The start of the NBA season is less than a month away and the rosters are basically set, with little to no changes expected for most teams. Today, we take a look at the top 5 defensive lineups in the league as we are starting to head in to preseason for the most teams.
5 – Los Angeles Lakers
The first one is already a questionable one, to say the least. Their best defensive lineup consists of LeBron James, Avery Bradley, Danny Green, Anthony Davis and Dwight Howard. This all depends on LeBron’s willingness to defend this season. We saw one too many times last season that LeBron either didn’t focus or was too gassed to defend.
This season, the Lakers will need him to defend in order to be the number one contender Vegas claims them to be. The rest of the lineup is very solid defensively. Bradley and Green have proven to be great wing defenders, Anthony Davis has been one of the best defensive players in the league for the last few years and Howard is a 4-time DPOY with tremendous shot-blocking ability, even though he undeniably fell off these last years.
4 – New Orleans Pelicans
A young team with a lot of question marks, but one thing they will bring is the energy on defense. Lonzo Ball and Jrue Holiday already combine for one of the best defensive backcourts, and they haven’t even played a game together. Zion Williamson brings the athleticism and the shot-blocking and Derrick Favors has always been a solid defender. The only question is, who fills that last spot?
Against teams that go small, they can use Josh Hart at the 3-spot. Otherwise, they can hope for Jaxson Hayes to have an immediate impact with his size at the 5-spot, moving Zion and Favors back a position. Brandon Ingram can also be used, but his defense hasn’t been great in his first few seasons.
3 – Philadelphia 76ers
The tallest lineup in the league probably. Ben Simmons, Josh Richardson, Tobias Harris, Al Horford and Joel Embiid are all players with above-average height for their positions. Simmons, Richardson and Harris will be a trio that can easily switch anything on the wings, while Horford and Embiid provide a presence inside that makes any team facing them scared.
It also helps for the 76ers that this is their starting lineup and will logically play the most minutes together, definitely since depth hasn’t been their strongest point for the last couple of years.
2 – Utah Jazz
The next 2 teams are head and shoulders above anyone else in the league. Mike Conley Jr. might be the best defensive point guard in the league, and Rudy Gobert is the reigning 2-time DPOY. Add Donovan Mitchell, Joe Ingles and Jeff Green to those 2 and you get a menacing defensive 5.
But the players aren’t doing all the work. The Utah Jazz under coach Quinn Snyder have been amongst the top defensive teams for the last few years now, with a system that works perfectly for them, even when losing key players.
1 – Los Angeles Clippers
Without a doubt the best defensive lineup in the league. Patrick Beverley is the first defender willing to pick you up from 94 feet, with Kawhi Leonard, Moe Harkless and Paul George giving a second line of defense. If you manage to make it inside, Montrezl Harrell is more than happy to swat anything away.
No one wants to face the Clippers, on both ends of the court that is. But defensively they can as easily defend man-to-man or switch to a zone, as there is no weak link on defense for the Clippers. Doc Rivers is also one of the best coaches in the league, so it might be safe to bet the under when gambling on a Clippers game.
Courtside 