NBA Starting Lineups With the Biggest Holes to Fill
Every NBA starting lineup has a weak spot.
With most teams, though, that weakness may not be more than a mild concern, something they could potentially upgrade but certainly feel no urgency to do so. However, there are a handful of clubs who secretly know the hole in their first five is glaring enough to potentially sink their season.
While focusing only on teams with some degree of win-now intentions for the 2023-24 campaign—rebuilding rosters are, by their nature incomplete, so spotlighting their shortcomings would feel rather pointless—we'll identify the five biggest holes in starting lineups entering the season.
Chicago Bulls: Point Guard
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Imagine if these Bulls had a two-way playmaker running point. Someone with the size to defend multiple positions, the vision to find every available passing lane, the feel for keeping everyone sufficiently involved and the shooting stroke to add value off the ball. That could really get this roster rolling, right?
Oh, wait, Chicago has that player; Lonzo Ball just isn't healthy. He hasn't been since injuring his knee on Jan. 14, 2022, and it's possible he never will be again. It might be the biggest bummer in basketball, as the Bulls looked legitimately competitive with him (27-13 at the time of his injury) and have been logging serious mileage on the treadmill of mediocrity since (59-65).
Chicago has candidates to fill the void. Coby White quietly made significant progress as a passer and defender last season. Newcomer Jevon Carter is a dogged defender and low-maintenance offensive player. Ayo Dosunmu exceeded expectations as a rookie, so he could conceivably do so again while bouncing back from a disappointing sophomore season.
But those players aren't Ball. And until proven otherwise, all evidence suggests this club can't climb out of the Association's middle class without its hobbled lead guard.
If the Bulls can't find a floor general—internally or otherwise—soon, this core could crumble. DeMar DeRozan is on the final season of his contract, and Zach LaVine has seen his name bounce around the trade rumor mill already. If Ball's absence continues to hover over this team, major moves are almost certainly on the horizon.
Dallas Mavericks: Center
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You can make a reasonable case for the Mavericks having the league's best backcourt. Now, there might be a few red flags flying around the Kyrie Irving-Luka Dončić tandem—availability being the biggest worry with defense a close second—but the talent is tremendous.
The forward spots don't have as much upside, but they should be solid. Grant Williams and Josh Green appear like three-and-D contributors at worst, and no one would be surprised if they provided more playmaking than the label typically implies. Rookie Olivier-Maxence Prosper could add energy and athleticism to the mix, especially if he makes enough shots to keep defenders honest.
That looks like 80 percent of a formidable starting five, but that final 20 percent could be where everything falls apart.
The center rotation looks entirely underwhelming, which explains Dallas' offseason links to the likes of Deandre Ayton and Clint Capela. Since they couldn't land a 5, they're left pinning their hopes on rookie Dereck Lively II, Dwight Powell or Richaun Holmes.
It sounds like this is Lively's starting spot to lose, which says everything you need to know about this position group. Physically, he looks the part of an athletic rim-runner, but he's a raw 19-year-old who averaged all of 5.4 rebounds and 5.2 points during his one-and-done season at Duke. If he isn't dramatically better than he showed with the Blue Devils, the Mavs could be in trouble.
Phoenix Suns: Small Forward (or Point Guard)
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Devin Booker, Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal appear, on paper at least, to comprise one of the better Big Threes in recent memory. Durant's resume features four scoring titles and an MVP (plus tons of other accolades), Booker is just a single season removed from earning an All-NBA first-team selection and Beal is a three-time All-Star who has twice averaged better than 30 points per contest.
Jusuf Nurkić should be a rock-solid option at center, so long as he stays healthy. He has his limitations—he isn't much of an athlete and only recently began dabbling in outside shooting—but he also has the smarts and skills to work around them. His passing could be invaluable for a roster lacking an obvious primary playmaker.
Speaking of which...who's filling that fifth starting spot? Josh Okogie has "the inside track," per Yahoo's Jake Fischer, meaning we'll all wonder once again if Okogie can hit enough shots to stay on the floor. He is a tenacious defender, sure, but you can draw a direct line between his career playing time (20.1 minutes) and shooting slash (40/29.1/74.9).
That he's winning the race, though, shows there are no great options available. Most players in the mix are specialists or low-impact role players, reflecting the top-heavy nature of this team. So, even if someone else snags the gig, this could be a talking point all season.
Phoenix could slot a forward in between Booker and Durant, or it might wind up searching for a lead guard who can connect all the dots. Either way, this is the one spot coach Frank Vogel needs to nail, because—health permitting—everything else looks on point.
Milwaukee Bucks: Shooting Guard
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The Bucks are all-in on Giannis Antetokounmpo, making them all-in on this quartet.
He could reach free agency as soon as 2025, so Milwaukee is doing everything it can to secure his longterm future. Just this offseason, the Bucks re-signed both Khris Middleton and Brook Lopez, then brokered a blockbuster trade for Damian Lillard. They'll pay the three $100 million for this season alone, though that's a justifiable expense if it ups Milwaukee's championship chances and, by extension, its odds of keeping Antetokounmpo for the long haul.
"I want to be a Milwaukee Buck for the rest of my career as long as we are winning," Antetokounmpo told reporters. "It's as simple as that."
Outside of age and the injury worries attached to it, it's hard to find many flaws in this foursome. However, that isn't true of the candidates in the running for the starting shooting guard spot. New Bucks coach Adrian Griffin will have to make some concessions no matter who he chooses, as he only has imperfect options available.
Malik Beasley can shoot, but that's all he does. MarJon Beauchamp could add defense and athleticism, but he can't shoot. Pat Connaughton is capable of a lot of things, but he doesn't do them consistently. Jae Crowder (who'd slide into the 3 spot and bump Middleton to the 2) has been an effective three-and-D wing before, but the Bucks had him last season and hardly played him.
Shooting is always a concern for someone who will play alongside Antetokounmpo, but Milwaukee also needs someone who can defend to pair with Lillard. Setting this spot—in the starting and closing lineups—might be the most important decision Griffin makes all season.
Utah Jazz: Point Guard
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While the Jazz aren't under major win-now pressure, they were competitive for much of last season and could be the same again. Their future is bright, but they have a 26-year-old All-Star in Lauri Markkanen and just extended their commitment to 31-year-old Jordan Clarkson, so the present kind of matters, too.
That's why the void at point guard looks so ominous. This team could at least factor in the West's play-in tournament race, but that's only if they can find an on-court connector. They had one last season in Mike Conley and reaped rewards like a winning record in games he played (34-33) and a positive net differential (plus-1.2 points per 100 possessions).
They split from Conley at last season's trade deadline, though, and have yet to fill the hole his absence created. They have plenty of candidates, but most play like scoring 2s and not table-setting 1s. Clarkson, Collin Sexton, Talen Horton-Tucker and rookie Keyonte George all count scoring as their greatest strength. Kris Dunn doesn't, but that's partly because he maybe just can't score consistently or efficiently at this level.
Utah may not love its internal options. The team was involved in the Jrue Holiday sweepstakes and was a sneaky-favorite of trade-machine enthusiasts during the Damian Lillard pursuit. That says—or at least hints at—two things about this club: It might feel more ready to win than people think, and it might be unconvinced that it can compete with the point guards on the roster.
Statistics courtesy of Basketball Reference and NBA.com.
Zach Buckley covers the NBA for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter, @ZachBuckleyNBA.
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