Nothin' But Nets
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Examining a potential Brooklyn Nets “Death Lineup”

By Andrew Hughes

BROOKLYN, NY - NOVEMBER 27: The Brooklyn Nets huddle up before the game against the Sacramento Kings on November 27, 2016 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2016 NBAE (Photo by Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images)
BROOKLYN, NY - NOVEMBER 27: The Brooklyn Nets huddle up before the game against the Sacramento Kings on November 27, 2016 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2016 NBAE (Photo by Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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BROOKLYN, NY – NOVEMBER 27: The Brooklyn Nets huddle up before the game against the Sacramento Kings on November 27, 2016 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2016 NBAE (Photo by Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images)
BROOKLYN, NY – NOVEMBER 27: The Brooklyn Nets huddle up before the game against the Sacramento Kings on November 27, 2016 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2016 NBAE (Photo by Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images) /

Bleacher Report gave their own version of the Golden State Warriors’ death lineup in an article published Thursday. Included was a “Hamptons Five” variation for the Brooklyn Nets. Who was included?

The Brooklyn Nets have a lot of ground to make up to be on the level of the Golden State Warriors. The Warriors won more than three times as many games as Brooklyn. That equated to a differential of 47 wins during the 2016-17 season.

Regardless, Bleacher Report took a stab at listing a five-man lineup that could potentially replicate the potency of Golden State’s “death lineup.”

The Warriors five-man platoon, also known as the “Hamptons Five,” after Kevin Durant’s recruitment last summer, is the idealized small-ball lineup.

Steph Curry and Klay Thompson form the most lethal shooting backcourt the league has ever seen. Andre Iguodola serves as the team’s point-forward facilitator. Kevin Durant, who replaced Harrison Barnes in the original death lineup, is a lethal small-ball power forward. To top it off, Draymond Green’s unmatched defensive utility and rim protection from the five spot anchors the unit on the less glamorous end of the floor.

The Nets simply don’t have the talent to match that lineup. Few teams in the league do. That is why the team is expected to breeze through another season en route to a third NBA title in four years.

The Nets potential death lineup is an interesting idea. It isn’t necessarily the most talented unit the Nets could put on the floor, but it is, in theory, its most versatile.

Bleacher Report named the following players to its death lineup:

PG: D’Angelo Russell

SG: Jeremy Lin

SF: Allen Crabbe

PF: Caris LeVert

C: Rondae Hollis-Jefferson

The lineup Bleacher Report came up with is definitely intriguing. BR proposes the team use both of its point guards to match up with Golden State’s “Splash Brothers.”

Unfortunately, the Nets would be eaten alive in that scenario. While Lin and Russell are both big for point guards, neither matches up with the size of Thompson.

Thompson is one of the key cogs in the Warriors offense. His ability to drain shots from anywhere on the floor opens up the floor for Curry and Durant to operate. In addition, he has an underrated ability to finish drives at the rim.

The Nets would have problems defending Thompson, or any bigger shooting guard in this scenario. In any potential Nets death lineup, only one of Lin or Russell could work in the backcourt. For the sake of this exercise, we will go with Russell at the point guard spot.

To replace Lin, the Nets would need a guy who can make plays, but can also switch onto multiple defenders. The most versatile defender in the Nets backcourt may just be Spencer Dinwiddie.

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Dinwiddie has good size at six-foot-six and has the ability to stroke the 3-pointer. His 3-point percentage shot up under Kenny Atkinson, ending up at 38 percent last season. Dinwiddie’s versatility shooting and defending make him a better option in a potential death lineup.

Crabbe and LeVert are both good options at the 3 and the 4-spot in this hypothetical lineup. The two wings are both interchangeable on the wings. The two of them would have no problems keeping up with lanky wings who could play either forward spot. Their offensive games would also allow Russell to operate as the pull-up sniper archetype that Curry plays as.

As for the center position, Hollis-Jefferson is a good option. As Bleacher Report pointed out, in limited minutes at the five, Hollis-Jefferson had a positive plus/minus on the floor.

He may not be the ideal center in such a lineup, though. Hollis-Jefferson’s offensive game is still a work in progress. He has yet to prove he can be a distributor and his 3-point shooting needs to improve.

DeMarre Carroll might be a better “death lineup” center. Carroll, like Green, is a proficient 3-point shooter, though his percentages have fallen in recent years with Toronto.

Carroll is bigger than Hollis-Jefferson, and thus could body up bulkier post players better than Hollis-Jefferson, who likely isn’t done filling out his frame.

Next: What leadership DeMarre Carroll can bring

Like Green, Carroll could be a leader on the floor. While he was never as vocal as Green is, he definitely functions more like him on the court than Hollis-Jefferson does.

If I were to list my Brooklyn Nets “death lineup”, it would be as follows:

PG: D’Angelo Russell

SG: Allen Crabbe

SF: Spencer Dinwiddie

PF: Caris LeVert

C: DeMarre Carroll

This lineup isn’t the most talented the Nets could have on the court. It may just be the most versatile. This lineup can shoot defend and distribute from all five positions (in theory at least). If Atkinson ever gave this unit some minutes, maybe it can prove to have a resemblance to Golden State’s “Hamptons Five.”