NBA Notebook: Celtics, Cavaliers among those turning back toward big lineups

When the Warriors courted the most intriguing lineup of last decade -- Steph Curry, Klay Thompson, Harrison Barnes, Andre Iguodala and Draymond Green -- its switchability and offensive versatility launched Golden State into a now nearly 10-year run. They left size to the side, until they replaced Barnes with Kevin Durant and became a historic group on both ends keyed not just by Durant's iconic scoring ability, but by becoming that much bigger with a seven-foot star helping Green inside.  

The NBA abandoned the lumbering big men that once dominated the top of NBA draft boards around one decade ago. The few who could break the mold by hitting shots, making passes and handling the ball stuck around. Size never left the game, even if some teams decided to go in smaller directions. The Celtics stood among them, playing a tiny Isaiah Thomas and Avery Bradley back court with 6'6" Jae Crowder at the four and 6'9" Al Horford inside while Brad Stevens emulated the Golden State. Five years later, Horford is back at the four next to Robert Williams III's 7'6" wingspan. Marcus Smart and Jaylen Brown play the back court as massive guards. Jayson Tatum stands the same height as Williams III, if not taller. Basketball is big again, in Boston's case to avoid defensive mismatches and keep actions in front of them by switching. Micro ball, the Rockets' 6'7"-or-smaller unit with no centers from the 2019-20 season, met a quick demise after less than one year.

Ime Udoka said early in the season that size never left the league, noting that many teams started games in large lineups before shifting into smaller units. That's certainly what the Warriors did with Kevon Looney, Andrew Bogut and Demarcus Cousins over the years. The Celtics closed Thursday's win over the Grizzlies by going even bigger, playing Smart, Tatum, Williams III, Horford and Grant Williams.

Elsewhere in the Eastern Conference, the Cleveland Cavaliers have already outperformed their preseason over-under of 26.5 with a 36-27 start by courting 7'0" wing Lauri Markkanen, whom they added in free agency, 6'11" rookie Evan Mobley and 6'10" Jarrett Allen together across the front line. The Cavaliers have rarely snuck above the bottom-10 offenses, losing Collin Sexton and Ricky Rubio to significant knee injuries while a consistent top-five defensive play floats them above the play-in tournament line in the east. Boston and Cleveland's starting lineups are two of the best six combinations in the NBA.

"If you have size, and skill," Cavaliers coach J.B. Bickerstaff said in September. "I think that beats small ball."

Mobley transformed their defense with an ability to switch on to guards, defend the rim, while the burlier presence of Allen next to him prevented the 20-year-old from being exposed for his thin frame. Mobley should run away with the rookie of the year award, despite falling behind a playmaking wing in Cade Cunningham and a flashy guard in Jalen Green in the most recent draft, which the Pistons and Rockets may stand to regret.

Taking the big man too high in past years led to some of the great mistakes in draft history. Greg Oden over Kevin Durant. Hasheem Thabeet over James Harden. Sam Bowie over Michael Jordan. Four centers went ahead of Klay Thompson and Kawhi Leonard in 2011, marking a definitive end to that trend in a year when Kyrie Irving went No. 1 overall. Guards and playmaking wings flooded the top of the draft boards over the next decade, along with uniquely talented big men like Anthony Davis, Joel Embiid, Karl-Anthony Towns, Kristaps Porzingis and Ben Simmons.

Deandre Ayton wasn't that. The rolling, physically imposing Arizona big could handle the ball some and create for himself in a college environment. In the NBA, he'd dominate the boards, play off Devin Booker and Chris Paul while overwhelming smaller opponents in a more traditional fashion. Taking Ayton over all-world guard Luka Dončić looked like a mistake in the two seasons that followed. Then, Ayton's ability to switch and defend the perimeter when teams tried to spread the Suns out in the playoffs last year took Phoenix to the NBA Finals, falling two wins short of a championship. The Mavericks haven't escaped the first round due in part to Dončić's suspect defense. It's stunning that the Suns chose to not extend Ayton a max contract and bring him to restricted free agency this summer. They'd no longer be contenders without him. 

