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Small Ball?

It is no surprise to us that to be in the NBA, you have to be tall. However, over the recent years, the notion of small ball has seemingly taken the league by storm. Teams attempting to emulate the warriors dynasty have seemed to go all in on attempting to make their rosters as small and adaptive as possible. With the success and attractiveness of players such as Stephen Curry, Kyrie Irving, and Donavon Mitchell to name a few, it is no wonder teams want to go small. However, the notion that going small is what is best for teams moving forward seems to be a grave miscalculation for many teams.

While small ball lineups may be attractive for many teams as a way to keep up with the changing times, I don't believe the times have changed all that much. Take for example Steph Curry, arguably the main reason for this shift towards small ball in the NBA. While it would be great to emulate what Steph Curry does on a basketball court, players like this just do not exist in spades or at all. It is unreasonable to think that players will come around that have anywhere near the impact that Curry has, especially at his size. Being listed at 6'2', Curry has had his fair share of difficulties on the defensive end that have been exploited in the past. While not a terrible defender overall, he is no where good enough to stop anyone, and often his height is used against him, especially in the playoffs. The only reason this issue has not impeded on Curry's and others success on the court is often due to the fact that they are monsters on the offensive end. We have all heard it, you have to guard Curry from the parking lot. Such offensive players like Curry and others around his stature are allowed to be mediocre on the defensive end because of what they bring on the offensive end.

However, it is just that, they only have offensive capabilities. While non of there defenses are so atrocious as to cost their teams games single handedly, recent NBA success has shown us that small ball is not the trajectory for success that many teams thought it was. Take for example the last two NBA champion teams, the Boston Celtics and the Denver Nuggets. While there are smaller players on those team that had tremendous impact, height was a key factor in their success.

We hear it all the time, defense wins games, especially in the playoffs where they matter most. What does height offer you? It offers the ability to switch 1-4 maybe 1-5 depending on personnel. Jason Tatum, Nikola Jokic, Jaylen Brown, Aaron Gordon, LeBron James, Anthony Edwards, Luka Doncic are all players over 6'7'. Defense wins championships, and when you have not only stars but players with the height to disrupt passing lanes and crash boards, altering shots. Those are the plays that ultimately wins games in a seven game series. This notion that the team has gone towards small ball for success is a myth. No team who has had a small roster, other than the warriors have won a championship in recent years. We cannot base the entire structure of a team based on a player that is a once in a generation talent.

Height will always be a liability when it comes to defense. No matter how we look at it, basketball is a game where height matters. Look at LeBron's son Bronny; he is the same height as someone like Curry or Kyrie but cannot stay on the court, even though defense is supposed to be his strong suit. While one can argue that comparing him to legends such as Curry or Kyrie to be an unfair comparison, one cannot help but wonder why smaller players lack the impact that taller players have on games overall.

If we look at the other side of the spectrum, we see why players such as Embid and Jokic are such threats. Turns out, having true centers who are both seven footers goes a long way on impacting the game. While they are generational talents in their own rights, the impact that their size has on games is undeniable. The average height of players in the NBA currently is 6'6.5'. Contradictorily to what the public thinks, the NBA isn't getting any smaller, and that is for good reason.