Makeshift group has formed highest-rated lineup
One isa sure fire hall of fa mer. One, along time fan favorite. Another is an Atlanta castoff amid a career year. Two arrived from Los Angeles in a summer blockbuster trade.
Chris Paul, Steven Adams, Dennis Schro der, Sh ai Gil geo us-Alexander and Danilo Gallinari are a makeshift group of players. Three are in their first seasons with the Thunder. Four are possible trade candidates.
But the five have formed the best lineup in the NBA, according to the net rating of lineups that have played a minimum of 100 minutes. And it's not close.
With Paul, Sc hr oder and Gil geo us-Alexander sharing back court duties, Gall in ari stretching the floor as a power forward and Adams manning the paint, the Thunder is outscoring opponents by 31.4 points per 100 possessions.
The second-best NBA lineup by net rating is Utah's combination of Donovan Mitchell, Joe Ingles, Royce O'Neale, Bojan Bogdanovic and Rudy Gobert.
The Jazz is outscoring opponents by 21 points per 100 possessions with that pairing.
The Thunder's best lineup is more than 10 points better per 100 possessions than the next best lineup in the league.
“Even going back to preseason when we did it, I thought it was effective ,” Thunder coach Billy Donovan said. “It's kind of progressed.”
The sample is small. Paul, Schroder, Gilgeous-Alexander, Gallinari and Adams have only played 117 minutes together in 30 games — an average of 3.9 minutes per game.
The problem with the pairing is size, and that has limited its use.
Paul, Sch rode rand Gilgeous-Alexander are all point guards. Paul and Schroder are just north of 6- foot. Gil geous-Alexander, at 6-foot-6, helps compensate for the lack of length. Even so, Paul regularly defends small forwards in OKC's three-guard lineups.
The lack of size has made Donovan c auti ous about deploying the lineup in certain matchups, but the fiveman group hasn't been a defensive liability. Quite the opposite.
Among line ups that have logged at least 100 minutes, the Paul, Sch rod er, Gil geous-Alexander, Gallinari and Adams partnership has the sixth-best defensive rating in the NBA.
It is allowing 96.5 points per 100 possessions while scoring a league-high 127.9 points per 100 possessions. Net rating is calculated as the difference between the two numbers.
Lake rs coach Frank Vogel assessed the effectiveness of the Thunder's super lineup with two words: speed and shooting.
“Schroder's shooting the ball extremely well this year, and just his overall play making ,” Vogel said. “You've got three elite scorers with great speed, so the containment piece is huge for trying to slow those guys down.”
The lineup fe atu rest he Thunder' s five leading score rs: Gilgeous-Alexander (19.9 points per game), Gallinari (18.6), Schroder ( 18.2), Paul ( 16.5) and Adams (12.0). It's OKC's starting lineup with one swap: Terrance Ferguson's defense for Schroder's offense.
Donovan credited the success of the lineup to the unselfishness of the three guards.
“I' m sure it' s been an adjustment for all of them because they're all used to having the ball in their hands all the time,” Donovan said. “They've all kind of given a part of that up for the greater good.”
Best NBA lineups, according to net rating*
1. Thunder, 31.4 net
rating: Chris Paul, Dennis Schroder, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Dani lo Gallinari, Steven Adams
2. Jazz, 21.0 net rating:
Donovan Mitchell, Joe Ingles, Royce O'Neale, Bojan Bogdanovic, Rudy Gobert
3. Rockets, 19.9 net rating:
Russell Westbrook, James Harden, Ben McLemore, P.J. Tucker, Clint Capela
4. Pistons, 19.5 net rating:
Bruce Brown, Luke Kennard, Tony Snell, Blake Griffin, Andre Drummond
5. Jazz, 16.3 net rating:
Mike Conley, Donovan Mitchell, Royce O'Neale, Bojan Bogdanovic, Rudy Gobert
6. Raptors, 16.1 net rating:
Fred VanVleet, Norman Powell, OG Anunoby, Pascal Siakam, Marc Gasol
7. Bucks, 15.6 net rating:
Eric Bledsoe, Wesley Matthews, Khris Middleton, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Brook Lopez
8. Pacers, 13.9 net rating:
T.J. McConnell, Aaron Holiday, Justin Holiday, Doug McDermott, Domantas Sabonis
9. Raptors, 13.8 net rating:
Kyle Lowry, Fred VanVleet, OG Anunoby, Pascal Siakam, Marc Gasol
10. Lakers, 13.7 net rating:
Avery Bradley, Danny Green, LeBron James, Anthony Davis, JaVale McGee
*Minimum 100 minutes played
Raptors at Thunder
When: 7 p.m., Wednesday Where: Chesapeake Energy Arena, Oklahoma City
TV: FSOK (Cox 37/HD 722, DirecTV 675, U-verse 751/1751)
Radio: WWLS-AM 640/98.1 FM
Three things to know
• The last time the Thunder and Raptors played, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 32 points, the most any Canadian has scored against the Raptors.
• Pascal Siakam (groin) and Norman Powell (left shoulder subluxation) returned to the Raptors lineup Sunday, after missing 3 1/2 weeks to injury. Neither played in the last meeting between OKC and Toronto. • The Thunder has won 12 of its past 15 games.