Neither would the Bucks without Giannis Antetokounmpo, the Nuggets without Nikola Jokic and the 76ers without Joel Embiid. The NBA's three most valuable players right now are all big men who single-handily raise their team's defensive floor before scoring close to 30 points every game and moving the ball as elite passers. Being shorter and smaller never helped teams in practice, it only hedged against the skills deficiencies of seven-footers. Now, development, analytics and more imaginative coaching across every level have some centers playing like guards. 

The Lakers and Raptors both won their championships playing two bigs after Durant left the Warriors and opened a gap atop the league's power structure. The Bucks courted Antetokounmpo alongside Brook Lopez for much of their 2021 title run. The Nets are plotting a massive front line featuring Durant, Ben Simmons and Andre Drummond. The Pelicans acquired arguably the best shooting big man in the league in Jonas Valančiūnas, who will soon be part of his own giant front court alongside Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram. He was among the top-tier center prospects in his draft who needed to adapt, and now hits 37.7% of his shots from deep. Steven Adams, who went to Memphis that deal, helped the Grizzlies emerge as a west contender this year playing next to another rim protector in Jaren Jackson Jr. 

Time away from the game for Bradley Beal, with a season-ending wrist injury, allowed him to take in the Wizards' development and see the rise of big ball across the league. A new style for Washington after a trade deadline deal brought 7'3" Kristaps Porzingis to the team emerged in his head, while he pointed toward himself likely staying with the Wizards this offseason when Beal can become a free agent. 

"We're huge now in a way. I look at (Porzingis), he's 7'4", he's a whole foot taller than me. I'm not comfortable with that," Beal said, laughing. "It is remarkable to be able to see his size and then watch him in practice, watch him working out before games. His skill set, his touch, his ability to shoot the ball ... just imagine (Porzingis) and (Daniel Gafford) out there. That is going to be sick. Then you’ve got (Kyle Kuzma) who’s 6'9", 6'10". We have great size and we’ve never had that. I don't want to throw (the Cavaliers) out there, but that is a great comparison. They're doing that now. They got three footers, and they utilize them all very well. I think that's a trend. It's not necessarily the bigger bruisers, Embiid and Jokic, those are unicorns, you're not going to see too many big bruisers in the game today. But now, you've got athletic footers who can spread the floor and do multiple things on the floor. That's the way of the league. It's definitely transitioning that way." 

A copycat league will soon try to follow Cleveland's lead. The Kings already traded a valuable young guard to pair Domantas Sabonis alongside Richaun Holmes. The Pistons bet on Marvin Bagley III's resurgence in a second-draft style trade for the former No. 2 pick. They aren't retrofitted with seven-footers, but play bigger, physical wings like Saddiq Bey and Jerami Grant next a burly center in Isaiah Stewart who plays above his 6'8" height. They've tried to bruise and bang their way through a lottery season, a difficult formula in the modern game, yet an intriguing one that's made them worth watching.

The Raptors spurned chances to add a more traditional big man to add another versatile, long wing in Thad Young at the trade deadline, adding to Toronto's identity of scrambling, blitzing and doubling on defense. Randomness, as Udoka put it earlier this year. The Bulls play an array of wings and can shift into smaller units. The Warriors still prefer small ball with Green at center. The rebuilding Spurs and Magic look like they're trying to do the same. There's great variety in the league right now in terms of style, and the reemergence of the big man allowed that. 

The Pacers and Jazz, however, saw the downsides of pigeonholing themselves around expensive centers with less defensive versatility. Rudy Gobert is the best at what he does. Certain playoff opponents have shown the limitations of where that service can bring you. Especially at a $34.8-million cap hit. That may be part of the thinking behind Phoenix' hard ball tactics with Ayton.

The possibilities have expanded for the Celtics around Williams III. He plays like no center has before, catching the most alley-oops in the NBA, blocking shots and tipping deflections away to score three blocks and three steals against Atlanta on Tuesday, then confidently stepping into a rare elbow jumper early on Thursday against the Grizzlies. Boston wisely signed him to a four-year, $54-million extension before the season began, and teammates now glow about how much more aggressively his rim protection behind them allows them to play. 

