Mozgov couldn't adapt to that scenario in the Finals; Iguodala destroyed Cleveland with the easiest 3s he'll ever have. What if you could shove that same dilemma in the face of, say, Rudy Gobert in Utah? "Gobert is huge," Vogel said, "but is he athletic enough to contain shooters and drivers, or does he become a liability?"
You have to go really small -- Golden State level small with five perimeter players -- to foist that choice upon Gobert. Play one traditional big guy, and Gobert will chill near the basket, leaving the quicker Derrick Favors to chase a small-ball power forward. Playing five out is tough to manage. It's hard stocking the roster with enough skilled wings who can shoot 3s, and having all five guys flinging the ball around the arc can almost be bad for spacing. They end up standing near one another in a semi-circle, and opposing defenses can downsize and switch every action -- effectively forming a forcefield around the paint.
You still need someone to puncture the defense -- a rim-runner who sets picks, slices down the paint, sucks in defenders and forces the other team to scramble. "You need one guy going to the rim," Wittman said.
"Four skilled guys out there around a rim-runner -- that's just hard to defend," said Celtics coach Brad Stevens.
