Do 2 Center Lineups Still Work In The NBA?
The Cavaliers and Timberwolves are both trying their hand at the two center approach. One is thriving, and the other is drowning.
There are a lot of things from past generations that I’m glad died off. Bell-bottom jeans. Disco. Bowl cuts. Seinfeld. Two-center lineups in basketball. The Twin Tower concept is a relic of a bygone era. Having massive frontcourts was the name of the game.
However, modern basketball isn’t so simple. Versatility is now the name of the game. Centers were forced to change like no other position. The idea of running multiple centers in the same lineup is beyond an afterthought. There’s just no way it could work.
This begs the question;
Do 2 center lineups still work in the NBA?
What Works In Today’s NBA?
In Layman’s terms, the modern NBA is all about spacing. Shooting has never been more paramount. A lack of spacing can kill a team’s chances of contending. That’s why the center position has become so marginalized in recent seasons. With every team choosing to get smaller, centers have been run off the floor because they can’t keep up.
The Golden State Warriors championed smaller lineups. In Draymond Green, they found someone who could do everything a center did but in a smaller, quicker package. After that, the revolt against size has run rampant around the league. Still, there are lots of centers that can’t shoot but still play valuable roles on their teams. Screen setting, pick-and-roll defense, and rebounding can’t be ignored. But, the average center has never been less valuable than it is today.
Guys like DeAndre Jordan, Andre Drummond, and Jahlil Okafor quickly became obsolete. They became dinosaurs in a league filled with newer, sleeker models. Adapt or die. Brad Pitt was right about that one. That’s what centers have had to do for the past decade. And they’re still changing as the game pushes the position to the edge.
So, using two bigs at the same time is taboo, right? There’s no way teams would run two-center lineups with all the speed and shooting we see in the modern NBA. Tell that to Cleveland and Minnesota.
Both teams are now employing two-center lineups. But, the two teams are seeing very different levels of success. While the Cavs have been catapulted back to relevance thanks to Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen, the Minnesota Timberwolves are floundering. Their league-altering trade for Rudy Gobert is off to a rocky start.
So, what gives? Why are the Cavs thriving while Minnesota is struggling? Let’s find out.
Cleveland Cavaliers
Unlike most rebuilds, which take years of patience and good decisions, Cleveland’s rise has been relatively fast. In 197 days, president of basketball operations Koby Altman traded for Jarrett Allen and drafted Evan Mobley. And with that, the Cavs took off.
Not to spoil anything, but the Cavs are elite defensively because of these two. Mobley came into the league and was immediately a game-changer. Not many rookies can guard five positions and have instincts like Bill Russell. But Mobley did.
Allen, accompanied by his glorious afro, spikes shots into the first row regularly. There’s a reason Cleveland’s defense is one of the best in the league. And, even with all this size, it’s not like the Cavs are struggling offensively. That’s what makes them so mesmerizing.
They’ve seemingly cracked the code on size in the modern game. Heck, their 2023 roster is conservative to what they had last year. Lauri Markkanen, Jarrett Allen, and Evan Mobley were sharing the floor at times. That’s nuts!
So, how have they done it? Does JB Bickerstaff have some of St. Louis’s devil magic? Are the Cavs taking smelling salts of the 1986 Rockets? How are they making this work on the offensive end? Let’s watch them outclass the Lakers to find out;
Opportunistic Roaming
It seems like Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen are always doing something offensively. Even though the T-Wolves have Karl-Anthony Towns, who provides more spacing than Mobley and Allen combined, it doesn’t matter.
Whether it be screen-setting, handoffs, or just plain movement, these two are always moving. They’re not camping out at the dunkers spot or waiting for their guards to create everything for them. This play sums that up pretty well;
Jarrett Allen sets three screens on this play. Evan Mobley roams the baseline, requiring Lebron James to keep an eye on him. With Allen gets the ball on the roll, James steps up, leaving Mobley exposed. That leaves Kendrick Nunn to have to guard Mobley and then make a long closeout to Levert.