Brown advocated for Williams III to have the ball in his hands more, as a talented passer, to solve the Celtics' December offensive concerns. Williams III ranks third in defensive win shares due to his third-ranked block percentage, and opponents shoot 34% against him. Several Celtics call him their safety net. Smart admitted Williams III is on his way to surpassing his own abilities defensively, and on a team with two star wings and that all-defensive point guard, the Celtics' center looks like the team's most irreplaceable player. 

"With Rob, it makes everything so much better for us," Smart told Boston Sports Journal last month. "It kind of makes margin for mistakes not as big. When you got a guy like Rob on the back helping you, for us and me and those guards up top, it allows us guys to really be as aggressive as we want. Knowing that we got somebody to help, not only that, we got somebody helping Rob communicate, not just the first side, but the second and third sides which is really helping us." 

Here's what else happened in the NBA this week...

Atlanta (31-32): Bounced back from being shut down in Boston earlier in the week with close wins over the Bulls and Wizards that boosted the Hawks 2.5 games over Washington in the playoff race. They're now 0.5 games back of the Nets for the No. 8 seed and a spot in the upper-tier of the play-in tournament. With 19 games remaining and 5.0 games back of Cleveland in No. 6, they appear bound for a play-in fate. 

"When you're up 15 and they lose one of the top two guys on the team and if you're not able to win that game, you're not a good team," Bogdan Bogdanovic said after Atlanta's collapse against the Celtics on Tuesday. 

Boston (38-27): Played two lockdown halves against high-powered Hawks and Grizzlies offenses that further cement their status as the top defense in basketball. It's time to start discussing Robert Williams III as a defensive player of the year candidate as the engine running Boston's elite unit, racking up five steals and nine blocks over the Celtics' last three games. Jaylen Brown and Aaron Nesmith suffered ankle sprains during the two wins, and are considered day-to-day ahead of a 1 p.m. ABC showcase against a more full Nets team.  

Brooklyn (32-32): Ben Simmons suffered a setback in his reconditioning and back soreness that'll leave him at least a week from making his Nets debut, though Brian Windhorst reported the star may not play at all in March, noting he's week-to-week. Brooklyn lost to the Heat in Kevin Durant's first game since Jan. 15 (MCL sprain), despite Durant pouring in 31 points on 10-for-21 shooting. The Nets have now lost 16-of-19, dropping within a half game above No. 9-seed Atlanta, and Joe Harris is officially out for the season due to needing a second surgery on his ankle. It's all bad, and even Durant is beginning to acknowledge where this is headed after the James Harden saga. 

“We are cutting it close. There’s under 20 games left in the season,” Durant said. “We have to go out there and figure it out.”

Charlotte (31-33): Hanging on by 2.0 games over Washington as the east's No. 10 seed in a strikingly similar finish to last year's burnout entering the play-in tournament. Isaiah Thomas joined the group on a 10-day deal at the right time, pouring in 10 points in 14 minutes with LaMelo Ball facing heavy foul trouble in what became a needed blowout Charlotte win after five losses over their last six. Terry Rozier, averaging 22.2 PPG since February began, praised his former and current teammate making his third NBA stop this season. 

“It ain’t just what he does on the court," Rozier said. "It’s his leadership, him being a vet, his voice in the huddles, in the locker room, already making an impact. It’s just good for us to have guys like him around that have been around and been to the playoffs and know what it takes.”

Chicago (39-25): Appeared to deliver revenge on Grayson Allen over a month after the Bucks guard leveled Alex Caruso in transition and broke his wrist, forcing him to miss the past 19 games while Allen only served a one-game suspension. Derrick Jones Jr. rose up to defend an Allen drive and his left elbow connected a blow to Allen's head that earned Jones a flagrant one as the United Center crowd unloaded on Allen at the free throw line. Jones threw a more legal haymaker at Giannis Antetokounmpo, but the Bulls lost a potential playoff preview, 118-112. New Bull Tristan Thompson previewed a chippy game, but Jones denied going after Allen. 

"I don't think it was a flagrant. They said I hit him in the head. I didn't feel it," Jones said. "Y'all trying to make it something it ain't. It's basketball."

Cleveland (36-27): Sliding fast in the east standings, down to No. 6, one game behind the Celtics and two ahead of the Raptors, who are below the play-in tournament line. The extended run before the break extended to six losses over their past seven games. Their past three featured the Cavs allowing 119 points or more to each of their opponents. J.B. Bickerstaff was ejected in the third quarter of their blowout loss to Charlotte, as injuries to Rajon Rondo (toe) and Caris LeVert (foot) depleted the team's back court and playmaking. 

