We now have a little taste of Auburn basketball.
Sure, the two wins over Furman and Florida Atlantic don't count, but there are still a few things that can be taken away from the Tigers' two exhibition games.
And because the games didn't count, Bruce Pearl was able to experiment with various lineup combinations throughout both games.
Pearl has 11 players that will play for him which means he's got to figure out who works well with who and figure out lineup combinations.
It's a good problem to have.
Let's take a look at a few of the combinations that were run during the exhibition and weigh their potential positives and negatives.
**Note: lineups will be listed as follows: point guard/shooting guard/small forward/power forward/center**
Double big:
JP Pegues/Denver Jones/Chad Baker-Mazara/Johni Broome/Dylan Cardwell
This is the lineup that Auburn started with against Florida Atlantic, and if Pearl wants to continue using Broome and Cardwell together then this is what it'll most likely look like, although Miles Kelly could fill in for either Jones or Baker-Mazara.
Here's the vision behind this lineup: the paint is shut down on defense and the size advantage flanked by three elite shooters is enough to get by on offense.
This lineup working really hinges on Broome.
If he is making his threes at a respectable level and is able to play well enough on the perimeter defensively then this lineup could be filthy.
This lineup should be very good on defense; It has four very good perimeter defenders and a solid rim protector, and of course, it would give Auburn a massive advantage on the glass.
The offense could be problematic.
While Broome is certainly an improved three-point shooter, teams would most likely commit bodies to the paint and shut off Auburn's driving lanes. This also relegates Broome to a spot-up shooter role, and again, he's improved there, but Broome at his best is when he's working inside-out from the post.
So while the vision is there for this lineup, I would only go to this lineup against specific matchups.
For example, Auburn used Broome and Cardwell together for a stretch last season against Indiana to match up against Malik Reneau and Kel'el Ware. That's a matchup where that makes sense.
MY Starters:
JP Pegues/Denver Jones/Chad Baker-Mazara/Chaney Johnson/Johni Broome
If I had to guess, this is the lineup that Auburn will roll out to open the game against Vermont -- it's what I would do, at least.
Regarding Pegues: give him time. The mid-major to SEC basketball leap is tough, and it takes time to make that adjustment. Both Jones and Broome transferred to Auburn from mid-major schools and it took both of them some time to get fully acclimated.
Jones, Baker-Mazara and Broome are fairly self-explanatory, so let's talk about Johnson.
Johnson brings the athleticism, size and physicality to this lineup that it slightly lacks from the other four.
Johnson can guard multiple positions, and because of his cutting ability and improved three-point shot, he can space out as well.
I believe this lineup contains the best mix of playing styles and is the most well-rounded unit.
For what it's worth Pearl said after the Florida Atlantic game that he plans to shuffle the starting lineups around, which is something he typically doesn't do, so don't fall in love with a specific starting lineup.
Lengthy, versatile defenders:
Denver Jones/Jahki Howard/Chad Baker-Mazara/Chaney Johnson/Johni Broome
Auburn rolled this lineup out a couple of times during its exhibition games and it was stellar on the defensive end. How? Length and size.
Every player in this lineup is switchable making for an incredibly versatile defensive lineup that can play passing lanes well and create transition opportunities.
In Auburn's two exhibition games, these five players combined for 17 steals.
Jones is more versatile defensively, but he could easily be swapped for Pettiford to get more of a disruptor in at point guard.
Offensively, this lineup has a good mix of shooting between Baker-Mazara and Jones and athletic lob threats in Howard and Johnson.
Realistically, this is a lineup that is out there to defend and let Broome cook on offense.
Annoy the mess out of the other team:
Tahaad Pettiford/Miles Kelly/Chad Baker-Mazara/Chaney Johnson/Dylan Cardwell
Yeah, it's exactly as it says.
All five of these guys are extremely aggressive on defense, and because of that, this is a group that would be fiending for the chance to run in transition.
Also, if anyone makes a play in this lineup, they're going to let the other team know about it.
I'm not totally sure if this lineup gets run at all, it'd depend on how much they trust Pettiford to run point guard, but it'd certainly be a lot of fun to watch.
Bench lineup:
Tahaad Pettiford/Miles Kelly/Jahki Howard/Ja'Heim Hudson/Dylan Cardwell
Get mad all you want, it's going to happen.
Pearl's best teams at Auburn have always been about the sum of their parts.
Last season, Auburn's entire bench unit was statistically one of the best units in the country, and that didn't happen by accident -- that's how Pearl builds his teams.
If the shooting is a concern in this lineup then Jones can be inserted for Howard.
This lineup isn't going to set the world on fire, but it should be good enough to hold serve while Auburn's best players get rest, and that's all you can ask for.
And shoutout to Chris Moore, he'll play, too.
Death lineup:
JP Pegues/Denver Jones/Miles Kelly/Chad Baker-Mazara/Chaney Johnson
Want to go 5-out while keeping some sort of a rim presence? This is your shot.
Of course, Broome could play in this lineup due to his switchability and perimeter ability, but I rolled with Johnson at center to give the lineup a bit of athleticism.
The death lineup was created by the 2015 Golden State Warriors who would put Draymond Green at center and have no one taller than 6-foot-7 on the court.
The idea was that they could space other teams out and be incredibly switchable on defense.
Same thing here.
Pegues, Jones, Kelly and Baker-Mazara are all great shooters while Johnson can make threes, but he'd be more of a cutter, playmaker and post-up threat in this lineup, all things he showed flashes of last season.
For this to work, it's asking Johnson to guard players bigger than him, which he has shown flashes of in the past.
This is also a lineup in which Baker-Mazara could be asked to play a weakside rim protector role, something he did a lot in junior college but not as much last season.
In other words, it's asking a lot out of Johnson, and Pegues too for that matter.
Again, this is probably one we won't see too often, but if everything were to go right for it, this would be a filthy lineup.
Closing lineup:
TBD/TBD/TBD/TBD/Johni Broome
Broome is one of the best players in the country and will close.
I know what I said about this team and the sum of their parts, but Broome is the exception. He needs to play at least 33 minutes.
Every other closer will be on a game-by-game basis.
There's a high chance that Jones and Baker-Mazara close most of Auburn's games, as they did last year, but what if Pettiford and Pegues are both playing well? Or what if they simply can't keep Miles Kelly off the court?
And then who will close at power forward? The logical guess is Johnson, but if the matchup calls for it, it could be Broome and Cardwell together. If Auburn's guards are playing well then the Tigers could go small and run Baker-Mazara at power forward.
There is a myriad of options that the Tigers could roll with for their closing lineup, and a lot of them are intriguing because of the depth Auburn has on this roster.
It's a great problem to have.
