Golden State Warriors: Ranking Their Most Efficient Lineup Combinations

Oct 30, 2013; Oakland, CA, USA; Golden State Warriors shooting guard Klay Thompson (11) celebrates with shooting guard Andre Iguodala (9) after a basket against the Los Angeles Lakers during the second quarter at Oracle Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports

2. Lineup: S. Curry – A. Bogut – A. Iguodala – D. Lee – K. Thompson
Minutes: 192, OffRtg: 118.8, DefRtg: 100.2, NetRtg: 18.6, Starters: 5

The Warriors’ starting lineup puts up an incredible 118 points per 100 possessions and only gives up around 100 points per possession. The NetRtg of 18 is the highest among any starting lineup that has played together for more than 100 minutes in the league. Even though this lineup has been destructive, it has a small NetRtg compared to the first lineup discussed.

Why is that? The first lineup has only played together 16 minutes, so as the minutes increase one would expect the NetRtg to regress towards a more reasonable value. Also, the starting lineup is usually competing against the best talent the opposing team has to offer, implying the offensive stats will be diluted and defensive stats inflated.

I believe this is the Warriors’ best lineup. We already know he’s a lockdown defender, but with Iguodala shooting around 56% from the field, the Warriors now have three knockdown shooters, Lee finding spaces around the paint, and Bogut as the safety valve to make every shot difficult for oppenents. Originally, I was afraid replacing Barnes’ jump shot with Iguodala’s would cause a dip in offensive production, but so far that hasn’t been the case. If Iguodala can stay even close to this pace, it will be difficult to deal with this group of five.