Levert misses, sure, but this play was all created by Cleveland’s bigs.
And this happens a lot. It’s not like Mobley and Allen are statues offensively. Sure, they can’t dribble or shoot, or, heck, even post up, but they find ways to keep the offense moving. You know what else helps an offense? Elite backcourt play.
Mitchell & Garland Co.
We have never seen Allen and Mobley with elite backcourt play to surround them. While Minnesota is dealing with the anemic D’Angelo Russell and Anthony Edwards, the Cavs have quite the opposite. Last season, the smooth shooting Darius Garland was all they needed. Cleveland almost made the postseason.
But this year? Adding Donovan Mitchell along with Garland gives the Cavs one of the most dynamic backcourts in the league. Who cares if they play one of the slowest paces in the league? It doesn’t matter. With Mitchell and Garland, teams can’t make the Cavs pay for running these massive lineups.
So much attention has to go to the backcourt, that it opens up things for everybody else. Mobley and Allen get lots of easy rim runs and put-backs. Ever wonder why the Cavs are shooting 41% from beyond the arc? I bet a lot of it has to do with their star-studded duo in the backcourt.
As long as the Cavs have those two to lead the way, Cleveland is set. We haven’t seen Mobley and Allen struggle to play in the NBA. These two have fit seamlessly together from day one. Cleveland has done nothing but cater to them and make life as easy as possible for the driving force of their vaunted defense.
It’s the perfect balance between team and players. Meanwhile, in Minnesota….
Minnesota Timberwolves
On paper, everything was looking good for Minnesota entering their season. We all agreed they overpaid for Rudy Gobert, but we didn’t think their new frontcourt wouldn’t work. Expectations were very high for this team. I had them as the 6th seed, winning 52 games.
It’s safe to say Minnesota isn’t that right now. While Gobert has improved the defense, Minnesota’s offense has grinded to a standstill. Last season, they were one of the best units in the league. There’s no way a team with this much talent should rank 19th in offensive rating.
Minnesota is still trying to figure out two things;
- How can they make Rudy Gobert more of a weapon on offense?
- How do they incorporate everybody else around that?
Now, I don’t think Minnesota should be bending over backward to help Gobert. Gobert feasts on lobs and things right under the rim. He needs to be spoonfed good looks from his point guard. The Timberwolves are acting like he’s some sort of demigod on offense. He’s not.
There’s a reason the Jazz largely ignored him on offense. And, in trying to involve Gobert more, everybody else has seen a decrease in production. Towns, in particular, is having a very down year offensively. While the Cavaliers have no problems scoring with their two-big lineup, Minnesota has been incredibly sluggish.
Now, I will say that minutes play a big part in this. Minnesota hasn’t gotten a chance to see their frontcourt in action much. Towns missed considerable time during training camp due to a throat infection. Rudy Gobert is now in health and safety protocols. A lot of this team’s struggles can be attributed to a lack of familiarity. Still, I would be kidding myself if I said this team hasn’t been disappointing thus far.
Let’s go back to Minnesota’s game against the Suns earlier this month. Here’s what I noticed;
Not Doing Yourself Any Favors
With Minnesota’s offense going out the matter horn, it is worth mentioning that their problems go far beyond Rudy Gobert. Sure, trying to incorporate Gobert into this offense is challenging. That we all expected.
But it’s not like the T-Wolves have been playing well in general. Minnesota’s early season play has been characterized by a lack of effort, lots of turnovers, and crappy shooting. Minnesota’s starting lineup hasn’t looked engaged all year long.
Offensively, no starting lineup turns the ball over more than the Timberwolves. 6.3 turnovers per game isn’t a recipe for success. And neither is the rapid decline in outside shooting. Last season, the Timberwolves were one of the best 3-PT shooting teams in the league.
They were amongst the league leaders in attempts and accuracy. Both of those things have disappeared in 2023. Minnesota ranks 13th in 3-PT attempts per game but 27th in percentage. Is that really all on Rudy Gobert?
