At Long Last, Blazers Achieve Lineup Clarity

Though it hasn't really been the subject of much conversation, over the last few games, something significant has happened.  For the first time all season, the Blazers have achieved unquestioned clarity with their starting lineup.  There is no longer any doubt about who should be starting at all five positions.  

There has never been any doubt that, when healthy, Brandon Roy and LaMarcus Aldridge are starters, but the other three spots have been in flux all season.  Until now.  With Steve Blake gone, Andre Miller is now, without question, the starting point guard.  Likewise, Marcus Camby is now, without question, the starting center.  And with Nicolas Batum's breakout out performances over the last two games, there is no longer any real doubt that he is the starting small forward.  

That may not seem like all that important a development, but consider this: as of today, the five man Blazer lineup that has played the most minutes so far this season is Miller-Bayless-Webster-Aldridge-Howard.  Seriously.  Imagine if someone had told you that before the season started.

A clear pecking order is an underrated ingredient to success in the NBA.  If you look around at the best teams historically, they didn't have serious lineup controversies.  They had guys who knew their roles.  They had starters who weren't constantly looking over their shoulders worried that they'd lose their starting spots, and they had bench contributors who didn't secretly (or openly) think it was some great injustice that they were coming off the bench.  

Barring further injury, I think the Blazers will, at least for the rest of this season, have a pretty clear pecking order.  I really doubt that there is anyone currently coming off the Blazer bench who believes that he deserves to be the starter.  I'm sure there are guys who want to start or believe they could be starting on other teams, but I doubt that any of them feel that they're better than the guy ahead of them in the rotation. 

Don't get me wrong, minutes are still going to be an issue going forward. But controversy over how the backup wing minutes should be distributed is far less serious and disruptive to team chemistry than, for example, controversy over who should be starting at point. My hope is that the relatively defined pecking order on the team right now will provide some much needed continuity and allow the team gel and build some real chemistry going into the stretch run. What's remarkable is, even though the starting lineup going forward is pretty well set, the guys in that lineup have spent very little time playing together as a unit. Camby is new to the team and both Roy and Batum missed major time with injury. These five guys, as a unit, are only beginning to learn how to play together. There's every reason to be optimistic that, with time, these guys will get a better sense of each other's tendencies and capabilities and their play will improve.

My hope is that this new found clarity of roles will result in more consistent play and better team play heading into the stretch run.