The NBA's Best Small-Ball Lineups This Season
NBA small-ball concepts are being taken to a new extreme.
Any team that tossed out a power forward who chucked threes was once considered a proponent of this movement. But sweet-shooting 4s have since become standard.
And that's how we will define small-ball lineups: They are five-man combinations that cannot feature someone who has logged the majority of his career minutes at the 5, and there can be no more than one career power forward in the mix.
All lineups must have been used more than 90 possessions to qualify for this list. With the aim of keeping our findings as objective as possible, we will grade undersized groups by multiplying their net rating by the number of possessions they've spent on the hardwood as of March 29. This helps account for pace and rewards combinations that spend ample amount of time together without penalizing units that perform well in shorter bursts.
The resulting number will henceforth be known as the "Lineup Score," and the 10 best small-ball units will be ranked accordingly.
10. Cleveland Cavaliers: M. Dellavedova | L. James | I. Shumpert | J. Smith | T. Thompson
Possessions Played: 116
Net Rating: 4.1
Lineup Score: 475.6
This five-man combination of Matthew Dellavedova, LeBron James, J.R. Smith, Iman Shumpert and Tristan Thompson is a favorite of Cleveland Cavaliers head coach Tyronn Lue—insofar as he can have a favorite lineup that doesn't include two of the team's three most important players.
Basketball politics limits this group's sample size by default. Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love need to soak up ample time. But this is still one of the Cavaliers' seven most-used lineups of the Lue era.
Any defensive concerns—and there are a ton—get mitigated by ridiculous offensive potential. James gets to run point without displacing or catering to Irving, and Dellavedova is shooting better than 52 percent from three-point range when catching passes from the four-time MVP.
Shumpert is struggling to knock down shots in general, but he and Dellavedova can shimmy between perimeter assignments, allowing Cleveland to stash Smith elsewhere and milk his spot-up shooting without too much defensive penalty.
James at power forward is just money. Short of him playing center, there is no better mismatch in the NBA. Thompson, unlike Love, does enough at the rim defensively to survive at the 5. Opponents shoot at below-average rates against him inside 10 feet of the basket, and he's the perfect pick-and-roll diver for spread lineups.
9. Boston Celtics: A. Bradley | J. Crowder | M. Smart | J. Sullinger | I. Thomas
Possessions Played: 139
Net Rating: 5.1
Lineup Score: 708.9
Jared Sullinger, all of 6'9", has spent most of his time at center this season, attesting to head coach Brad Stevens' willingness to experiment. In this instance, he also comes off as a genius.
The Boston Celtics are pumping in nearly 119 points per 100 possessions when Avery Bradley, Jae Crowder, Marcus Smart, Sullinger and Isaiah Thomas share the floor. For comparison's sake, the Golden State Warriors, owners of the league's best offense, drop in around 115.
Plopping Sullinger in the middle and asking one of Bradley and Smart to defend small forwards is a disaster waiting to happen. But the smaller guys know to chase shooters off the three-point line, and the Celtics bank on this unit killing rivals with speed.
These five average nearly 104 possessions per 48 minutes together. No other team is using more than 100 on the season. That pace, when coupled with Boston's amalgam of inclusive drivers here, more than negates the lack of shooting and flimsily fashioned interior defense.
8. Denver Nuggets: W. Barton | K. Faried | D. Gallinari | G. Harris | E. Mudiay
Possessions Played: 182
Net Rating: 4.0
Lineup Score: 728
First things first: The Denver Nuggets' five-player tandem of Will Barton, Kenneth Faried, Danilo Gallinari, Gary Harris and Emmanuel Mudiay is every bit as terrible defensively as you would think.
Opponents are blitzing this quintuplet for almost 116 points per 100 possessions. Faried doesn't have the rim-protecting chops to play the 5, and Gallinari, who remains sidelined with an injured right ankle, only matches up well with offensively barren power forwards who belong in the 1990s.
But for as vulnerable as the Nuggets become on defense with these five, they become even more dangerous on offense. Denver amasses roughly 120 points per 100 possessions, and this crew is draining more than 38 percent of its three-point attempts.
Mudiay, like Faried, doesn't have much of a jumper, so he needs to be surrounded by marksmen who make his drive-and-kicks worthwhile. Barton, Harris and Gallinari each shoot no worse than 38 percent from deep off Mudiay's passes, and they can all take over playmaking duties in transition.
