The Los Angeles Clippers have sent out a league-high 26 different starting lineups this season, so we got to wondering — which has been the most effective?
Often times, numbers can be hard to wrap your head around. Sometimes, numbers should only be taken with a grain of salt. Others, they’re as telling as it gets.
Like it or not, numbers dictate the game, and they rarely — if ever — lie. And we can use advanced metrics to determine just how effective, or ineffective, a specific lineup has been on the floor. For example, there’s net rating, which tells us a lineup’s point differential per 100 possessions. There are also offensive and defensive ratings, which tell us how efficient a lineup is on the offensive and defensive ends of the floor, respectively.
Some numbers are predictable, to a certain extent. You can assume that a lineup featuring DeAndre Jordan and Avery Bradley will have a higher defensive rating than one with Milos Teodosic. Likewise, a lineup with Lou Williams and Danilo Gallinari would boast a high offensive rating and worse defensive. It tends to all be relative.
The Clippers have had no shortage of bad luck this season, and have been forced to utilize a ludicrous number of starting lineups — 26 to be exact.
It’s not all bad, though. Head Coach Doc Rivers has done an excellent job of managing rotations this season, keeping Los Angeles in playoff contention through it all. Despite all the changes, difficulties, and adversity, the Clippers have held their own.
Here’s how the lineups will be graded. We’ll be using wins, losses, and net rating. Each lineup will gain 10 points for a win, lose 5 for a loss, and gain/lose 1 for every point earned in net rating.
Let’s break it down.
Note: This data was collected prior to the Clippers – Celtics game on 2/14, and therefore will not include it.