Now that the regular season is over, it's time for us to take our first look at the upcoming series with the Detroit Pistons. The first post is going to be about something I've been harping on for a while, but it's something that Mo Cheeks really needs to take to heart.
This needs to be the Sixers starting lineup for the first round.
- Andre Miller
- Andre Iguodala
- Thaddeus Young
- Reggie Evans
- Samuel Dalembert
We've tiptoed around it all year long, but against the Pistons this is absolutely the best chance the Sixers have for several reasons. Number one among those reasons is this guy:
As much as I hate his frail ass, Tayshaun Prince is a defensive stopper. He's got the length and lateral quickness to put Andre Iguodala in shackles. There's no getting around that. If you're in a half-court game (which the Sixers will be forced into for long stretches) Iguodala is going to have a hard time putting up points with Prince on him. The good news is that there's a solution. The solution is the lineup.
With Iguodala at the 2 and Thad at the 3 the Pistons really have no choice in the matter. If they put Prince on Iguodala that means Rip Hamilton has to guard either Thad or Andre Miller. Either one of those guys will absolutely dominate Rip in the post. The Pistons would be forced to do one of two things, either play Prince on Thad or switch around their lineup to get a better defender with more size at the two guard. If they play straight up, the Sixers have a huge mismatch somewhere on the floor.
If you start Willie Green, there is no mismatch. In fact, there's a serious disadvantage on both sides of the floor. I know this starting lineup has gotten the team to the playoffs, but to trot Willie Green out there is virtually guaranteeing a big hole to dig out of in every game.
When you're a young team hoping to knock off a battle-tested group like the Pistons you can't just go with the status quo. You need to shake things up and make the other team react to you. The Warriors did it to Dallas last year, now Mo needs to take his cue from Nellie and force the issue with the Pistons.
I agree with making this lineup change, but we both know that it won't happen. Mo has an allegiance to Willie, and will not start Thad in the playoffs. I wish though.
We should organize a protest for before game 3 if Willie starts the first two.
One thing that has happened in the Sixers favor at the end of the year is Cheeks let Thad take some more shots. We are seeing if he gets the shots he can score on anyone, period. This will force the Piston's to guard him even more assuming Cheeks gives him more minutes. I'm biased but I think if Cheeks unleashed him more to shoot like Durant or Thornton, we'd have the rookie of the year.
As it is, Thad came in 3rd in adjusted +/- in the entire league.
And Thorpe, just today, rated him the 4th rookie and said he'll probably be second (or third) in this rookie class.
http://basketballvalue.com/topplayers.php?year=2007-2008
Link
The only thing that I don't like about that lineup is that Reggie is starting; I would like to see him coming off of the bench to match up with Maxiell's minutes. That guy has energy and it would be great to see him and Reggie going at it. I have a feeling that Jason Smith would get eaten alive by Maxiell.
As for the rest of the pistons bench, eh I'm not impressed. Sure Stuckey has been playing great but I really think that the Sixers bench is better with Lou, Carney, and Smith. Especially Lou, the end of that Cavs game showed what Lou can do.
I'm sorry dude but I'd definitely rather have the Pistons' bench. Ratliff, Maxiell, Juan Dixon and Jarvis Hayes just to name a few. Lou and Carney aren't consistent enough and Amir Johnson plays so much tougher than Jason Smith
I like Maxiell a lot. The best thing about their bench is that they have a bunch of guys who fit a certain needs. Ratliff and Amir Johnson block shots, Juan Dixon scores, etc. They also have a ton of one-dimensional players off the bench.
They go much deeper than the Sixers. One advantage the Sixers have is that Lou and Thad are basically starters, and they've seen important minutes in big games all year long.
Overall, advantage goes to the Pistons though.
Good point, but it seems unlikely to happen. And even if it does, I don't know if Thad is polished enough to take advantage of Rip in the post. He'll still have to get around the Pistons' help defense, too, which isn't great, but solid (Maxiell in particular could help block or double Thad, especially since Reggie Evans isn't an offensive threat).
Thad's post game is actually very polished. If he has that big of a size mismatch he's going to exploit it. I don't really think the Pistons could put Rip on him. I think they'd be forced into playing Prince on Thad and Rip on Iguodala, which is still a huge mismatch.
Also, the Sixers used this lineup against the Pistons already once this year, and beat them in Detroit.
Maybe Mo will come out and surprise us hes been deciding the startign linuep on matchups with thad and evans all year why should willie be excempt from coming off the bench? either way i dont see willie playing more than 20-25 minutes tops.
Honestly, I might trim the rotation to 8 with the starting lineup I asked for above and Lou, Carney and Smith off the bench. You go 9 deep for Willie only if you desperately need instant offense in a particular situation. 0% chance that happens, but it's what I would do.