What do you guys think will be the best 5 man lineup this year? Not nessecarily who will start or who will play the most minutes, but what group will be the most effective? I'm thinking Dame/CJ/Aminu/Vonleh/Leonard Dames a given, and with a wide open lane he's really hard to gaurd. CJ showed in the playoffs how effective his is when the big isn't in the middle, as he attacked straight at his defenders chest with layins and floaters. Aminu will have the ability to wreak havoc on the offensive boards, with both opposing bigs dealing with Leonard and Vonleh, and one of them likely out on the perimeter. Hed also be the lock down defender of the group and would be great running the lane with Leonard. Vonleh and Meyers will do what they're good at. Hit shots, rebound, and play hard on defense. Their offensive versatility will give opposing bigs fits, and Vonlehs ability to gaurd the perimeter at a decent level will make it hard for teams to go small, and if they do, it'll only benefit us. Those 2 in the double high post action the Blazers showed in summer league should be deadly.
Since plus/minus is as dependent as the opposition as it is your own players, I would imagine that our best plus/minus lineup will be facing most of the opposing team's reserves, because I think that the drop-off from our starters to our reserves will be one of the league's shallowest this year. So if I think that Dame/Hendo/Aminu/Leonard/Plumlee start, I'd guess that our best plus/minus lineup will be Pressey/CJ/Crabbe/Vonleh/Davis.
Tough to say at this point, but I do agree with Dame/CJ. If Crabbe can be more aggressive I would put him ahead of Aminu, but I don't believe it will happen that way. So... Dame/CJ/Aminu/Leonard/Plumlee mainly because (surprisingly) Plumlee has a better /36 ppg than any of the other bigs last year and he can defend. Just to be clear that this is the best +/- not who will be in at the end of the game. FWIW, at the end of next season I likely agree with you. I just don't think Vonleh will be there this year.
i have to agree with dame/cj/aminu/vonleh/leonard will be the best plus/minus lineup. if not then it will be at least the trio of dame, cj, and Legend
The starters. http://www.82games.com/1415/1415POR2.HTM If you want something to give you hope, Lillard-McCollum-Batum-Lopez-Leonard was in the top five lineups last year and when you switch Batum out for Crabbe, it didn't cost you much and many consider Plumlee/Lopez to be a somewhat even swap.
That is actually a good point. Not really our best plus-minus in a vacuum, but it could show the best numbers. A counter argument is that the rotation will be flexible most of the year and the lineup producing the best will likely be on the court the most. In other words, if we have a bad year then our bench will likely really suck and the lesser of two evils will be our starters.
Dame/CJ/Crabbe/Leonard/Plumlee would be my second choice. I just like the rebounding, spacing, and ability to run with Aminu and Vonleh.
Stotts likes to run a modern offense with at least 4 shooters on the floor to create three point opportunities or space to drive to the rim. I suspect our best lineups won't have more than one of Aminu/Davis/Plumlee on the court at the same time. Just not enough shooting. I really hope Vonleh can produce fairly quickly for us. The Aminu/Leonard/Vonleh front line really establishes a unique identity with big men hitting threes and a defensive/rebounding SF.
Funny how Plumlee got unloaded for a low draft pick while Lopez got a huge contract. If only those GMs had come to you first.
True, but I don't remember seeing RoLo invited to the team U.S.A. camp either. And, NY would rather trade money than their draft pick. It's too early to tell. In all honesty I think RoLo was a better center for the old team, but wouldn't have been good at all for the new team. Plumlee is just the opposite.
