Ranking the NBA's Starting 5s on Paper, Post-2015 Free Agency

[Sgt P]

Let debate the starting 5 being ranked here is the list from the Bleacher Report
(I am only listing the top 15)
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2521769-ranking-the-nbas-starting-5s-on-paper-post-2015-free-agency/page/17

1. San Antonio Spurs Starting Five:

• Tony Parker
• Danny Green
• Kawhi Leonard
• LaMarcus Aldridge
• Tim Duncan

2. Los Angeles Clippers Starting Five:

• Chris Paul
• J.J. Redick
• Paul Pierce
• Blake Griffin
• DeAndre Jordan

3. Cleveland Cavaliers Starting Five:

• Kyrie Irving
• Iman Shumpert
• LeBron James
• Kevin Love
• Timofey Mozgov

4. Golden State Warriors Starting Five:

• Stephen Curry
• Klay Thompson
• Harrison Barnes
• Draymond Green
• Andrew Bogut

5. Oklahoma City Thunder Starting Five:

• Russell Westbrook
• Dion Waiters
• Kevin Durant
• Serge Ibaka
• Enes Kanter

6. Memphis Grizzlies Starting Five:

• Mike Conley
• Tony Allen
• Jeff Green
• Zach Randolph
• Marc Gasol

7. Chicago Bulls Starting Five:

• Derrick Rose
• Jimmy Butler
• Mike Dunleavy
• Pau Gasol
• Joakim Noah

8. Miami Heat Starting Five:

• Goran Dragic
• Dwyane Wade
• Luol Deng
• Chris Bosh
• Hassan Whiteside

9. Houston Rockets Starting Five:

• Patrick Beverley
• James Harden
• Trevor Ariza
• Terrence Jones
• Dwight Howard

10. Atlanta Hawks Starting Five:

• Jeff Teague
• Thabo Sefolosha
• Kyle Korver
• Paul Millsap
• Al Horford

Pretty fair. I must say that the Spurs lineup is something else....just noticed it when drafting this post.

[Sgt P]

So here is my take on these lineups:
1. San Antonio Spurs: Awesome front court, wow.

• Tony Parker (weak link)/Danny Green/Kawhi Leonard/LaMarcus Aldridge/Tim Duncan

2. Los Angeles Clippers Centered around Paul, but iff JJ could create it would help:

• Chris Paul/J.J. Redick/Paul Pierce/Blake Griffin/DeAndre Jordan

3. Cleveland Cavaliers Lebron makes them go so that is pretty much what here.The lineup is somewhat unbalanced if Iman not hitting those 3's:

• Kyrie Irving/Iman Shumpert/LeBron James/Kevin Love/Timofey Mozgov

4. Golden State Warriors Good to go, but I don't see them matching well with the Spurs:

• Stephen Curry/Klay Thompson/Harrison Barnes/Draymond Green/Andrew Bogut

5. Oklahoma City Thunder If Waiters can established himself, they would be my sleeper pick for getting to the Finals:

• Russell Westbrook/Dion Waiters/Kevin Durant/Serge Ibaka/Enes Kanter

6. Memphis Grizzlies Good squad but never a contender:

• Mike Conley/Tony Allen/Jeff Green/Zach Randolph/Marc Gasol

7. Chicago Bulls I just do not buy into their greatness, they are just a treadmill pretender like Memphis:

• Derrick Rose/Jimmy Butler/Mike Dunleavy/Pau Gasol/Joakim Noah

8. Miami Heat Literally all over the place. Heat can be contender or miss the playoffs(unhealthy and mostly unlikey). CHemistry and spacing are my main concerns hopefully that can be worked out with a fully training camp. :

• Goran Dragic/Dwyane Wade/Luol Deng/Chris Bosh/Hassan Whiteside

9. Houston Rockets Harden... one man show. Their coaching is not an asset:

• Patrick Beverley/James Harden/Trevor Ariza/Terrence Jones/Dwight Howard

10. Atlanta Hawks Great teamwork but ranked 10, need High level talent:

• Jeff Teague/Thabo Sefolosha/Kyle Korver/Paul Millsap/Al Horford

There are 5 all all-star caliber teams for next season (1-5). Plus 2 teams that would need assistance from BB Gods ( Atl and MIA). This is shaping up to be a great season for us fans. 5 Title contenders and 2-3 could be contenders.

