NBA: The 4 best 5-man lineups in the league statistically

2. Utah Jazz 

The lineup: Mike Conley, Donovan Mitchell, Rudy Gobert, Bojan Bogdanovic, Royce O’Neale

Net Rating – 19.9 points per 100 possessions (119.9 Offensive, 100.0 Defensive)

The Utah Jazz is cooking on all cylinders and their starting lineup has been running over teams as of late. This is the same starting lineup last year, only now Mike Conley has really figured out Quin Snyder’s system and is playing it at his full potential.

Utah now has a starting lineup with the best defensive center to go along with three of the better shooters in the game. During this current nine-game winning streak for the Jazz, this lineup has an offensive rating of 132 in a defensive rating of 94. That is 2015-2016 Warriors-level dominant.

Why is it effective?

This lineup is putting together some absurd offensive numbers up as of late thanks to their 3-point shooting proficiency. The starting lineup is hitting eight more 3’s per 100 possessions then their opponents while shooting 15 percentage points better. The offense has Mitchell and Conley switching off being the primary ballhandlers, and then the Jazz use dribble handoffs and Rudy Gobert’s screening to initiate the offense.

Gobert’s ability to screen people open in roll to the hoop forces defenses to commit to giving away the paint, which leads to these open threes from some of the best catch-and-shoot players in the game.

The defense is back to elite levels, all thanks to two-time DPOY Rudy Gobert. The Frenchman patrols paint at an elite level as always, only now with more help. Royce O’Neale has done an impressive job with the primary defensive assignment each night, and both Mitchell and Conley are really engaged with their rotations and competing for the ball. Even Bogdanovic, historically a negative defender, has put out together some great efforts on the end of the floor.

Is it sustainable?

No. The Jazz as a team are taking the most 3’s in the NBA and are hitting at a 41 percent clip – if they can continue to do that, they might just win the NBA title. I don’t think this lineup can maintain a 132 offensive rating for the rest of the year, but I don’t think it’ll drop off a ton.

I would suspect the offensive rating to drop back to the one 115-120 range as the wear and tear of the season gets to everyone. But if this lineup continues to get these open 3’s, Donovan Mitchell keeps playing at a high level and Rudy Gobert keeps anchoring the defense, Utah might have the best lineup in the game.