AROUND the NBA:

[KillerLeft]

@LegionHoops
Joe Mazzulla on starting lineups: “I think people care too much, it only lasts five minutes.” (@NoaDalzell)

Yeah, it's about matchups, combinations of skillsets and total minutes played, with more importance placed on closing lineups than starting lineups. Any serious NBA fan knows this. 

However, it's also true that this understanding is usually (not always, but usually) baked into debate about the starting lineup, and that this debate is almost always used as an efficient shorthand to discuss variations on the above criteria. Ironically, I think the players, themselves, care who starts and gets their name called more than fans do. Willful semantic stupidity about this phenomenon which for any thinking person is clearly evident is condescending and tiresome, whether it comes from coaches, media or fans.