[shanedude]

No way do Memphis and Chicago have better starting lineups than us. Mike Dunleavy and Joakim Noah? FOH

[BenoUdrihFTL]

Thunder should be as high as #2 (what other team has two top-6 players in their starting lineup with a DPOY candidate to boot)

Heat should be higher, definitely ahead of the Bulls and Grizzlies, same with Rockets

[goodboy]

Our lineup is better than the Bulls. When they have Mike Friggin' Dunleavy starting and Noah a shell of himself now, come on.

[legit_savage]

The list is pretty accurate. The Heat and Rockets are interchangeable at #8/#9 because of the Rockets youth.

[greg4012]

Our lineup is better than the Bulls. When they have Mike Friggin' Dunleavy starting and Noah a shell of himself now, come on.

If Noah continues the downward trend from last season then that really makes a big difference in the East. Pair Noah's decline with Gasol being 35 and Thibs' departure and the Bulls can be a vastly different team.

Thibs made that team play great D. If Noah continues to dwindle and guys like McDermott and Mirotic become prominent in their rotation, then the defense that made them successful will be a distant memory.

[greg4012]

Thunder should be as high as #2 (what other team has two top-6 players in their starting lineup with a DPOY candidate to boot)

Heat should be higher, definitely ahead of the Bulls and Grizzlies, same with Rockets

Yea I have the Thunder as my early choice to win it all. If Donovan can get those pieces working together, they will be a major problem for anyone

[Maroko]

Our lineup is better than the Bulls. When they have Mike Friggin' Dunleavy starting and Noah a shell of himself now, come on.

If Noah continues the downward trend from last season then that really makes a big difference in the East. Pair Noah's decline with Gasol being 35 and Thibs' departure and the Bulls can be a vastly different team.

Thibs made that team play great D. If Noah continues to dwindle and guys like McDermott and Mirotic become prominent in their rotation, then the defense that made them successful will be a distant memory.

You can also have a different view as Thibs was tiring his players way too much, and maybe this year, they will accept to lose some games to have fresh legs for the playoffs. It will be interesting to see how they will handle it this year, they should have learnt it years ago lol

[BenoUdrihFTL]

It's funny when people point out the potential lack of outside shooting in the Heat's lineup (a fair critique) yet the consensus choice for #2 in the East seems to be Chicago, a team with even worse outside shooting than Miami.

[Paz]

Some really strong starting 5's in the league but I see us as much better than the Giz and Bulls who this guy placed us underneath.

[SlowPaced]

I highly doubt Dion Waiters starts for Thunder. Likely to be Andre Roberson.

[Shewasfly]

This whole list looks so mixed up to me. Granted I don't think we're in the top 5 or anything but how are we below the Bulls and Grizzlies? Also the Thunder and Warriors should be higher than Cleveland but Cleveland should be above the Clippers.

[Wade4life3]

Hmm interesting...
Let's just measure among the teams you have listed based on where i think that our players rank among the different positions.

PG: I'll put Dragic at no.6
SG: I'll put D Wade at no.2 or no.3
SF: I have him at either no.5 or no.6 (hard but i base it on their career and last year especially.)
PF: This is also a hard one...Taking both defense and offence into account and having a rim protector in the paint i'll put Bosh at no.3
C: Now this one is an unknown so far but based on potential Whiteside could potentially become our biggest strength in the lineup. Let's say that he continues where he left off last year which means he has the shot at no.1 but for now i'll keep him at no.4

The average ranking i get is 4 based on the best case scenario in the above assessment (not counting Whiteside being a complete beast and becoming the best center in the league.)

I didn't count all the teams' average rank but i think we definitely have a good chance against any team listed.

