Kentucky Basketball: Wildcats' Best Situational Lineups for 2015-16

There won't be any platooning this season with Kentucky basketball, and that's not a bad thing. There still will be plenty of depth with at least an eight-man rotation for the 2015-16 version of the Wildcats, but you won't see any sort of blue/white platoon.

The one thing John Calipari has proven to do for his first six years in Lexington is stick with one starting lineup. However, he does a great job at making in-game adjustments to match with certain situations. When a team was quicker and substantially smaller than the Wildcats last season, it was likely that Dakari Johnson, a traditional slow-moving center, would spend more time on the bench.

The roster is loaded yet again in Lexington, with a good balance of returning players, transfers and incoming stars from high school. The slideshow will take a look at the best situational lineups for Kentucky in the 2015-16 season.  

Likely Starting Five

Garry Jones/Associated Press

• PG: Tyler Ulis
• SG: Isaiah Briscoe
• SF: Jamal Murray
• PF: Alex Poythress
• C: Skal Labissiere

The commitment of Jamal Murray made this almost a lock to be the starting five for Kentucky next season. The only real question is if Alex Poythress will be healthy enough to start at power forward come the beginning of the season, after he tore his ACL last season.

This is a good mix of leadership, with Poythress as the quiet senior and Tyler Ulis as the coach on the floor and young talent. Briscoe, Murray and Labissiere are all top recruits who have lofty expectations heading into the season.

This lineup also allows Kentucky to run the dribble-drive offense, with Labissiere and Poythress both able to beat slower defenders off the dribble. Labissiere also can stretch the floor, allowing for the drive to happen by any of the other players since his defender won't be sitting at the rim. 

When the Team Needs a Defensive Stop to Win the Game

David J. Phillip/Associated Press

• PG: Tyler Ulis
• SG: Dominique Hawkins
• SF: Charles Matthews
• PF: Alex Poythress
• C: Marcus Lee

This is one of the lineups that can be changed based on the opposing team, and obviously foul trouble. But for the time being, this is who Calipari should put on early in the season for a defensive stop. The two guard positions are obvious choices with Ulis and Hawkins as ball hawks who have no fear on the defensive side of the ball. We saw Hawkins used as a defensive stopper during the run to the Final Four in 2014, while Ulis came into college as a known defender.

The next three positions are pretty interchangeable, but I'll slide Matthews into the small forward spot due to his athleticism and hard-nosed personality. He has the capability to switch on screens and guard multiple positions, which is the key to this lineup. If Poythress is healthy, he can provide rim protection at the power forward spot, while Lee is similar.

Again, this is all based on the ability to guard pick-and-rolls while still having the rim protection on the court. Labissiere could be switched in for Poythress later in the season due to his shot-blocking capability. 

When Scoring a Bucket Wins the Game

Gregory Payan/Associated Press

• PG: Tyler Ulis
• SG: Mychal Mulder
• SF: Isaiah Briscoe
• PF: Jamal Murray
• C: Skal Labissiere

Here is the true small-ball lineup, similar to what we saw the Golden State Warriors run in the NBA Finals. This will be used solely on the offensive side of the ball, when you're able to make dead-ball changes. The key to this lineup is spreading the floor and having five guys who can drive and shoot on the court.

The biggest addition here is sliding in Mychal Mulder to the shooting guard spot. Mulder, a transfer from junior college, is an uber-athletic knockdown shooter, who has range from almost anywhere inside half court. He will play the role of Devin Booker from last year's team, just more athletic. 

Obviously this is a smaller lineup, but Mulder, Briscoe and Murray are all bigger guards that can normally play a position bigger than what is expected out of them. If a bucket wins the game, the key would be to stay spread and let Ulis work to get a teammate an open look. If he's unable to, give the ball to Briscoe, who is probably the better playmaker than Murray, and let him create.