Dallas (38-25): Luka Doncic looked for LeBron James on his way to 25 points and a late win over the Lakers, before unloading 41 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists over Steph Curry and the Warriors for Dallas' third straight victory. Doncic is averaging 34.4 PPG, 10.1 RPG and 8.5 APG since February began on 46.5% shooting, as the Mavericks pulled within 1.5 games of Utah for a home court spot in the west. Spencer Dinwiddie is getting comfortable next to him, scoring seven points in the fourth against Golden State. 

“We’ve got a special situation where we have now another guy who can dribble and make decisions and score the ball,” Jason Kidd said. “So it’s not just heavily on JB and Luka. I can play all three of them.”

Denver (37-26): With a sturdy 2.5 game lead over the Timberwolves for the No. 6 seed and Nikola Jokic keeping the Nuggets competitive against most teams, scary headlines hit the western conference this week: Jamal Murray (ACL) and Michael Porter Jr. (back) could return late this season. Porter Jr. will return to on-court work this week, hoping to play sometime in March, while Murray remains patient in his approach. Denver could easily win an NBA championship with its full starting five intact, but it's unclear how much time they'd have to gel. Murray hasn't played since Apr. 12, 2021. Without him, Jokic has carried the Nuggets with passes like these. 

Detroit (17-47): The hardest part of rebuilding is going from dreadfulness and the talent that brings via the draft to actually consistently winning with young talent. Marvin Bagley III is helping the Pistons accomplish that alongside Cade Cunningham, beating the Pacers for Detroit's fifth win over their last seven games around the all-star break. Bagley scored 18 points with eight rebounds in the latest victory, mashing opposing bench units inside for 12.8 PPG and 6.0 RPG on 52.7% shooting since joining Detroit at the deadline. Cunningham hit a late three and go-ahead layup to tie and then beat Indiana.

"(Bagley) has something down there in the post," Dwane Casey said. "As simple as it sounds, we have to do a better job of post feeding to him."

Golden State (43-20): Lost their seventh game over their last nine to fall within 0.5 games of Memphis after spending all season among the top two seeds in the west. Steph Curry couldn't get a shot off in the latest loss to Dallas, as his struggle-filled season continues without Draymond Green after posting MVP-worthy numbers in the first quarter of the season. Steve Kerr said the team desperately needs Green (back), who did some three-on-three work in practice without a timetable to return. He expects to return before the playoffs. 

"(Dallas was) trapping all over the place so I got to figure out something different on that front,” Curry said. “Moses (Moody) played amazing, giving us a spark in that fourth quarter. But offensively it’s not really the issue, we got to get more aligned with what we’re trying to do defensively.”

Houston (15-48): Christian Wood's struggles and frustration stands as a trade deadline second-guess. If throwing in the big man would've made the Lakers more likely to part with an unprotected future first-round pick, wouldn't it have been worth it? Wood is in year two of a three-year deal, among the worst transition ball-handlers in the league, baffling Rockets fans when he initiates offense. He's also shooting 49% from the field, his worst mark since his rookie year. Maybe that deal will be there again this summer. The Rockets have lost 11 straight. 

Indiana (22-43): Tyrese Haliburton dismantled the Celtics' hottest defense in basketball with 22 points, four rebounds and nine assists, sinking circus floaters and firing the ball around the court. It showed both the degree of difficulty needed to crack Boston's unit, and the special promise of the Pacers' new franchise player, who's averaging 19.0 PPG, 9.3 APG and 2.0 SPG in his first nine games. 

Clippers (34-31): Officially swept the Lakers in the season series and moved to 7-0 over their neighbors in the Staples Center under Ty Lue. This time, Reggie Jackson mashed LeBron James and company with 36 points and nine assists as the Clippers won by 21 points. LA has won five straight, solidifying its hold on the No. 8 seed by 5.5 games over the Lakers and 8.0 games over the surging Pelicans. 

