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Spurs Finding a Lineup that Works
This is a different Spurs team. Head coach Gregg Popovich is searching for lineups that work every night. This roster is a weird collection of one-way players. San Antonio lacks wings, good defenders, and shooters.
Luckily they have the best coach ever and two great players in LaMarcus Aldridge and DeMar DeRozan. That can overcome a lot of deficiencies. Getting Derrick White back also helps. Recently San Antonio has leaned on one line up in particular.
The group is Aldridge, DeRozan with Marco Belinelli, Dante Cunningham, and Patty Mills. Mills and Belinelli give the group much-needed shooting, while Cunningham is a versatile defender capable of guarding multiple positions. Putting Aldridge at the five also makes the most sense at this point of his career and in this era. The floor is more spaced on offense, and his life is easier on defense. DeRozan has more room to operate as well. Defensively this group has more than held their own, granted in a small sample size.
In 29 minutes this group has a +35.3 net rating with a 110 offensive rating and a stingy 75 defensive rating. San Antonio has been all over the place, but it looks like they found their best lineup.
I would consider starting this group. DeRozan has become a good enough playmaker that he and Mills can handle point guard duties, and it also allows the bench to run the offense through Rudy Gay.
Cunningham picks off a poor pass by Deandre Jordan. DeRozan pushes the ball, gives it to Cunningham, who gives it right back, so DeRozan can get to his spot and splash DeRozan nails the jumper. This lineup is optimal for space and versatility.
Offensive Lineup- Wizards Finding a Lineup That Makes Sense!
The Wizards are still only 1.5 games out of the playoffs, and have shown some signs of life as of late. There are still a lot of issues for Washington, however.
The good news is the team is starting to find lineups that make sense. One includes Jeff Green, who has been pretty good this year. The lineup is John Wall, Bradley Beal, Austin Rivers, Kelly Oubre, and Green.
This lineup allows the Wizards to play five out. Wall has plenty of room to drive and dish. Rivers is starting to warm up after a frigid start, and Oubre merely has been better than Porter this season. I am honestly getting concerned about Porter. Also, less Markieff Morris is usually good for the Wiz.
Jeff Green at the five has been a disaster in the past, but he has so far held up this year. Defense and rebounding are still a concern in this lineup, but their offense has made up for it. In 32 minutes this lineup has a 123 offensive rating, and a +12 net rating. A 111 defensive rating is not great, but this group has earned more minutes.
There is a chance, however, the Wizards are broken spiritually and won't even make the playoffs in the east, but for now, at least their rotations are making a little more sense. On the downside, Wizards head coach Scott Brooks still throws out a lot of bad lineups. The above group though shows promise. Wall and Green, in particular, have some nifty lob chemistry.
This is a savvy veteran move by Green. Green goes to set a screen for Wall, but before getting there, he quickly spins and rolls to the basket. All Wall has to do is throw it up for the easy lob slam. More please!
A Lineup that Should Stop Playing Together - Thunder Bench Unit.
I have to be a little negative here. The Thunder has been impressive recently and played well in the absence of Russell Westbrook, an issue for, oh, the past three years. Their defense has amped up, and Paul George has been balling.
The bad news for Oklahoma City is that old problems like shooting and depth haven't completely gone away.
Mainly the bench. Thunder head coach Billy Donovan needs to learn that he needs at least one starter on the floor at all times. The lineup of Raymond Felton, Patrick Patterson, Nerlens Noel, Alex Abrines and Hamidou Diallo has been awful. This group has played 32 minutes and has -24.9 net rating, with an 81 offensive rating and a 106 defensive rating. The defense has been bad; the offense has been brutal.
There are problems everywhere with this lineup. Felton is close to washed, Patterson and Abrines are catch and shoot players, who need players to create for them, Diallo is just a rookie and Noel also needs someone to feed him. No one in this group is capable of running the offense through. Defensively they’re all not great. This group should stop now, and the Thunder may even be better. I am just going to leave this sequence here.
I won't say anything.
*Stats accurate as of 11/17/18