Credit head coach Mike Malone, a recognized traditionalist, for letting this clique loose. Just four of Denver's other lineups have used more possessions than this one, and Malone, despite having a frontcourt logjam, is quietly helping the Nuggets build up a small-ball monster.
7. Denver Nuggets: W. Barton | K. Faried | D. Gallinari | G. Harris | J. Nelson
Possessions Played: 128
Net Rating: 7.8
Lineup Score: 998.4
Same team. Same story. Different lineup.
Replace Mudiay with Jameer Nelson, and the Nuggets barely miss a beat. The offense is comparably efficient to the previous small-ball dynamo, tallying just over 117 points per 100 possessions. The defense is still bad, but it's markedly better at the same time.
Malone, however, stopped leaning on this group before Gallinari's ankle injury. Nelson barely plays following the acquisition of D.J. Augustin, and Denver is rightly focused on developing Mudiay. The team's pace also slows by a considerable margin when swapping out the rookie for the veteran.
Still, this lineup has seen enough spin to validate its standing, and the half-court workings are further evidence that Denver has a versatile terror on its hands.
6. Philadelphia 76ers: I. Canaan | J. Grant | R. Holmes | T. McConnell | H. Thompson
Possessions Played: 101
Net Rating: 13
Lineup Score: 1,313
No, this is not a drill. The Philadelphia 76ers have a top-10 small-ball arrangement.
Richaun Holmes' iffy health bill, along with the Sixers' need to play Nerlens Noel and Jahlil Okafor (also injured), has limited the exposure of this formation. But head coach Brett Brown goes to it when he can—as much as he can.
Only four of Philly's other groupings have used more possessions than this lineup of Isaiah Canaan, Jerami Grant, Holmes, T.J. McConnell and Hollis Thompson. It's not hard to see why; Just look at how this pentacle stacks up against the Sixers' usual performance:
| Overall | 98.5 | 30 | 109.1 | 26 |
| Canaan/Grant/Holmes/McConnell/Thompson | 117.8 | 1 | 104.8 | 11 |
Sample size and yada, yada, yada. But the Sixers have a nice blueprint here. These five find nylon on more than 46 percent of their triples, and the surrounding three provide enough spacing to open lanes for Grant and Holmes.
It's Holmes who specifically brings this band together. He is long and quick enough at 6'10" to defend just about anyone, including centers, and his rim-protection numbers are similar to David West's in stinginess and volume. Oh, and he's one of two qualified players averaging at least 14 points, one steal and two blocks per 36 minutes.
His company? Some dude named Anthony Davis.
5. Golden State Warriors: H. Barnes | S. Curry | D. Green | S. Livingston | K. Thompson
Possessions Played: 130
Net Rating: 13.7
Lineup Score: 1,781
The Warriors have reinvented the concept of small ball. They were among the first to push the bill and frequently trot out a playmaking center—none of which is possible without Draymond Green, who is, as Ethan Sherwood Strauss described for ESPN.com, the NBA's greatest anomaly:
"Although listed as power forward at a shooting guard's height, Green's side work as a 5 has been particularly potent. He swarms larger men defensively, picks apart their tendencies and beats them down the floor on fast breaks. Sometimes, it's difficult to know whether Green is sneakily the league's best center or a harbinger of the position's doom.
"
Almost 15 percent of Green's minutes this season are coming at the 5, even though he's 6'7". He averages more assists than Stephen Curry, shoots 38-plus percent from three and is controlled chaos in transition. Surround him with a ton of shooters, and he can be your point guard and center. He lets Curry and Klay Thompson work off the ball and bury threes off the catch, while his own outside touch within this lineup makes up for Shaun Livingston's jump-shooting warts.
Though this particular fivesome, which is rounded out by Harrison Barnes, converts just over 33 percent of its three-balls, the Warriors are still annihilating defenses. They pile on more than 131 points per 100 possessions with this group and, what they've lacked in shooting, they've made up for with unchecked, unimaginable speed.
4. Golden State Warriors: H. Barnes | S. Curry | D. Green | B. Rush | K. Thompson
Possessions Played: 117
Net Rating: 18.8
Lineup Score: 2,199.6
To answer your question, no, this group, unlike Golden State's last one, has no problem sinking three-pointers. These five combine to hit more than 42 percent of their treys when playing together.