Lakers (27-35): It's worse than last week. Four straight losses. LeBron James' effort visibly waning. No Anthony Davis return in sight. Russell Westbrook arguing with reporters, claiming he had no expectations upon joining the Lakers. Frank Vogel admitted a benching is on the table, while Jake Fischer's reporting points toward a forthcoming power struggle between James' camp and the Jeanie Buss, Rob Pelinka and Rambis family leadership structure atop the franchise. Whatever happens there, it feels inevitable Vogel and Westbrook won't be on the team next year. If you haven't heard them, their fan's nightly gripes are shared in a hilarious Lakers Late Night Show Twitter spaces. 

LA sits only 0.5 games above the Pelicans and the No. 10 seed, and 2.0 games above the Trail Blazers from being out of the playoffs. 

Memphis (43-21): Stumbled and went cold in Boston, while still walking away from the week with a historic Ja Morant performance (52 points a franchise record on 22-for-30 shooting) while throwing down a dunk on Jakob Poetl that his former teammate Derrick White called "nasty" at Celtics shootaround this week. 

Morant went on to score what Ime Udoka called a "quiet" 38 points while drawing Allen Iverson comparisons, applause inside TD Garden and shocking a national TV audience with a left-handed, alley oop flush over Marcus Smart on the break. He averaged 40 PPG over his last five.

Miami (42-22): Bam Adebayo is on a tear, regaining his Bubble form, with 22.3 PPG, 11.0 RPG, 3.7 APG, 1.8 SPG and 1.3 BPG on 58.4% shooting since February began. He scored 30 points to top Kevin Durant and the Nets in his 31-point return after the Heat beat Kyrie Irving's Nets last month in Miami. They could potentially face both in the first round as they've been well-tested of late, losing by one point late to Milwaukee on a controversial no call on Giannis Antetokounmpo that earned Jrue Holiday a shot at a game-winner, while Miami beat Chicago handily the game before. They're the No. 1 seed by 2.0 games on the Bulls.

Milwaukee (39-25): Giannis Antetokounmpo's aggressive play on Jimmy Butler to steal a jump ball in the final seconds stole a much-needed win from the Heat before he scored 34 points with 16 rebounds and five assists in a win over Chicago. The win tied the Bulls for the No. 3 seed, only 3.0 games behind Miami atop the east. Brook Lopez (back) will return to five-on-five work ahead of the stretch run after Milwaukee fell to the bottom-five of NBA defenses over the past 15 games. Pat Connaughton (hand) remains further away.

Minnesota (35-29): Beat the Cavaliers, Warriors and Thunder and have quietly won 11-of-15, tied for the third-most wins over that stretch in the league with a seventh-best +6.0 net rating. Karl-Anthony Towns has taken over with Anthony Edwards in a cold spell, Towns averaging 24.9 PPG and 9.9 RPG over those 15 games, shooting 55% from the field and 41.9% from three. D'Angelo Russell is averaging over 20 PPG recently too, as the Wolves sit in perfect position to make a charge at avoiding the play-in tournament with the 22nd-ranked remaining schedule. They're 2.5 games back of Denver for the No. 6 seed. 

New Orleans (27-36): The hottest team in the western conference since the trade deadline. They're No. 2 behind Boston in net rating (+11), featuring C.J. McCollum's 26.3 PPG on 52.3% shooting and a top-five defense led by Herb Jones, who held Jazz shooters to 0-for-10 shooting when he guarded them in Friday's win. They beat the Suns, then the Lakers by 28 and Kings by 30 before blowing away Utah by 34. They're now the No. 10 seed by 1.5 games, only 0.5 games behind the Lakers they traded Anthony Davis to in 2019. They would meet in a single-elimination play in game if the season ended today. 

New York (25-38): Lost their seventh straight game to the Suns after hanging in until the final buzzer, which Cam Johnson beat with a three above the break down by two points after Alec Burks missed a second free throw. Julius Randle got ejected after a scuffle with Johnson where he shoved the Suns forward with the Knicks ahead by 10 points earlier in the second half. Johnson scored 20 points in the fourth, shooting 9-for-12 from deep in a game where he scored 38 points. This ship is at the bottom of the ocean. 

Oklahoma City (20-43): Obligatory blurb about not even two extra defenders being able to slow a 138-point onslaught by the Timberwolves that handed the Thunder their third straight loss. 

