One Hornets lineup is quietly dominating the NBA and should be locked in as the starters

When you think of the top lineups in basketball, your brain sees the top players and teams.

You think of the Denver Nuggets, with Nikola Jokic, Christian Braun, Aaron Godon, Jamal Murray, and Cam Johnson.

Or maybe the Oklahoma City Thunder, with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams, Alex Caruso, Chet Holmgren, and Isaiah Hartenstein.

Out East, the New York Knicks, with Jalen Brunson, Mikal Bridges, OG Anunoby, Josh Hart, and Karl-Anthony Towns.

Or the Cleveland Cavaliers with Darius Garland, Donovan Mitchell, De'Andre Hunter, Evan Mobley, and Jarrett Allen.

None of those lineups are even in the same stratosphere as the one that the 12th-seeded Charlotte Hornets have been putting out recently.

When everybody was healthy, the Hornets were looking to rookie Ryan Kalkbrenner as the starting center. He's only played 66 total minutes alongside LaMelo Ball, Brandon Miller, Kon Knueppel, and Miles Bridges, but the Hornets have yielded positive results from those minutes.

They sit with a +2.8 net rating, or are 2.8 points better than their opponent when that lineup is on the floor. As a team, the Hornets have a -1.7 net rating, so this lineup outplays that margin.

When Moussa Diabate replaces Ryan Kalkbrenner, the Hornets net rating is +35.5.

This lineup, consisting of Ball, Miller, Knueppel, Bridges, and Diabate, has played just 60 minutes and 124 possessions together. They have only started three total games, against the Washington Wizards, Orlando Magic, and Oklahoma City Thunder.

They are 3-0.

When these five are on the floor together, the game completely swings in the Hornets direction. Opponents are unable to get the looks they want, and the Hornets are able to generate efficient offensive basketball. Even if they miss, the lineup is in the 85th percentile of offensive rebound percentage of five man lineups.

During their time on the court together, the Hornets are scoring 146 points per 100 possessions, while allowing just 103.1 points per/100. They have a true shooting percentage, which is a shooting number that accounts for threes, free throws, and two pointers is 68.1%, and their opponents are shooting 53.7%.

These numbers are not random.

LaMelo Ball, Kon Knueppel, and Brandon Miller are 9-4 when they all start together. They have a +8.2 net rating. The Hornets are 6.4 points better when Moussa Diabate is on the court, and their offense, defense, and net rating all improve significantly. While the Hornets may be better with Miles Bridges off the court (-8.5 on/off), when he plays alongside Diabate all three stats improve by the team.

Combine the five together, and it has been basketball heaven.

So now the question turns into, what should the Hornets do when Ryan Kalkbrenner inevitably returns from his elbow injury? The answer should be simple.

The Hornets are 12.9 points worse when Kalkbrenner is on the floor compared to when he is on. Their offense and defense gets marginally worse, they turn the ball over more, shoot worse, grab less offensive rebounds, allow their opponent to grab more offense rebounds, and allow their opponent to turn the ball over less.

Diabate's positive numbers should tell both the front office and coaching staff that he should be the starter headed forward, and the Hornets dominance with that lineup should be the starting five headed forward.

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