[3ballbomber]

Let debate the starting 5 being ranked here is the list from the Bleacher Report
(I am only listing the top 15)
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2521769-ranking-the-nbas-starting-5s-on-paper-post-2015-free-agency/page/17

1. San Antonio Spurs Starting Five:

• Tony Parker
• Danny Green
• Kawhi Leonard
• LaMarcus Aldridge
• Tim Duncan

2. Los Angeles Clippers Starting Five:

• Chris Paul
• J.J. Redick
• Paul Pierce
• Blake Griffin
• DeAndre Jordan

3. Cleveland Cavaliers Starting Five:

• Kyrie Irving
• Iman Shumpert
• LeBron James
• Kevin Love
• Timofey Mozgov

4. Golden State Warriors Starting Five:

• Stephen Curry
• Klay Thompson
• Harrison Barnes
• Draymond Green
• Andrew Bogut

5. Oklahoma City Thunder Starting Five:

• Russell Westbrook
• Dion Waiters
• Kevin Durant
• Serge Ibaka
• Enes Kanter

6. Memphis Grizzlies Starting Five:

• Mike Conley
• Tony Allen
• Jeff Green
• Zach Randolph
• Marc Gasol

7. Chicago Bulls Starting Five:

• Derrick Rose
• Jimmy Butler
• Mike Dunleavy
• Pau Gasol
• Joakim Noah

8. Miami Heat Starting Five:

• Goran Dragic
• Dwyane Wade
• Luol Deng
• Chris Bosh
• Hassan Whiteside

9. Houston Rockets Starting Five:

• Patrick Beverley
• James Harden
• Trevor Ariza
• Terrence Jones
• Dwight Howard

10. Atlanta Hawks Starting Five:

• Jeff Teague
• Thabo Sefolosha
• Kyle Korver
• Paul Millsap
• Al Horford

Pretty fair. I must say that the Spurs lineup is something else....just noticed it when drafting this post.

This looks ok. Considering we are a team on paper, yet to prove anything, 8th is decent when you consider the stacked starting line ups teams ahead of us possess. So I can understand Chicago in front of us simply because their line up made 2nd round in the playoffs, whilst we didn't make it altogether.

I believe the only real thing that will hold us back is injuries. That is the only real threat we have of being a top 4 team in the East and making ECF.

When you think about the 1st year of the Big 3 there was plenty of work to be done also. Furthermore there was plenty of adjusting to do in regards to being able to form chemistry w/ 3 elite all-stars, especially one as ball dominant as Lebron. It took several months to start clicking together. I don't see us having that difficult of an adjust this time round since we have a far more balanced team, comprised of alot of team orientated players.....and a team not reliant on just 3 players.

[CanesHeatFins]

Let debate the starting 5 being ranked here is the list from the Bleacher Report
(I am only listing the top 15)
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2521769-ranking-the-nbas-starting-5s-on-paper-post-2015-free-agency/page/17

1. San Antonio Spurs Starting Five:

• Tony Parker
• Danny Green
• Kawhi Leonard
• LaMarcus Aldridge
• Tim Duncan

2. Los Angeles Clippers Starting Five:

• Chris Paul
• J.J. Redick
• Paul Pierce
• Blake Griffin
• DeAndre Jordan

3. Cleveland Cavaliers Starting Five:

• Kyrie Irving
• Iman Shumpert
• LeBron James
• Kevin Love
• Timofey Mozgov

4. Golden State Warriors Starting Five:

• Stephen Curry
• Klay Thompson
• Harrison Barnes
• Draymond Green
• Andrew Bogut

5. Oklahoma City Thunder Starting Five:

• Russell Westbrook
• Dion Waiters
• Kevin Durant
• Serge Ibaka
• Enes Kanter

6. Memphis Grizzlies Starting Five:

• Mike Conley
• Tony Allen
• Jeff Green
• Zach Randolph
• Marc Gasol

7. Chicago Bulls Starting Five:

• Derrick Rose
• Jimmy Butler
• Mike Dunleavy
• Pau Gasol
• Joakim Noah

8. Miami Heat Starting Five:

• Goran Dragic
• Dwyane Wade
• Luol Deng
• Chris Bosh
• Hassan Whiteside

9. Houston Rockets Starting Five:

• Patrick Beverley
• James Harden
• Trevor Ariza
• Terrence Jones
• Dwight Howard

10. Atlanta Hawks Starting Five:

• Jeff Teague
• Thabo Sefolosha
• Kyle Korver
• Paul Millsap
• Al Horford

Pretty fair. I must say that the Spurs lineup is something else....just noticed it when drafting this post.

