Rotation Review: What Lineups Will Help Kyle Singler Thrive?
By Shawn Woods
Kyle Singler was the lesser piece in the trade last season that saw Reggie Jackson and Kendrick Perkins leave Oklahoma City (excluding Steve Novak for obvious reasons), but he may be an important piece to the team’s success this season.
A scouting report on Singler has already been posted, so I’ll focus more on the minutes Singler will receive and in what lineups he might play.
Singler signed a 5-year contract worth almost $25 million this summer with the last season not fully guaranteed. Paying the 27-year old an average of just under $5 million per season is an incredibly valuable deal with the expected jump in the salary cap the next two seasons.
In order to fully extract the value from the contract, the Thunder will need to find minutes for Singler. Fortunately for him, the team doesn’t have great depth at the wing position.
After Kevin Durant, the team doesn’t have another wing player that can be relied upon at both ends of the floor. Anthony Morrow is probably the best of the rest, but he struggles defensively as much as Andre Roberson struggles offensively.
Singler averaged over 27 minutes per game in his time in Detroit, and has played in 244 of a possible 246 games throughout the first three seasons of his career. He is both skilled and durable, something the team desperately needs at the wing position.
Singler will be asked to shoot open threes, make the extra pass and to not be a swinging gate on defense. The players around Singler will determine how much he plays more than anything.
Lineup 1: Russell Westbrook, Morrow, Enes Kanter and Serge Ibaka
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With these shot charts, the bigger the dots, the more shots that are taken from that area. The redder the dots are, the more efficient from the area.
Offensively, there’s a lot to like about this lineup. Almost every area on the floor is covered with very little inefficient spots. Morrow and Singler are effective three-point shooters from almost every spot behind the arc, Ibaka is one of the best mid-range shooters in the league, Kanter is a good finisher around the rim and Westbrook is Westbrook.
This lineup could only be featured in limited minutes as it could be a train wreck defensively. Only Ibaka is an elite defender, and while Singler is effective in help defense, he doesn’t have the athletic ability to be the primary defender on the wing.
If this lineup forced opponents to miss their first shot, there would be littler opportunity for the opposition to get second chances. Ibaka and Kanter are two of the better rebounding big men in the league, and Westbrook is possibly the best rebounder at his position.
Lineup 2: D.J. Augustin, Roberson, Durant and Steven Adams
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Gone are the days where the Thunder will throw out only one (or sometimes zero) shooter for an extended period of time. Augustin, Singler and Durant are all above average from behind the arc, Adams is a decent passer and if Roberson can become even average on offense, this lineup would be a fantastic option for Billy Donovan.
Singler’s shooting creates space for a pick-and-roll between some combination of Augustin, Durant and Adams. Over the last two seasons, Singler has converted on almost 48 percent of his three-point attempts from the corner, and putting him on the court gives the Thunder’s offense one less defender to worry about.
These five players would create matchup issues for the opposition with Durant as the best possible stretch four, shooting surrounding him and three good passers.
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This lineup would probably be successful on defense as well considering Roberson, Adams and Durant are all at least above average on defense (we can argue how far above average in the comments). Rebounding could be an issue for the lineup, but Roberson is a very good rebounder at his position and Adams is more than passable at center.
Lineup 3: Westbrook, Durant, Ibaka and Adams
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My personal favorite lineup is the lineup that features Singler at the off-guard, and a giant at every other position. Although Westbrook doesn’t have the size compared to other players at his position, he plays far bigger.
This team might rival the Clippers and Warriors as one of the top offenses in the league with this lineup. Imagine the same offense as the Thunder had two seasons ago but with a more creative system offensively (hopefully) and a non-negative offensive player at the off-guard.
This lineup would feature three players able to shoot from the outside, two players that can get to the rim at will and a big man that is not hesitant to try to grab an offensive rebound.
The defense would also be impressive with Westbrook’s ability to get steals (even if he isn’t a very good defender), Durant’s above-average defense and two big men capable of defending the pick-and-roll along with the rim.
Singler has the potential to be a backup with the capability to play three different positions with almost no stress on the salary cap. With more money available next summer than ever before, the average salary for a starter will be in the double figures starting next year. While Singler isn’t a starter on this team, the 27-year old has the potential to spot start and give the team high-level minutes for the next four or five years. The most important thing, however, is for Singler to have an impact this season.
Unfortunately for the Thunder, everything comes back to keeping Durant this season. Singler may not be the most important piece to keeping Durant, but he’s an important piece to a puzzle that takes 9 months to complete.