D’Angelo Russell, a player I have never been a fan of, has looked horrendous this season. He’s shooting below 40% from the field and the 3-PT line. It’s supposed to be his job to help get Gobert looks and run the offense. Instead, he’s forgetting to sub into games;
Anthony Edwards has also looked languid at times this season. We all know Edwards has the talent to be a franchise player. But his defensive effort comes and goes like the tide. Whenever the offense gets stagnant, Edwards plays hero ball.
While dunking on Rudy Gobert is one of my favorite past times, not all of Minnesota’s struggles can be traced back to him. With that being said, he’s not without blame.
Weird Spacing
As I’ve already talked about, the Timberwolves aren’t the same shooting team they were a year ago. Obviously, Rudy Gobert isn’t helping them in that regard. So, when the Timberwolves aren’t hitting outside shots, the floor shrinks dramatically.
Karl-Anthony Towns has spent most of the year just standing on the perimeter. He can’t play in the post because Gobert impedes his space. So, Towns has been exiled to the outside out of necessity.
The very first play against the Suns is a microcosm of the weirdness;
See what happens whenever Towns tries to operate inside the arc? The Suns were doubling Towns whenever he touched the ball in this game. Bismack Biyombo ignores Gobert, doubling Towns, making him hesitate. He recovers almost immediately to get back to Gobert.
But that’s not the worst part. Take a look at Jaden McDaniels in this play. What is he even doing? He randomly cuts in the middle of this action, bogging everything down. Towns finds an open D’Angelo Russell, but he, of course, bricks the three.
Offensive masterclass.
Freelance
Whenever the Timberwolves aren’t running a set play, everything grinds to a halt. If it isn’t some awkward, ill-fated Anthony Edwards dribble sessions, it’s something far worse. Towns and Gobert don’t know how to play together when there’s no script.
For the most part, Gobert will set a screen for the ball-handler and roll to the rim. Towns will be standing on the perimeter. Just watching. Kind of like Liam Neeson watching his daughter get kidnapped for the thousandth time.
Gobert will sometimes get good seals or rolls to the rim. But when that happens, he sometimes forgets to catch the ball;
It’s another microcosm of what has been an ugly start to the season for Minnesota. They can’t get out of their own way. Things would be going a lot better if they looked like they cared about every possession – which they don’t.
For the first time in what seems like an eternity, Minnesota came into a season with real hopes of being competitive. As of right now, the Timberwolves are really regretting that Gobert trade.
The Future of the Twin Towers Concept
So, can you run two centers in the modern NBA? Yes and no.
On the one hand, both Minnesota and Cleveland play superb defense. The Cavs have built their identity around their frontcourt. Adding Rudy Gobert has improved Minnesota’s defense, too.
If you find the right guys, it can transform your defense. The problem is that it’s much harder to use two centers to build an effective offense. One thing I haven’t mentioned in this entire thing is outliers. The Cleveland Cavaliers are outliers in every sense of the word.
They have Evan Mobley, a once in a generational defensive talent who moves like a guard in space. Without him, the Cavs wouldn’t be close to as good as they are now. The same goes for the Timberwolves. You think guys like Gobert & Towns grow on trees? Heavens no.
I think that the Timberwolves will eventually settle into their ways. It’s hard for them to be as bad as they’ve been for an entire season. With that being said, they remain far from title contention. Cleveland, on the other hand, is a lot closer to the Larry O’Brien trophy.
Remember what I said about this concept being a relic of a bygone era? Well, as we see more and more freaks of nature enter the NBA (hey there, Victor!), I think teams will be bolder and bolder about trying to implement this strategy.
The good news is, we’re going see this ideology a lot over the next decade. Cleveland has made sure of that for us, and the T-Wolves could, too, if they fine-tune some of their problems. Perhaps that leads us to even more experiments of size and versatility.
So, to summarize, I think the Twin Towers concept is far from dead. In fact, I think we might be in the beginning stages of a revolution.
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