NBA: Is The Small-Ball Era In The Association Here to Stay?

Jun 16, 2015; Cleveland, OH, USA; Golden State Warriors center

(31) celebrates with guard Stephen Curry (30) during the third quarter of game six of the NBA Finals against the Cleveland Cavaliers at Quicken Loans Arena. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-USA TODAY Sports

Personnel

Very rarely do you come across a team built for small ball success quite like the Warriors. Mike D’Antoni’s Phoenix Suns were also another team built for it. But what happens if you take the 2013-14 Indiana Pacers and try to play small ball?

Not only would this be comical just for the fact of the lumbering Roy Hibbert trying to be an up-tempo center, but it is just not practical. Every coach in the NBA takes a look at their talent and personnel and decides how to best maximize the potential.

Looking at teams in today’s NBA, there are some that are well-built for a small ball approach (Atlanta Hawks, New Orleans Pelicans, Houston Rockets, Milwaukee Bucks).

“I know there’s been all this talk this year especially about the three-point shot and can you win shooting it. There’s a lot of different styles that can work. You have to base it on your own personnel.” Steve Kerr

In all honesty, the term “small” almost needs to be phased out of the small-ball equation. You may have a center, such as

, who has the abilities of a small ball five; but he is nearly 7-feet tall.

In an age where players are becoming more and more skilled despite their height, the term small ball is now not all that accurate.

There are still teams who are the antithesis of small ball (Memphis Grizzlies, Chicago Bulls, Washington Wizards, Utah Jazz) and have enjoyed quite a bit of success.

Even throw the new look San Antonio Spurs into the mix with a front-court rotation including Tim Duncan, LaMarcus Aldridge, David West, and Boris Diaw. Nothing about that team screams small ball.

In order to have a chance to win a title using small-ball methods, you absolutely must have the adequate players to accommodate the style. How many players are there like Draymond Green in today’s NBA? Not that many…and to a point they are almost as hard to find as a solid big man (we will get to that more later).

The point is you couldn’t take any roster and make small ball a success. It just isn’t feasible. Is it a fad? Not really since this style has been existent for some time. It just hasn’t been overly successful. It is a trend that numerous teams are looking to make a jump towards (Indiana Pacers and Toronto Raptors).

Next: Where are all the Big Men?