Photo by manufolio via Flickr

Something is going to have to give here, either via trade or some positional shift. This is why the Jazz experimented toward the end of last season with Millsap at small forward in an ultra-big lineup that included both Jefferson and Favors. Millsap is a good athlete with smart feet, capable of working off the dribble occasionally and finishing drives at the rim with both hands. But he’s 6-foot-8, weighs 250 pounds and just doesn’t seem built to chase small forwards around the perimeter. In a league getting smaller, quicker and more three-happy, is playing Millsap at small forward really workable?

via The Point Forward » Posts Positional Quandary: Can Millsap play SF? «.

While it may take two to tango (or cha-cha, or whatever dance they force you into doing on some reality television show), a revolution – with apologies to John Lennon – clearly takes at least ten.

Most fans, I’d venture, dream about using the disparate pieces on their roster in unique ways that challenge the status quo and opposing defenses. Heck, I’ve been a proponent of a team getting its best five players on the court as often as possible, regardless of (what I considered) meaningless positional designations. That’s how you’ll win, baby! It’s the NBA Moneyball – if you’ve got five shooters, get them on the court. Five Shaqs? …well, I’m not going to mention Mr. O’Neal and court right now (you know why), but that would be terrifying! Bynum, Odom, and Gasol all on the floor at the same time for the Lakers? The Lakers are the bizarro Marie Antoinette of the NBA – no, you can’t eat cake, because you’ll never get your hands on this precious basketball*! Aldridge and Crash anchoring the front line in Portland? Sounds like a dream for your team and a nightmare for the opposition – and don’t you dare distract me with facts! Sure, going big largely creates spacing issues on the offensive end. Going small leaves a team without a low-post threat and susceptible on the defensive end, particularly when it comes to rebounding. It’s much simpler (and more entertaining), though, to ignore that reality and focus on the fantasy.

*Even the bizarro Marie Antoinette makes no sense whatsoever. Apparently basketballs are dessert. The lockout-French Revolution doesn’t owe you an explanation.

Unfortunately for the dreamers – and myself – every roster action has a ripple effect across the court. One does not simply walk into Mordor, and one does not simply choose to ignore positional designations without consequence. It’s great to have a mismatch on offense, but what happens when you get down to the other end of the court? How do you deal with a team whose normalcy and traditional lineup is diametrically opposed to your revolution for great basketball justice?

Most notably, those teams that consider going big face the challenge of defending opposing small forwards, as Mr. Lowe is quick to point out in his “Positional Quandary” series. Having a 6’8″, 250-pound monster at small forward leaves a team susceptible to opposing 3s running rampant around screens and the perimeter – unless, of course, you’re the Miami Heat and said monster is capable of defending every position on the court. (Cheaters.) Mr. Lowe does a fantastic job of detailing the positive and the negative of these various thrusts into the positional breach, and I highly recommend you check out his take on the various rotation options the Lakers, Jazz, and Blazers face for the upcoming season.

You say you want a revolution? We’d all love to change the world, but you’d better make sure you know what you’re getting into before you jettison every label. Sometimes they’re there for a reason – particularly when a person (or a team) has to get defensive.