The Great NBA Table: A Thanksgiving Look at the League’s Best Lineups

The Great NBA Table: A Thanksgiving Look at the League’s Best Lineups

As Thanksgiving approaches, it’s a time to reflect on what unites us: family, tradition, and community. In basketball, much like at the dinner table, success relies on collaboration, shared purpose, and individual contributions coming together to create something greater than the sum of their parts. Each player has a role, just as each dish on the Thanksgiving spread has its place in the feast, from the centerpiece turkey to the gravy that elevates every bite. This season, the NBA has given us plenty to be thankful for, with dynamic starting fives that showcase teamwork, chemistry, and brilliance. From the precision of the Cleveland Cavaliers to the electric play of the Oklahoma City Thunder, these lineups remind us of the joy of community and the beauty of shared effort. So, let’s dig in and talk about the Cavs, Knicks, Celtics, Thunder, and 76ers.

The Cleveland Turkeys (1st in the League):

After about 17 or so games, the Cavs are everything you can ask for. They are the best offense in basketball and, unsurprisingly, they have the best scoring differential so far this season. They’re taking care of the ball with double the assists as opposed to turnovers, and in case your mouth isn’t watering already, they’re the best shooting team, too. And we can be forgiven for thinking it’s coming too easily for them. They slip to 10th in Defense so far this season and float somewhere around 10th in terms of blocks and steals per game.

In an era where defense is so often the result of hustle and effort, it’s justifiable to worry that their defensive challenges may ultimately catch up with them and outpace their offensive dominance.

However, with Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley, both of whom are top 20 individual rebounders so far this year, the Cavs let other teams sink themselves. The Cavaliers are the 21st team in the NBA in terms of rebounds. But don’t let that stat fool you. In fact, except for the Bucks, all 4 of the other top teams in true shooting fall at or below 20th in rebounds so far. In plain language, these teams don’t give you a chance to rebound the ball.

But when their opponents miss, the Cavs have a 71% chance of coming down with the ball. While that may not feel high based on their position at 11th in the league for defensive boards, it is only 3 points behind number 1.

The Cavs are in every sense the stars of the league through 17 games. Ladies and Gentlemen, the Cleveland Cavaliers are your Turkey.

But as is far too often the case, we can sometimes forget about another crazy tasty headliner. The dish that pleases all ages…

The New York Mac-N-Cheese (7th):

If the Cavs are our Turkey, the Knicks have to be our Mac-n-Cheese. Just like their often-overlooked and sometimes undervalued counterpart, the Knicks are good. Very good.

For some context, as we just discussed, the Cavs have the best offense in the League. That is in part because of their incredible shooting. In both categories, the Knicks are second.

However, the Cavs are second in assists to turnovers. The New York Knicks are first.

In a way-too-early comparison, the Knicks are the 00’s Suns to the Cavs 00’s Lakers. Or, in a brutal twist of irony, the Cavs are the 90’s Bulls to the Knicks 90’s Cavs.

But there is a lot to be extremely excited about here. For starters, the Knicks' starting 5 has the most minutes together so far this season of any 5-man combination. This is on the heels of a blockbuster trade to acquire Karl-Anthony Towns, the return of last year's acquired OG Annonoby, and the addition of the Nets' Mikal Bridges.

To take our Thanksgiving sentiment a step further, it’s hard to overlook that 3 of the Knicks starting 5 were members of the 2016 NCAA-winning Villanova Wildcats (Jalen Brunson, Josh Hart, and Mikal Bridges). While it’s hard to quantify the impact of their history (especially considering that the last time they were all teammates was 8 years, 6 teams, and over 1000 NBA games ago), it makes you wonder how much this decorated group of college buds can accomplish with the help of OG and KAT.

All in all, whether you’re eating boxed Kraft Mac in a college dorm or homemade artisan Mac-n-Cheese, they are a show stopper in their own right. Second in the spotlight only to the Cavs - er, I mean - Turkey.

But Thanksgiving isn’t just about the marquee Turkey or secret family Mac-n-Cheese recipe. After all, how would we keep our plate and all its fixings in line if it weren’t for…

The Oklahoma City Mashed Potatoes (4th):

We’ve talked about offense a lot. And rightfully so! Let’s be honest, offense sells jerseys.

But as they say, Defense wins titles.

So who better to talk about next than the stingiest defense in the whole of the NBA, the Oklahoma City Thunder?

Like the Cavs and Knicks, the Thunder take care of the ball. They are 4th in turnovers to assists, and ultimately turn the ball over the least in the League. And even in the absence of a top 5 shooting or offense, they are the only +10 net rating team not to go undefeated through 15 games.

While defense can be a bit less exciting than offense to talk about at times, the gravity of the Thunder's dominance has to be discussed here. In blended “Blocks” and “Steals” as a singular “Stocks” stat, the Thunder are chasing down 19.4 “Stocks” a game. That’s almost 5 a quarter. With the league average being 13.4 “Stocks”, the Thunder are getting 5 quarters of defensive productivity out of every game.

But you can’t win games without scoring points. And you don’t become the 4th best team in basketball without winning some games.

While OKC awaits the return of Isaiah Hartenstein, 4 of their 5 starters are averaging double-digit points. Of those 4, 3 are also north of 50% from the field. The only sub-50% shooter, Lugeuentz Dort, is 42% from the field and 40% from 3 - a trade-off most fans would be ecstatic about.

