Our Best Possible Lineup

Good evening, everyone. I hope your hangovers are going well.

So the Dubs are starting the new decade with a bit of momentum, coming off of three straight impressive performances. It would be really, really nice to see this good play continue; the playoffs are not a possibility at this point, but the fans could use some sunshine, and the old man has a record to break. We start a seven-game homestand next week that features five beatable opponents. If we want to do any winnin', now's the time.

As such, it's time for Nellie to put his best possible lineup on the floor. This is something he's had trouble doing for over a year now. Injuries have been a part of that, but only a part... Nellie has also overplayed bad players (Mikki Moore, Jamal Crawford), underplayed good players (Brandan Wright, Andris Biedrins) and assembled combinations that simply lack the size to compete. We are not a good enough team to survive suboptimal use of our talent; if we want to string together some wins, we'll need to field the best team we possibly can.

Things have been looking up on this front, both in terms of health and in terms of Nellie's inclinations. Biedrins is back, Maggette is playing more, Randolph has gotten a couple starting nods... these are all positives. And the Curry/Ellis/Maggette/Randolph/Biedrins combo that has started the last two games is pretty good; it's one of our better possible lineups. But it's not our best possible lineup.

Our best possible lineup is this:

PG - C.J. Watson

SG - Monta Ellis

SF - Corey Maggette

PF - Anthony Randolph

C - Andris Biedrins

Boatloads of offense here: CJ, Maggette and Biedrins are extremely efficient scorers, Monta has been one before, and Randolph is improving by the month in that department. CJ is a below-average playmaker, as he passes efficiently but rarely; that's not a big problem here, as three of the other four guys pass well for their positions. This lineup would rack up points at the charity stripe something fierce... between Monta, Maggette and Randolph, they'd get into the penalty early and often, and four of these five convert well from the line. This is a lineup with some serious scoring punch.

The defensive potential is not nearly as high (these are still the Warriors we're talking about), but none of these guys actually rates as a horrible defender, and all five do create a lot of positive events on that end. CJ and Monta grab a ton of steals, Randolph and Biedrins block a ton of shots, Maggette draws a ton of charges -- that's enough to Scotch-tape-and-bubble-gum yourself to some wins. There's no reason why this lineup couldn't defend as well as, say, the '07-'08 Warriors, and that crew won 48 games.

Rebounding? Glad you asked! These guys collectively grab 47.6 rebounds per 48 minutes... compare that to our actual season average of 37.4. A lineup with a Biedrins/Randolph/Maggette frontcourt will not just compete on the glass, but dominate on it.

Great offense, passable D, great rebounding... this is clearly our best possible lineup. Do you how many minutes this quintet has gotten together thus far?

Zero. Not fifty, not ten... none. Obviously Biedrins's absence is the primary reason why, and Tuesday's starting lineup featured four of the five. Still, the fact that our best possible lineup has never even seen the floor is absurd. And it's something that should change.

CJ/Monta/Maggette/Randolph/Beans should be our starting lineup starting tomorrow. These five should start third quarters as well as first quarters, and they should play together in crunch time, as well... they should get at least 20 minutes on the floor along side each other each night. There will be plenty of minutes left over for Curry and Morrow and Turiaf (and, if necessary, Vlad)... we're not forgetting about those guys. We're not even necessarily deviating from our plan to trade CJ and Maggette by the deadline. We're just committing the next couple weeks to the lineup that, on paper at least, gives us the best chance to win. When you're 9-22, it's probably worth a try.

Basketball is an infinitely complicated sport, but one of its deepest truths is pretty simple: your best players give you the best chance to win. Our five best healthy players play different positions, so if Nellie wants to put all them on the court at the same time, he can. And more to the point, he should. Creative lineups are all well and good when you're winning; when you're losing, you'd be well-served to get your best players on the floor and see what they can do together.