I know I’m getting waaay ahead of myself, but with Livers coming on and Iggy and Johns coming in, does anyone else think we could see “small ball” taken to another level over the next couple of years? That probably sounds like a strange question, since in the Beilein era that term has meant being small at the 4, and all 3 of those guys are bigger than Novak, GR3, and Irvin. But I’m talking about going small at the 5.
I know Moe could still be back for one more year. And I expect Teske to be a big part of the team after Moe is gone, while Castleton has a ton of promise once he develops physically. But Livers, Iggy, and Johns are physically ready now and could play together if Beilein were comfortable trading off size at the 5 in exchange for the defensive versatility to switch 1 through 5 and ridiculous offensive versatility. In theory, it’s not that much different than what we did at times last year with Zak, Duncan, and DJ in the frontcourt, except that DJ had legit 5 length.
An even more apt example is the Warriors’ small lineup with Draymond at the 5, especially before they got Durant, when Iguodala would be the 4. This is something more and more teams are doing and succeeding with, at least as an occasional change of pace, and with three versatile combo forwards on the roster in the next few years, it would be interesting to see.
I know Moe could still be back for one more year. And I expect Teske to be a big part of the team after Moe is gone, while Castleton has a ton of promise once he develops physically. But Livers, Iggy, and Johns are physically ready now and could play together if Beilein were comfortable trading off size at the 5 in exchange for the defensive versatility to switch 1 through 5 and ridiculous offensive versatility. In theory, it’s not that much different than what we did at times last year with Zak, Duncan, and DJ in the frontcourt, except that DJ had legit 5 length.
An even more apt example is the Warriors’ small lineup with Draymond at the 5, especially before they got Durant, when Iguodala would be the 4. This is something more and more teams are doing and succeeding with, at least as an occasional change of pace, and with three versatile combo forwards on the roster in the next few years, it would be interesting to see.
