Sometimes… the best defense is a great offense. And maybe the best way Paul Pierce can defend LeBron James is by going at him on the offensive end.
By attacking LeBron, Paul will do one of 2 things. He'll either force LeBron to expend more energy than he wants on the defensive end… or LeBron will resort to some ole' defense… and Pierce can maybe cancel him out in the scoring column.
If LeBron wants to D Pierce up… then run him off a few screens… make him chase Paul a little… and then Paul needs to attack the basket. If we're lucky… we'll get a 3rd outcome… and LeBron will pick up some early fouls and will have to sit. Either way… wearing him out on that end of the floor will make him more willing to settle for jumpers on his end of the floor. And hey…. that's fine with me. If LeBron is scoring 30 on jumpers… then the Celtics will win by double digits… because that means the rest of the Cavs aren't benefiting by a drive and dish. LeBron won't pull rebounders out of position… thus minimizing the threat of them grabbing offensive boards. It will be harder for the rest of the team to score.
If LeBron lets Pierce go… then Pierce becomes the slasher and distributor. We saw him do that in game 5 against the Hawks. That's when he's at his best. If Pierce has 25 and LeBron has 35… I'll take it. Because I think the rest of the Celtics can beat the rest of the Cavs by more than 10.
So Paul… go right at LeBron. Make him play both ends of the floor. Because attacking him might be the best way to offset him.
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