That's the benefit of swapping out Livingston for Brandon Rush. The Warriors get to play five-out schemes, spreading defenses beyond function. Rush is shooting better than 40 percent overall from long distance, and his deep-ball accuracy tops 53 percent firing off Green's passes.
Using Rush also allows the Warriors to switch things up defensively. He is shorter than Livingston but better built to trade assignments with Barnes or Thompson when the situation calls. The less than 101 points per 100 possessions this lineup relinquishes translates to a top-two defense overall.
Striking offensive and defensive balance while wholly eschewing size and positional constructs is among the toughest things to do, even in today's progressively experimental NBA. The Warriors have managed to deploy an undersized posse that does it all, and then some.
3. Boston Celtics: A. Bradley | J. Crowder | J. Sullinger | I. Thomas | E. Turner
Possessions Played: 139
Net Rating: 26.2
Lineup Score: 3,641.8
Good luck scoring on this version of the Celtics.
Evan Turner completely changes the makeup of this lineup. The other four players depend on uptempo offense to get by when paired with Smart. But Turner, while still an inept three-point shooter, flies around on the defensive end, swarming point guards and power forwards and every position in between. As Stevens put it:
Rival shooters fail to crack 31 percent shooting from beyond the arc with him in the vicinity, and he is the ultimate pest when trapping and authoring double-teams:
Offenses are shooting under 40 percent from the field overall, less than 18 percent from deep and totaling just 91 points per 100 possessions against this small-ball cluster. And this stinginess doesn't deter the offense.
Boston collects more than 117 points per 100 possessions with this lineup. And though the three-point accuracy (35.3 percent) might prove unsustainable over the long haul with so many shooting liabilities, the pace with which this platoon plays will forever create opportunities.
2. Dallas Mavericks: R. Felton | W. Matthews | D. Nowitzki | C. Parsons | D. Williams
Possessions Played: 126
Net Rating: 30
Lineup Score: 3,780
Talk about your bittersweet findings.
Placed beside one another, Raymond Felton, Wesley Matthews, Dirk Nowitzki, Chandler Parsons and Deron Williams are an offensive dream. Any two can run pick-and-rolls with another, and just about everyone can orbit the three-point line on drives and post-ups; Felton is the only one of the five shooting under 37 percent on catch-and-shoot triples.
This unique blend of aging vets and injury-prone wings is torching defenses for more than 137 points per 100 possessions. You read that correctly. They shoot over 50 percent from three as a collective and steamroll defenses with a flurry of half-court passing.
Somehow, with a 37-year-old Nowitzki jumping center, the Dallas Mavericks aren't a defensive flop. They allow entirely too many points per 100 possessions in general (107.3). But this group is a slight statistical improvement over what the Mavericks relinquish for the season (107.7), and it's complemented by a spacey offense that, at times, can make almost anything the Warriors run out appear human.
The problem?
Parsons is done for the season after having surgery on his right knee, while Williams is dealing with a strained left groin and abdominal muscle, according to ESPN.com's Tim MacMahon. Unfortunately, the Mavericks' Frail Five won't ride again this year, and their flickering playoff hopes reflect as much.
1. Golden State Warriors: H. Barnes | S. Curry | D. Green | A. Iguodala | K. Thompson
Possessions Played: 330
Net Rating: 48.4
Lineup Score: 15,972
Who's surprised?
Add Andre Iguodala to a foundation of Barnes, Curry, Green and Thompson, and the Warriors invent a brand of dominance. Their offense is unstoppable, their defense impenetrable, their pace a white-hot blur:
| Death Squad | 61.1 | 56.9 | 147.0 | 98.5 | 107.2 |
Put in layman's terms, the Warriors' small-ball Death Squad defends with top-two integrity while scoring like a legion that hails from another dimension. More than 2,400 five-man lineups have seen at least 100 minutes of action since 2000-01, which is as far back as Basketball-Reference.com's lineup data tracks. This Death Squad ranks first, above every other possible combination, in net rating.
To that end, Barnes, Curry, Green, Iguodala and Thompson don't just make up the best small-ball lineup in the Association. Nor do they forge the best overall five-man unit in the league, period.
These five, together, form one of the best lineups the NBA has ever seen.
Stats courtesy of Basketball-Reference.com and NBA.com and accurate leading into games March 29.
Dan Favale covers the NBA for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter, @danfavale.
