Lineups I Want To See: Toronto Raptors

My completely irrational Linas Kleiza love

PG: Kyle Lowry

SG: Jose Calderon

SF: Linas Kleiza

PF: Andrea Bargnani

C: Jonas Valanciunas

Strengths:

·            Size

·            Interior scoring

·            Shooting

·            Pick and roll

Weaknesses

·            Size and defense on the perimeter

·            Speed

Style: With two point guard lineups becoming the rage in the NBA this combination of players is sure to see the floor at some point.  This lineups most effective weapon will be the pick and roll.  Kyle Lowry and Jose Calderon are both excellent pick and roll ball handlers and they have two great weapons Andrea Bargnani can splash it from outside on a pop and the athletic Jonas Valanciunas who is a strong finisher near the basket.  The wild card on offense will be Linas Kleiza.  Kleiza is one of the more versatile players in the NBA.  He can handle the ball or roll/pop on the screen and roll.  He can bang inside or hit from outside.  This is probably just me overreacting because of the Olympics (Linas is one of those players whose skillset fits the international style but not the NBA), but I still think he can be effective to some degree.

            Dual PG lineups are naturally going to have some issues with perimeter size, but nothing that cannot be covered up by strong rim protection.  Valanciunas projects well defensively in the NBA, but his big man partner is notorious for uninspired D.  What this unit gives up on one end will hopefully be made up on the other.   

Lineups I Want To See: Brooklyn Nets

Deron Williams is ready to lead a fun Nets unit.

PG: Deron Williams

Wing: Marshon Brooks

Wing: Joe Johnson

PF: Mirza Teletovic

C: Brook Lopez

Strengths:

·            Three point shooting

·            Athleticism/speed

·            Ball handling

·            Pick and roll

·            Wing defense

Weaknesses:

·            Interior defense

·            Rebounding

Style: If coach Donnie Avery puts this lineup out on the floor, it is sure to be a fun couple of minutes.  With this unit, Brooklyn has four guys who can handle the ball and run a pick and roll.  The way I see this lineup playing is similar to the mid-2000s Phoenix teams.  Four guys will be on the three point line and run various pick and rolls with Brook Lopez and pick and pops with Mirza Teletovic (for those that do not know about Teletovic here are stats and highlights).  Every team in the league runs a screen and roll/pop, but what made those Suns teams so devastating  was the other three players on the floor.  If Deron Williams and Lopez were to run a pick and roll, all three of their teammates would be spotting up on the three-point line.  Williams could dish to a rolling Lopez who would have two options:  either finish strong, or pass to the strong side corner where a Net would be wide open for three because of the rotation to cover Lopez.  Williams could also slash and kick/finish or pop from three.  This lineup can also go to Lopez in the post or at the elbow where he would then have plenty of space to go to work because of the shooters spreading the floor.

            The biggest problem this unit would have is on the boards, both offensive and defensive.  This lineup is small to begin with, but Lopez is infamous for bad rebounding and Teletovic is only 6' 9".  Luckily, Joe Johnson and Marshon Brooks are long quick defenders that will force some long shots and thus long rebounds.  Brooklyn guards can latch onto these leading to some fun fast breaks.    

Lineups I Want To See: New York Knicks

Iman Shumpert is excited to be in this lineup.

PG: Iman Shumpert

SG: Ronnie Brewer

SF: Carmelo Anthony

Big: Marcus Camby

Big: Tyson Chandler

Strengths:

·            Rebounding

·            Defense, defense, and more defense

·            Perimeter defense

·            Interior defense

·            Oh yeah, and defense

Weaknesses:

·            Ball handling

·            Movement

·            Outside shooting

·            Most halfcourt sets

Style: First things first, when this lineup is in, the game will not be pretty.  On offense everything will run through Carmelo Anthony.  Nobody else in this lineup can create off the dribble, shoot consistently from distance, post up, or run the pick and roll nearly as well Anthony, which may lead to a huge usage rate for him.  Meloball will be the entire offense.  While this will most likely to be inefficient to a high degree, sometimes offense must be sacrificed for defense.

And on defense, this unit is a wrecking crew.  Here are a couple facts that should sell you on this lineup, at least on one side of the ball.

·         Iman Shumpert allowed 0.69 PPP (Points Per Possession) and forced a turnover 24.3% of the time last season when defending isolations.

·         Ronnie Brewer allowed only 0.76 PPP when defending the pick and roll ball handler and committed a foul a miniscule 2.6% of the time.

·         Marcus Camby gave up 0.55 when defending the post which was ranked 5^th in the entire league.

·         In isolation defense, Tyson Chandler allowed 27.2% shooting and his PPP allowed was ranked 17^th in the NBA.

Carmelo isolations + defensive rotations=this unit's formula for success.  

All stats courtesy of Synergy Sports.