Orlando (16-48): What a joy seeing Markelle Fultz back on the court, scoring 10 points with six assists in 16 minutes back from ACL surgery last spring. He's been through a lot since going to Philadelphia No. 1 overall following a pre-draft trade that sent Jayson Tatum to the Celtics with the 76ers' No. 3 pick, from losing his shooting form, to being dealt to Orlando before playing well shortly before tearing his knee. 

Philadelphia (39-23): They're yet to lose (4-0) with James Harden and Joel Embiid on the floor, the 76ers leading the NBA in offense by nearly four points per 100 possessions through Harden's first four games. He's averaging 26.8 PPG, 7.5 RPG and 12.0 APG on 59.2% shooting with Philadelphia, while Tyrese Maxey benefits with 26.8 PPG playing alongside the Beard. They've won five straight and are 2.0 games back of first, adding De'Andre Jordan to try to pad their center depth behind Embiid depleted by giving up Andre Drummond in the Harden deal. 

Phoenix (51-12): They matched last year's Suns win total with their comeback win over the Knicks on Friday. They won two straight without Chris Paul (thumb) and Devin Booker (COVID protocols), with Cam Johnson scoring 58 points over the Blazers and Knicks. They're a deeper team after the trade deadline, Aaron Holiday and Cam Payne tossing 47 assists between the two victories. Payne had just returned from a wrist injury that sidelined him since late January when he dropped 17 points and 16 assists on Portland. 

Portland (25-37): Scored under 100 points while losing by 30 points or more to the Warriors, Nuggets and Suns, getting knocked out of the west play-in picture where they had been a stunning staple for nearly a month as the No. 10 seed. Jusuf Nurkic, Damian Lillard, Eric Bledsoe and more are out, leaving a makeshift lineup including CJ Elleby, Elijah Hughes and Drew Eubanks. Keon Johnson, their big return in the Norman Powell deal aside from luxury tax relief, is 3-for-21 in his first three games.

Sacramento (24-41): De'Aaron Fox is playing better, scoring 26 points with nine assists in a key win over the Spurs, the Kings now sitting 4.0 games back of their coveted No. 10 seed with 17 games remaining. They face the Pelicans in April in what could be a decisive matchup if they make it through a gauntlet of Dallas, Denver, Utah, Chicago, Milwaukee, Boston and Phoenix. in the weeks ahead. Doubtful, since they've lost 5-of-9 since trading Tyrese Haliburton and Buddy Hield for Domantas Sabonis. They're 22nd in offense since. 

San Antonio (24-39): All but eliminated from the race for the west play-in after losing to the Heat, Grizzlies and Kings. After years following Kawhi Leonard's trade to Toronto where they remained in the middle of the league, they're positioned No. 7 in the lottery, about to make a well-needed top-10 pick. They could use two more wins this season, which will cement Gregg Popovich with the most wins in NBA history.

Toronto (34-29): Blasted through Brooklyn in a home-and-away before losing to the Pistons and Magic to end the week. They're only 2.0 games back of the slipping Cavaliers above the play-in tournament line, but an erratic loss to Detroit where Nick Nurse got ejected for unloading on an official, Fred VanVleet's knee bruise and a longer-term finger injury to OG Anunoby further pressuring an already-stagnant offense. Gary Trent, Pascal Siakam, Malachi Flynn and Scottie Barnes have stepped up to play point by committee. 

Utah (39-23): They're emblematic of a make-or-miss teams, trading inspiring wins over the Mavericks and Suns with ice-cold showings resulting in baffling blowout losses to a team like the Pelicans. They're a complete playoff wild card, still boasting a top-five offense and top-eight defense since February began. Donovan Mitchell is averaging 27.4 PPG over his last 10 games, which the Jazz have won eight of.

Washington (28-34): Bradley Beal spoke to the media amid his season-ending wrist surgery and said it's fair to say he'll re-sign with the Wizards this offseason. Beal has numerous future paths he can take regardless of whether or not he stays with the organization now, which we covered last month in this column.

"This is a blessing in disguise," Beal said. "I can see the team (while injured), I can see our young guys develop, I can see coach continue to develop too. I can see us grow as a team. I don't have to rush to a decision. I don't have to rush to anything."