Situational Line ups: Defense

[sillent]

The situational line ups are ridiculous with this versatile lineup we'll have coming into this 2021- 2022 season. I thought it would be interesting to look at a few on paper and I'll start with defense.

Defensive Squad

PG Delon Wright, Skylar Mays, Trae 

SG Cam, Kevin, Lou

SF Dre, Solo, Bogi

PF Jalen Johnson, JC, Gallo

C OO, Capela, Dieng

 

When healthy a Wright, Cam, Dre, JJ, OO lineup is scary on defense and not bad on offense either.

Our defensive second unit of Mays, Kevin, Solo, JC and Clint is a solid team as well.

They say offense can be the best defense and our 3rd unit would be full of it with Trae, Lou, Bogi, Gallo and Dieng (who could honestly move up a unit in the defensive department but would definitely help here).

Maybe Skylar Mays can be replaced by Sharife Cooper but all of these lineups would be dangerous.

I'd put up any big 3 offense against a defense of Wright, Reddish, Hunter, (nba ready) Jalen Johnson and a healthy Okongwu. Whether we were switching or man on man I'm confident that they all can do more than hold their own. Together they all have ridiculous wingspans and length and can cover alot of ground on the court inside and out.

If Johnson isn't ready Clint or Dieng can fill in as defensive starters and I believe JC will get even more consistent in that department as well.

 

Edited August 10, 2021 by sillent

[niremetal]

Good post. But I think folks need to take a few deep breaths when assessing where are younger players are at right now.

Re the 5 spot...I agree OO will get there. But I don't think he's close to displacing Clint (who was one of the league's best defenders last year) as the 5 in a defensive lineup right now. Clint is one of the best defensive centers in the league. I roll my eyes at the people who think he somehow got exposed in the playoffs last year, as if Embiid doesn't eat even elite defensive centers for breakfast (he dropped 40 and 19 the last time he faced Rudy Gobert). OO's foul rate alone precludes him being viable in that role right now. Again, not that OO is bad, but adjusting to the demands of defense in the NBA has a steep learning curve, and Onyeka is still navigating that.

Which leads me to Jalen Johnson. Until we see him against real NBA talent (which rarely is the case in summer league), it's nuts to assume he could handle any position in a defensive lineup. I suspect he'll be in for a rude awakening when he actually has to contend with the speed and power of rotation bigs in the NBA. All rookies do--even ones who showed much better D in college than Jalen did. I'd be shocked if he were someone we bring in for defensive purposes any time this year. There's nothing he'll be able to do now that others couldn't do better, whether it's Dre, Cam, or even Huerter on the perimeter or Clint, OO, or Dieng on 4s or 5s.

Fortunately, there's pretty much never a reason for a team to trot out a full 1-5 defensive lineup. You adjust to the matchup(s) the opponent is exploiting. And like you said, it's nice to have lots of options there. I suspect Cam and Delon will be the two guys who see the floor most as defensive substitutes this year. I don't think there's any circumstance where defense is key and Clint isn't on the floor (unless he's out due to injury). I could see circumstances where OO and Clint are both on the floor at the same time, but probably only in situations where we're going possession-by-possession.

Edited August 10, 2021 by niremetal

[ATLHawks3]

Jalen has to prove himself against real NBAers before you play him in defensive lineups.