I had to drown out my fandom & die a little on the inside when ranking Wade and Whiteside

Pg. (tier1)1.Curry 2.Paul 3.Westbrook 4.Kyrie (tier2)5.T.Parker 6.Dragic 7.Conley 8.Teague (tier3)9.Rose 10.Lawson

Sg (tier1)1.Harden 2.J.Butler 3.Wade 4.Klay (tier2)5.D.Green (tier3)6.Shumpert 7.Reddick 8.T.Allen 9.Sefolosha 10.Waiters

Sf: (tier1)1.James 2.Durant 3.Kawhi (tier2)4.Deng 5.Ariza 6.Barnes (tier3)7.Pierce 8.Korver 9.Jeff Green 10.Dunleavy

Pf: (tier1)1.Blake 2.Aldridge 3.Bosh 4.Pau 5.Ibaka 6.Love(tier2) 7.Draymond 8.Milsap 9.Randolph (tier3)10.T.Jones

C: (tier1)1.Dwight 2.M.Gasol 3.Duncan 4.Whiteside 5.Jordan (tier2)6.Horford 7.Mozgov 8.Noah (tier3)9.Kanter 10.Bogut

Paper Champs ranking based on player ranking average only:
1. Spurs 3.6
2. Miami 4
3. L.A.C. 4.4
4. Cavs 4.8
5. Hou 5.4
6. Okc 5.6
7. GSW 5.7
8. Bulls 6.6
9. Mem 7
10. Atl 7.8

Paper Champs based on player (tier) avg only
1.Spurs 1.4
2.Miami 1.4
3.CAVS 1.6
4.GSW 1.8
5.OKC 1.8
6.L.A.C. 1.9
7.Hou. 2
8.Bulls 2
9.Mem 2.2
10.ATL 2.4

[Broke_Pippen]

Even though Durant is coming off an injury, Thunder should be higher IMO. They have 2 MVP top 5 players in that lineup.

[DeeDub]

Let debate the starting 5 being ranked here is the list from the Bleacher Report
(I am only listing the top 15)
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2521769-ranking-the-nbas-starting-5s-on-paper-post-2015-free-agency/page/17

1. San Antonio Spurs Starting Five:

• Tony Parker
• Danny Green
• Kawhi Leonard
• LaMarcus Aldridge
• Tim Duncan

2. Los Angeles Clippers Starting Five:

• Chris Paul
• J.J. Redick
• Paul Pierce
• Blake Griffin
• DeAndre Jordan

3. Cleveland Cavaliers Starting Five:

• Kyrie Irving
• Iman Shumpert
• LeBron James
• Kevin Love
• Timofey Mozgov

4. Golden State Warriors Starting Five:

• Stephen Curry
• Klay Thompson
• Harrison Barnes
• Draymond Green
• Andrew Bogut

5. Oklahoma City Thunder Starting Five:

• Russell Westbrook
• Dion Waiters
• Kevin Durant
• Serge Ibaka
• Enes Kanter

6. Memphis Grizzlies Starting Five:

• Mike Conley
• Tony Allen
• Jeff Green
• Zach Randolph
• Marc Gasol

7. Chicago Bulls Starting Five:

• Derrick Rose
• Jimmy Butler
• Mike Dunleavy
• Pau Gasol
• Joakim Noah

8. Miami Heat Starting Five:

• Goran Dragic
• Dwyane Wade
• Luol Deng
• Chris Bosh
• Hassan Whiteside

9. Houston Rockets Starting Five:

• Patrick Beverley
• James Harden
• Trevor Ariza
• Terrence Jones
• Dwight Howard

10. Atlanta Hawks Starting Five:

• Jeff Teague
• Thabo Sefolosha
• Kyle Korver
• Paul Millsap
• Al Horford

Pretty fair. I must say that the Spurs lineup is something else....just noticed it when drafting this post.

The Spurs lineup is very good, but unless one is really down on Whiteside I'm not really sure how/why it is better than Miami's.

PG -- I'm not sure there is any objective basis for putting Parker over Dragic. At this point in their careers and after a few years of declining productivity for Parker, I'd take Dragic over Parker.

SG -- Wade is clearly a better player than Green, and I like Green more than most. But there is no comparison here.

SF -- I get that Leonard is a Finals MVP and DPOY and I would certainly take him over Deng, but the gap is not as big as some think. Ultimately, they are both D-first wings who will give you 14-17 ppg on 45-48% shooting and 5-7 rebounds with similar minutes and usage.

