[Petey]

As the 8th seed, I think today's game of the Pistons vs Heat showed what would have happened if that rumor a few months about the Heat losing Shaq were true...

Lets say that we are going to start a lineup of Kidd, Carter, Veal, Collins and Krstic, it will be important for our whole lineup to go hard at the basket early for him (Shaq to pick up some fouls), the less time he spends on the court, the better your chances as always...

I do like what Brown did last year in not doubling Shaq, but Shaq will abuse Collins regardless with or without help.

-Joe C.

 

[Phenom Z28]

Its always tough deciding what the best way to approach Shaq is... You can only hope that he gets into foul trouble early, but through the years he's learned pretty well how to deal with that kind of opposing strategy.

The playoff situation is pretty crazy right now, if we get up to 8th place, we might just as well be seeded 7th since 7th and 8th are tied. If we caught some luck, 5th and 6th aren't out of the question either since they're only 2 games ahead of 7th and 8th. If we can do that, then we might even capture our division since they're ahead of us as much as 5th and 6th place are. Out of the 5 said teams, only 2 are playing "playoff basketball" right now...so chances are if we get into the playoffs, we probably won't even match up against the Heat since there's just a huge cluster of teams so closely nitted at the bottom of the playoff race.

 

[lukewarmplay]

the big problem with playing the heat is that you might see jabari get extended minutes. cliffy will also definitely get extended minutes. i wish we had a thicker backup big man. more hadronic, maybe.

one thing i've been wondering about is that the few times i've seen the heat this season, shaq has always looked to pass out of the double team, even if the defenders are substantially smaller. if, say, jabari or krstic are defending him and kidd comes over to help, he can totally just power through them and make the shot (and probably get the foul), can't he? he used to do that much more.

 

[X-JAY]

As the 8th seed, I think today's game of the Pistons vs Heat showed what would have happened if that rumor a few months about the Heat losing Shaq were true...

Lets say that we are going to start a lineup of Kidd, Carter, Veal, Collins and Krstic, it will be important for our whole lineup to go hard at the basket early for him (Shaq to pick up some fouls), the less time he spends on the court, the better your chances as always...

I do like what Brown did last year in not doubling Shaq, but Shaq will abuse Collins regardless with or without help.

-Joe C.

WrOnG.
Collins is DPOY, Shaq has no chance against him :biggrin:

 

[NetIncome]

If the Nets wind up with the 8th seed, and RJ hasn't played, I am not sure how valuable he is going to be. He won't be in basketball shape and I have to think he will be at least subconsciously worried about his wrist.

If he can, he should play at least one game before the playoffs.

 

[Netted]

Every time we play the Heat the Nets biggest mistake is the constant doubling of Shaq. The way Wade moves around he always finds the hole in the defense. ANd if you have guys constantly looking to double Shaq then they are not focusing on Wade. The role players on Miami are okay. Prior to Shaq arriving Eddie Jones was the biggest waste of cap space. The key is to shut down all of them. Let Shaq get his, try to limit Wade by having all 5 defenders play a part, and shut down the role players. Every defenders responsibility will be their man plus keep an eye on Wade. Every so often double up on Shaq so he doesn't get too use to not seeing it. The key is to not let Shaq dominate the defensive scheme because that is when ordinary players around him become stars.

We always seem to focus on Shaq and it kills us.

 

[Petey]

Eddie Jones is still a waste of Cap, there are so many players with similar game type and production that make MLE or less.

Shaq is the MVP.

-Joe C.

 

[lukewarmplay]

Every time we play the Heat the Nets biggest mistake is the constant doubling of Shaq. The way Wade moves around he always finds the hole in the defense. ANd if you have guys constantly looking to double Shaq then they are not focusing on Wade. The role players on Miami are okay. Prior to Shaq arriving Eddie Jones was the biggest waste of cap space. The key is to shut down all of them. Let Shaq get his, try to limit Wade by having all 5 defenders play a part, and shut down the role players. Every defenders responsibility will be their man plus keep an eye on Wade. Every so often double up on Shaq so he doesn't get too use to not seeing it. The key is to not let Shaq dominate the defensive scheme because that is when ordinary players around him become stars.

We always seem to focus on Shaq and it kills us.

that's a really good point. isn't that exactly how detroit beat the lakers last year?

