Will Slaughter face Smith?

Greg Slaughter has been reactivated to see action in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup playoffs but it’s still not certain if Barangay Ginebra coach Tim Cone will send in the seven-foot center to match up against TNT’s 6-9 1/2, 350-pound Joshua Smith in their best-of-five semifinal series starting at the Mall of Asia Arena tonight.

Slaughter, 29, has missed 56 of Ginebra’s last 57 games, recovering initially from arthroscopic surgery on his right ankle then from an operation to repair an ACL tear in his right knee.  He sat out 21 of 22 games in the last Governors Cup which Ginebra won on a 4-2 decision over Meralco in the Finals.  His only appearance was when he had seven points and four rebounds against Mahindra last Sept. 9.  He suffered the ACL injury in the fourth quarter of the contest.

From all indications, Slaughter is ready to do battle once more.  For sure, he’ll be ready for the Governors Cup.  But Cone might just tap him for action against TNT because Ginebra’s import Justin Brownlee is the shortest import in the conference at 6-4 5/8 and may be a defensive mismatch against Jumbotron.

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Ginebra has won its last five games and during the eliminations, trounced TNT, 107-89.  But TNT’s import was still Donte Greene and coach Nash Racela now has Smith in harness.  TNT is unbeaten in four games since Smith replaced Greene in the KaTropa lineup.  Slowly, Racela has gotten Smith ready for the late playoff push.  In Game 1 of the quarterfinal series against Meralco, Smith logged only 18:14 minutes.  In Game 2, he moved up to 33:44 minutes.  And in Game 3 last Friday, Smith shot a PBA career-high 31 points and grabbed 27 boards in 38:25 minutes, delivering a strong statement that when he’s in the mood, Jumbotron’s an immovable force in the middle.

Brownlee, 29, isn’t the post-up player that Smith is.  He plays a different style.  Brownlee likes to face the basket, shoot the three, drive and anchor the pick-and-roll or pick-and-pop.  It’s not likely Smith will defend him.  Racela could assign Anthony Semerad or Ranidel de Ocampo or even Ryan Reyes on Brownlee.  Semerad was pulled in from GlobalPort for a reason just like Smith was recruited for a purpose.  They’re key pieces that Racela will use against Ginebra. 

How to defend Smith will be Ginebra’s challenge.  Obviously, Ginebra will look to deny the entry pass.  Pushing Smith out of the low box will be difficult because nobody’s bigger.  Brownlee could be his primary defender with Japeth Aguilar helping from the weak side.  Slaughter will be useful if he’s ready to rumble.  Dave Marcelo is a tough post defender but won’t be able to handle Smith one-on-one.  Doubling Smith will be an option but once Smith releases, TNT should find a way to repost and get him to attack.  Throwing his weight around could lead to offensive fouls and that’s something Ginebra will try to goad Smith into doing.

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Ginebra will want to wear out Smith behind an up-and-down tempo.  That means playing with a small lineup of L. A. Tenorio, Scottie Thompson and Sol Mercado to set the pace.  Aguilar and Brownlee will complete the five.  If Slaughter’s in the picture, he’ll play five, Aguilar four and Brownlee three, leaving Tenorio, Thompson and Mercado to rotate in the backcourt.  Racela’s own version of a small lineup has a rotation of Jayson Castro, R. R. Pogoy, Ryan Reyes and R. R. Garcia. 

In Ginebra’s 10 wins this conference, opponents were held down to an average of 91.2 points.  In its two losses, Ginebra gave up an average of 106.  Clearly, the Barangay wins with defense.   Five of the 10 wins came when opponents were limited to less than 90 points.  For TNT, it’s the reverse.  The KaTropa wins with offense.  In its 10 wins, TNT averaged 108.9 points but in four losses, the norm dropped to 93.8.

The trend, however, may change in the semifinals.  With Smith in the equation, Ginebra will try to run and leave Jumbotron behind.  That could mean more possessions and more attempts than usual.  TNT, on the other hand, will want to slow it down so Smith is able to impose his presence in the half-court.  It’ll be an intriguing chess match between Cone and Racela.  What makes it more intriguing is one of Cone’s assistants Olsen Racela is Nash’s older brother so family loyalties will be split.