PF -- I think Bosh and Aldridge are pretty close. Yes, I realize Aldridge has gotten more rebounds the last few years, but a decent amount of that is due to how the Heat plays Bosh on D. When he was in Toronto his rebounding numbers were pretty comparable to what Aldridge has done the last few years in Portland. I think Bosh is a better defender and a little more versatile offensively. I think this is about a wash.

C -- Tim Duncan is Tim Duncan, but he's also 38 and not getting better. On a Per 36 basis, Whiteside scored about the same, but at a much higher FG%, and grabbed an extra 4 boards and blocked an extra 1.5 shots per 36. And Whiteside should be improving. Duncan is a better passer (who isn't?) but I think Whiteside will make a greater impact.

I don't see any clear, or big, edges for the Spurs starting 5.

[Sgt P]

Let debate the starting 5 being ranked here is the list from the Bleacher Report
(I am only listing the top 15)
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2521769-ranking-the-nbas-starting-5s-on-paper-post-2015-free-agency/page/17

Spoiler:

1. San Antonio Spurs Starting Five:

• Tony Parker
• Danny Green
• Kawhi Leonard
• LaMarcus Aldridge
• Tim Duncan

2. Los Angeles Clippers Starting Five:

• Chris Paul
• J.J. Redick
• Paul Pierce
• Blake Griffin
• DeAndre Jordan

3. Cleveland Cavaliers Starting Five:

• Kyrie Irving
• Iman Shumpert
• LeBron James
• Kevin Love
• Timofey Mozgov

4. Golden State Warriors Starting Five:

• Stephen Curry
• Klay Thompson
• Harrison Barnes
• Draymond Green
• Andrew Bogut

5. Oklahoma City Thunder Starting Five:

• Russell Westbrook
• Dion Waiters
• Kevin Durant
• Serge Ibaka
• Enes Kanter

6. Memphis Grizzlies Starting Five:

• Mike Conley
• Tony Allen
• Jeff Green
• Zach Randolph
• Marc Gasol

7. Chicago Bulls Starting Five:

• Derrick Rose
• Jimmy Butler
• Mike Dunleavy
• Pau Gasol
• Joakim Noah

8. Miami Heat Starting Five:

• Goran Dragic
• Dwyane Wade
• Luol Deng
• Chris Bosh
• Hassan Whiteside

9. Houston Rockets Starting Five:

• Patrick Beverley
• James Harden
• Trevor Ariza
• Terrence Jones
• Dwight Howard

10. Atlanta Hawks Starting Five:

• Jeff Teague
• Thabo Sefolosha
• Kyle Korver
• Paul Millsap
• Al Horford

Pretty fair. I must say that the Spurs lineup is something else....just noticed it when drafting this post.

The Spurs lineup is very good, but unless one is really down on Whiteside I'm not really sure how/why it is better than Miami's.

PG -- I'm not sure there is any objective basis for putting Parker over Dragic. At this point in their careers and after a few years of declining productivity for Parker, I'd take Dragic over Parker.

SG -- Wade is clearly a better player than Green, and I like Green more than most. But there is no comparison here.

SF -- I get that Leonard is a Finals MVP and DPOY and I would certainly take him over Deng, but the gap is not as big as some think. Ultimately, they are both D-first wings who will give you 14-17 ppg on 45-48% shooting and 5-7 rebounds with similar minutes and usage.

PF -- I think Bosh and Aldridge are pretty close. Yes, I realize Aldridge has gotten more rebounds the last few years, but a decent amount of that is due to how the Heat plays Bosh on D. When he was in Toronto his rebounding numbers were pretty comparable to what Aldridge has done the last few years in Portland. I think Bosh is a better defender and a little more versatile offensively. I think this is about a wash.

C -- Tim Duncan is Tim Duncan, but he's also 38 and not getting better. On a Per 36 basis, Whiteside scored about the same, but at a much higher FG%, and grabbed an extra 4 boards and blocked an extra 1.5 shots per 36. And Whiteside should be improving. Duncan is a better passer (who isn't?) but I think Whiteside will make a greater impact.

I don't see any clear, or big, edges for the Spurs starting 5.

Chemistry and a proven system. Heres looking at SPO

[The Bandit]

Cleveland below the Clippers, seriously? With a healthy Love they are an incredible unit. Also, I can't see Waiters starting in OKC, he's awful and a terrible fit on the starting unit.