Stotts really struck gold tonight with the Lillard/Wes/Aflolo/Batum/LMA lineup to end the game. It just brings so much spacing to the offense--a three pointer can come in from any direction and it really puts the other team on its heals. It's a great change of pace--the opponent gets used to playing against a very tall lineup for 40 minutes and then suddenly it's all small ball. Really exposes poorer coaches like Brooks. (Very similar to the change of pace Stotts often throws in late in the game by switching Batum onto the other team's PG.) With three solid wing defenders in there who scrap hard for rebounds (and Aldridge gobbling up 16 on his own), we don't get abused on the boards too badly. The key, of course, is to really pressure the ball and keep the other team from abusing a height advantage. Force them to go small too--make them adjust to you. We used to run this last year with Mo Williams a lot, but the lack of defense always made it such a risky proposition. If Mo wasn't hitting shots (or taking too many shots or taking the ball out of Lillard's hands), that lineup could be sub-optimal. AA is much more of a "flow" player, taking shots when needed and just fitting in around LMA/Aldridge otherwise. Aldridge has said repeatedly he hates playing center, but I personally think he means he hates playing center all game. It's a hard slog for him to do it 35 mpg and still be productive. But he doesn't seem to have any problem playing C for the final 8 minutes, given how much it opens up the lane for him.
It depends on match-ups. OKC plays small so it worked very well. You go with what's working. You don't have to decide this lineup finishes every game like you don't have to have the starters always finish the game, you have to be able to make decisions based on what's happening on the court on any given time.
The worst 3 point shooter in this lineup is Batum. Turn that over in your head for a while. I agree; but what team is going to go big against us at the end of a game? Memphis? That's about it.
That's exactly Stotts biggest weakness IMO and it seems most here have gotten used to it so much it became their way of thinking as well. You don't decide at any point what you're going to do next game (or for the season, other than Memphis...), it's nice to know you can use this lineup and it worked very well tonight but the next game maybe some other lineup is working better, maybe a better coach would have even made adjustments to expose this lineup tonight for OKC, you go with what's working for you, you stay flexible with your substitutions, you react all the time, that's what a good coach does.
I think it depends on the other teams big men. I prefer sticking with our starting lineup if Rolo and Aldridge can defend the opponents two big men. If they are killing us on pick and roles or spreading us out for threes then this small lineup is great. If we are behind and want to speed up the tempo with 3 point shooting this lineup is again a great option. But most the time I'd go back to the starting unit. Its a great new strength of our team to have both options. Earlier this year we would play small at the end with Steve Blake but with AAA now in his place our small lineup is far superior.
That lineup was begging to be used vs OKC. Our centers were pretty much useless, and were getting beat too easily defensively by smaller quicker players like mcgary. Once stotts adjusted it was over for the thunder. It'll be a good lineup to use at times. A lot of teams use smaller lineups, so it won't be a rare occurrence.
One reason that lineup works well is because Aldridge is quicker and a dominant scorer. Lopez is solid but he is not quite as mobile. Same thing goes for Kaman. In that situation it worked but there were times when they gave up a few too many offensive rebounds. I think they gave up second chance points on consecutive possessions in the last few minutes. The guards have got to crash the boards and box their man out or it can burn you. Overall i like the look when it is needed. Glad we have another option.
That's a nice lineup to go to when necessary, do you guys think we will fill the last roster spot, and if so with a PG or?
Well I obviously like it as I asked for it about an hour after the trade was made. But would have had Rolo back in for the offense/defensive situations in the last minute. With 11 seconds left and Westbrook obviously going to attack the basket, he should have been in to protect the rim. LA did a great job on that play though. Although that lineup did a poor job of rebounding, it did a good job of defending the perimeter. And of course it gave Dame more room to attack the basket. What I would question, even though it worked well last night, is the ISO plays for LA with that line up. Yes he scored, but if he wouldn't have there was no chance for a rebound as the other 4 players were no where close to the basket. That play made me nervous. Overall I love having this option. The extra ball handler is huge when teams pressure us.
Wes doesn't jump. For most of the game I think it helps him because he is always in position and can move to the perfect spot without waiting to get back on the ground. But driving or breaks just don't work for him.
With Matthews out, I wonder if Stotts will still try to use a version of this to close out games. In the next few games I bet we see him experiment with Lillard/AAA/Nic/Wright/Aldridge at some point in the first half, and if it seems to be clicking he'll go back to it to end the game.
I can see Terry trying that line up and It will depend on the match up, but I think Blake will also be tried. He gives us the extra ball handler and he can hit the three and although he does not have the size that Wes provided, he can be a tough defender against bigger players.
The only doubts I have about Blake being in the end is his size and AAA being able to handle the ball well. Too many cooks...
I agree. Plus, Blake really just isn't that good of a player. He's 34, and never really was that quick. Tenaciousness only takes you so far. Plus, if we go "small," I'd prefer taller small.
He has looked good to me this year. It is not as good of a lineup as the one with Wes, but it has looked better than the one with Mo last year. Having an extra PG in the lineup takes pressure off Damian and lets him do what he does best.....score. Plus if we are up it gives us one extra player to handle the pressure. Turnovers often kill us and Blake is better than anyone else on the team besides Dame at handling the ball. But like I said before it will depend on the match up. Maybe with more game experience CJ can slide into that roll. But so far he has not gotten it.
