnes (or Klay)
TT on Green
Moz on Bogut
I doubt Blatt would do it, but those matchups look pretty fine to me.
Completely agree Shump on Curry, the head of the snake. If he gets going, then mix with LeBron on Curry.
I am not confident with JR on Klay. I would start LeBron on that assignment to let Klay know that this is going to be a long series. This will require a lot of energy from LeBron, but it's critical that we keep their big 2 out of rhythm.
That leaves JR on Barnes, who is their softest starter by far. If they try to run offense with him as their key cog, I would be ecstatic.
TT on Green is tough. They are going to pull TT away from the hoop simply to keep him far away from the glass. It'll open up the paint too, but if Green is shooting tons of long shots, as long as they are somewhat contested, that's something we will gladly concede.
Moz on Booger. Goliath versus Goliath.
Flip it around now:
They have to put Green on LBJ. He is the only one strong enough to slow down LBJ: Bringing Back the Post. I think Klay gets mentally abused and curls up like a potato bug if he tries to bang with LeBron down there.
Klay on JR: sucks for JR.
Steph on Shump: not gonna find a reliable advantage there.
Moz on Bogut: really need Moz to sink that 15 footer from the baseline while playing in the thunderous confines of Oracle Arena.
That leaves Barnes on TT. I don't think it's as simple as "ok the plan is for TT to grab 7 offensive rebounds." I think GS will dare us to exploit this, then quickly collapse and force TT to make quick decisions. They might even front him at times, while pinching the ball. This is going to be tough but we have to figure out a way to use this to our advantage, while not relying on this matchup to win the series...
I see Iggy being the other player who will be counted on to check LBJ with regularity. Now this is where Blatt will have a chance to steal game 1: we play well small w Delly but I don't think it'll work on Curry or Klay. See, Teague, and Rose for that matter, are guys that it makes sense to go under the screen on most times. I think Curry will give him fits. We can bait them with Delly on Barnes when on the court together, or maybe Delly on Iggy. The point is that we have to rotate players, so when we do, we are going to have to hide them and help them, especially Kyrie, if he is still not OK.
Man fuck this drunk post. It's simple: to have a chance we need Shump to be on Curry, we need Blatt to have an ace up his sleeve, we need LeBron to not turn the ball over, and we need some balls to bounce our way. And someone (Mozzy is my best guess) will have to go Blanca on these fools if we're gonna shock the world.