And to those paying attention, this sort of commentary around OKC isn’t surprising. This is a phenomenal 2-way team. And it couldn’t have selected a better avatar anywhere in the league than SGA. He is maybe the best player on any NBA floor not named Nikola Jokic or Jayson Tatum.

The staunch defenders bringing order to the dish and taking advantage of the tasty dropping of their peers, the Mashed Potatoes are the rulers of the dinner plate. And if the goal is to be the last bite to be had, the final tally in the win column this year, then the Oklahoma City Mashed Potatoes are a good bet to be in the running.

Which brings us to dessert. We all know the desert that rules the fall. Carve ‘em up for the spooky season, then add a dollop of whipped cream for a spicy post-feast snack. It’s…

The Boston Pumpkin Pies (2nd):

If the “last to be eaten” metaphor didn’t give it away, this should help. Last year’s NBA Season finale star, and the odds favorite to be this year’s as well, is Boston.

And it’s for good reason. Pumpkin Pie didn’t create an Autumn Empire in the desert kingdom by being “pretty good”. It’s not because of the “legacy of the Pumpkin Pie”. It’s not even because “Pumpkin Pie was really, really good in the 80’s”.

It’s because year after year, Pumpkin Pie delivers.

If you’ve been following the references to some of the prior teams, you’ve seen Boston come up a lot. They are third in Net Rating and Offense, tied for second in Assists to Turnovers, and third in True Shooting percentage, and you’ve already heard Tatum referenced as one of the three stand-outs this year through the first month and a half.

They are right on the league leaders' heels in every major offensive category except for one.

They shoot a mind-blowing number of threes.

The Celtics are shooting about 50 deep shots per game. To say that differently, that’s more than one attempt every minute they’ve played basketball this year. Seriously. (831 minutes, 859 3PAs at the time of this writing).

I would compare them to their peers, but there aren’t any. The next closest team, the Hornets, has shot 140 fewer threes through one less game. Unless we see an NBA record set, the Celtics aren’t at any risk of being caught.

But, like Pumpkin Pie, there is an expectation of greatness here. There is a level of anticipation for just how good they are going to be, that anything shy of brilliance feels like a letdown. And so far, the Celtics have held up to the hype. They are the league's reigning champions and have already started their new campaign as giant killers, ending one of the hottest starts in NBA history for the Cavs.

These Celtics are capital G Great. And we all get to sit back and take our biggest spoon to the sweet, spicy, Thanksgiving-defining treat that is the Boston Pumpkin Pies.

But to end our Thanksgiving NBA rundown, let’s turn to something different. Something bold. Something, dare I say, dangerous. A dish that took big risks. That put a gigantic 7-foot middle finger to the norm and created…

Philadelphia Balsamic Demi-glazed Truffle de Fois Gras Cranberry Sauce (28th):

It’s too much. It’s way too much. And unfortunately, it isn’t working.

To be as clear as possible, the talent in Phili is excellent. It may even be better than that. But we’ve said that for too long now.

At the risk of this being an apology tour for the 76ers, they have had some of the biggest names in basketball come through their ranks over the years. A few that have stopped in Phili since 2017 include Ben Simmons, Markelle Fultz, Tobias Harris, Jimmy Butler, Al Horford, Dwight Howard, Tyrese Maxey, James Harden, Paul Millsap, DeAndre Jordan, Kyle Lowry, Buddy Hield, Andre Drummond, and Paul George.

Say what you want about where they were in their careers or how they ultimately will fall in the landscape of basketball greats of the 2010s and early 2020s, there has been no shortage of name value or talent to go through Phili.

And that doesn’t even begin to discuss The Process himself.

Joel Embiid is polarizing. But he is undeniably great. In his 22-23 MVP campaign, he snagged three-quarters of the MVP votes, was considered for DPOY and Clutch Player of the Year, and won a scoring title.

Like Foi Grois, availability is a question. Quality is certainly not.

And while we’ve talked about the legendary players that have passed through the city of brotherly love, they have some incredible pieces on their active roster. Tyrese Maxey is a bona fide NBA star and is currently top 20 in scoring. They acquired Paul George, who appears to still be finding his footing, but who put up 24 points with 6 rebounds and 4 assists last year while playing in all but 8 games. And with their 16th pick, they appear to have snagged a runaway TikTok star turned ROY contender in Jared McCain.

But with this many quality ingredients, we’ve gotten really, really good, but never great. The problem seems like it can only be one thing.

Frustration.

The 76ers aren’t so much like a Thanksgiving dish - but more like a dysfunctional, chaotic argument around the table. The kind that bad daytime movies are made out of. And I can’t necessarily blame them!

Unlike your holiday uncle who swears he would have been the next QB off the draft board after Tom Brady, Embiid and “The Process” have been the focal point of basketball in the Eastern Conference for a decade.

And now at 30, each passing year can only feel like an already small window growing smaller. Not only Embiid competing with his own career expectations, but he’s also trying to outrun Tyrese Maxey’s rising star and the undefeated father time as well. He was drafted with expectations of a statue. And for the most part, his individual success has not disappointed! He was a once-in-a-lifetime bounce on the rim away from the finals when Kawhi took Toronto to the Title in 18-19.

But if Embiid is forced to hang up his career without so much as a final appearance, he may very well be the topic of Phili Thanksgiving arguments to come around. And unfortunately, that argument may be about the All-Time Greats that never got the job done.

Originally written Nov, 18th, 2024