 

[SeaNet]

Every time we play the Heat the Nets biggest mistake is the constant doubling of Shaq. The way Wade moves around he always finds the hole in the defense. ANd if you have guys constantly looking to double Shaq then they are not focusing on Wade. The role players on Miami are okay. Prior to Shaq arriving Eddie Jones was the biggest waste of cap space. The key is to shut down all of them. Let Shaq get his, try to limit Wade by having all 5 defenders play a part, and shut down the role players. Every defenders responsibility will be their man plus keep an eye on Wade. Every so often double up on Shaq so he doesn't get too use to not seeing it. The key is to not let Shaq dominate the defensive scheme because that is when ordinary players around him become stars.

We always seem to focus on Shaq and it kills us.

Great post. THe key to playing Shaq is to single cover him. He's gonna put up monster numbers, but you at least partially negate Shaq's best quality, his ability to open up space for others. That's why Detroit played him so well last year, they had 4 guys (24 fouls) they could commit to leaning on him. If you do bring a double, you've got to bring it late, so that he has less chance to dish off.

 

[VCFSO2000]

Great post. THe key to playing Shaq is to single cover him. He's gonna put up monster numbers, but you at least partially negate Shaq's best quality, his ability to open up space for others. That's why Detroit played him so well last year, they had 4 guys (24 fouls) they could commit to leaning on him. If you do bring a double, you've got to bring it late, so that he has less chance to dish off.

When the Nets lost in the finals against LAL...How was Collins's defense on Shaq?..Also,how do you think he would fare against an older Shaq?

I'm not sure but maybe playin a lot of zone might be effective against the Heat...I mean,a team can't win a series SOLELY on outside shooting. And playing zone might give MIA that mentality to ALWAYS settle for outside jumpers,making it easier to play D and giving us more energy to execute on O...I dunno,just an observation.


Anyone beg to differ?

 

[Petey]

When the Nets lost in the finals against LAL...How was Collins's defense on Shaq?..Also,how do you think he would fare against an older Shaq?

I'm not sure but maybe playin a lot of zone might be effective against the Heat...I mean,a team can't win a series SOLELY on outside shooting. And playing zone might give MIA that mentality to ALWAYS settle for outside jumpers,making it easier to play D and giving us more energy to execute on O...I dunno,just an observation.


Anyone beg to differ?

Zone?

No way not vs. the Heat. They have decent shooters in Eddie and Damon Jones. And with Wade driving, Collins and Krstic will pikc up tic tac fouls.

-Joe C.

 

[SeaNet]

When the Nets lost in the finals against LAL...How was Collins's defense on Shaq?..Also,how do you think he would fare against an older Shaq?

I'm not sure but maybe playin a lot of zone might be effective against the Heat...I mean,a team can't win a series SOLELY on outside shooting. And playing zone might give MIA that mentality to ALWAYS settle for outside jumpers,making it easier to play D and giving us more energy to execute on O...I dunno,just an observation.


Anyone beg to differ?

Collins was a rookie, but for one, he did a pretty good job. In fact he did the best job of any of the Nets centers in that series. I think Collins can do as good a job as most anyone on SHaq (which is to say, of course, not that good of a job, lol).

I think a Zone is a pretty good idea, at least on and off. The Nets are a very good zone defense team, IMO, esp. w/ Kidd out there closing guys out and playing the passing lanes.

 

[SeaNet]

Zone?

No way not vs. the Heat. They have decent shooters in Eddie and Damon Jones. And with Wade driving, Collins and Krstic will pikc up tic tac fouls.

-Joe C.

You can still use a zone against good shooting teams. You can't use it forever, but it still forces them to move the ball differently and therefore can take them out of their rhythm.

 

[Petey]

You can still use a zone against good shooting teams. You can't use it forever, but it still forces them to move the ball differently and therefore can take them out of their rhythm.

Or it could set them off to a hot shooting night as well.

I won't throw an extended zone at them.

-Joe C.

 

[VCFSO2000]

Nets always use a 3-2 zone right?

 

[SeaNet]

Or it could set them off to a hot shooting night as well.

I won't throw an extended zone at them.

-Joe C.

Can't let fear guide your strategizing, IMO. If it doesn't work, you try something else.

 

[NJ Grand NJ]

Nets always use a 3-2 zone right?

lol, Shaq would murder whoever was guarding him if we were playing 3-2. Plus, for some reason, teams rarely play defenses other than man and 2-3.

 

[VCFSO2000]

lol, Shaq would murder whoever was guarding him if we were playing 3-2. Plus, for some reason, teams rarely play defenses other than man and 2-3.

sorry loll..I knew it was a 2-3....