The Best Unit in the Second Half of the Season...
Submitted by The Professor on Tue, 04/03/2012 - 15:56
(minimum 50 minutes; net points per 100 possessions)
- It's not OKC's starters, although they're rolling at +19.9.
- It's not the Bulls starters, but they've done very well when they've had both Rose and Hamilton: +14.9.
- It's certainly not the Heat starters, struggling at -2.4.
- It's not the Lakers starters with the addition of Sessions, although they're doing very well at +12.0.
- It's not the Spurs starters, who are struggling more than expected without Richard Jefferson: -2.9.
- It's not any Knicks unit, although they have found some excellent options without Amar'e: Davis-Shumpert-Fields-Carmelo-Chandler +29.0.
- It's not the always excellent Bulls second unit (including Deng): Lucas-Korver-Deng-Gibson-Asik +21.9.
- And it's not a unit from the suddenly hot Celtics, although the surprising combo of Rondo-Bradley-Pierce-Garnett-Bass comes in a close second: +29.1.
Ok, so
obviously it's a Suns unit: Nash-Brown-Dudley-Frye-Gortat. Again, obvious right?
Hold on...Brown?? As in Shannon Brown?!? The worthless chucker who played himself completely out of Gentry's rotation for awhile? The Kobe-wannabe with all of Kobe's horrendous shot selection but none of his skill? The career backup who we're only starting out of desperation because of Hill's injury?
Yeah, that'd be him.
As I've said before, and I'll say again:
The Mike D'Antoni Lineup Rules For Ridiculously Effective Offense:
1) Crafty pick-and-roll point guard.
2) Solid pick-and-roll big.
3) Three wings that all shoot 3-pointers (at least one of which is a quick slasher).
1) Steve Nash
2) Marcin Gortat
3) Dudley, Frye, and NOT GRANT HILL!!
If you're going to play Dudley and Frye here (which you should because they've been unbelievably effective in D'Antoni's system even
without Nash, and that much more effective
with Nash), then that last slot must be for a quick slasher, and it really should be another 3-point shooter as well. It may seem strange, but Shannon Brown is a massive offensive upgrade over Hill in that lineup, simply because he's a quick slasher who shoots threes.
Brown has been a poor decision-maker all season, which is all the more reason why he should be starting. Huh? When you play with the Suns starters, you don't have to make decisions with the ball, because Nash makes them for you. With Brown in the starting lineup, he is much more likely to touch the ball when he has either an open three or a boulevard to the rim (and much less likely to touch the ball in any other circumstance).
With Hill injured, Nash is consistently playing with a lineup that both plays defense and follows
The Mike D'Antoni Lineup Rules For Ridiculously Effective Offense. This is the first time in his career he's had that full combination around him, and they are absolutely crushing everyone. And they'll probably keep getting better and better as they learn to play together, as is the track record with Nash's units. The horrible ironic reality: Hill's injury cuts down on the Suns already emaciated depth, so the team still isn't that great; it may be too late to make the playoffs even if that unit continues to dominate; Nash might leave before this crew has a real chance to prove themselves; and whenever Hill does come back, he'll probably just slide back into his starting spot.
http://from-ashes.com/node/57
