Through the first quarter of the NBA season, the Portland Trail Blazers’s starting five is the best 5-man lineup in the NBA.
Obviously, “best” is a very relative term. In this case, I’m referring to most points scored for a lineup that has played in more than 10 games together.
I realize that’s not a great statistic for measuring “best,” but I think sometimes we, as fans and writers, tend to give too much weight to predictive statistics and projections. When comparing lineups, I like to look at what has already happened because there are already so many flaws in the data. It doesn’t take into account who the Trail Blazers have played in comparison to other teams, and other situational aspects of the game.
Still, the Trail Blazers’ starting five are playing really well and are the best in the five-man lineup in the NBA.
Currently, the Trail Blazers’ lineup (Damian Lillard, Wesley Matthews, Nicolas Batum, LaMarcus Aldridge, and Robin Lopez) is just edging out the Clippers’ most played lineup (Chris Paul, J.J. Redick, Matt Barnes, Blake Griffin, and DeAndre Jordan) for most points scored per game while on the court together.
In 20.3 minutes per game, the Trail Blazers’ starters are averaging 43.8 points per game while the Clippers’ starters are averaging 42 points per game.
What does it mean?
Well, a few things actually. It means the Trail Blazers are relying upon their starters more than any other team in the league. This could be a good thing because it is the mostly starters that have made the Trail Blazers so successful.
Or, it could be an indication that the Trail Blazers are only winning these games because of the play of their starters, which could mean that a playoff berth would end in the same result as last season because no changes to the most prominent lineup have been made.
It’s up to you what to believe, good, bad, or a combination of both.
While I was leaning toward this being a bad thing, I remembered one fact that’s actually pretty shocking: Batum has been struggling on the offensive end.
Nicolas Batum Stats
Those numbers are frightening, but still, Batum isn’t holding the Trail Blazers back with his poor offensive play.
If Batum is able to break out of this slump any time soon, Portland maybe able to raise their play another few notches; even as a team that is already near the top of the West. Golden State and Memphis are the two best teams in the West right now, but Portland is not far behind. Batum getting back to where he was last season might elevate Portland to their level.
Unfortunately, there is no guarantee that this will happen, but Batum has started to look better in recent games. His 14 points against the Pacers were the most he had scored since the season opener. This extended slump appears to be nearing its end.
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Regardless, the Trail Blazers’ starting unit has put up exceptional numbers in the 2014-15 season so far, even with Batum’s difficulties. Consider how much of a challenge that is when one of your key components is not producing. If they can smooth out this wrinkle as the season wears on, the starting unit will remain unparalleled and possibly gain some distance on other elite teams.