Larry Drew's ‘big' lineup could become norm for Hawks

Hawks coach Larry Drew usually calls on Jason Collins only when he needs the 7-footer to tangle with the NBA's beefiest post players.

So Collins has faced Orlando's Dwight Howard, Milwaukee's Andrew Bogut, New Jersey's Brook Lopez and San Antonio's Tim Duncan. That meant Al Horford, the usual starting center who is undersized for the position, didn't have to wrestle with those bigger players.

The alignment has been effective for the Hawks, especially on defense. It has been so good that Drew said he's now considering making the specialized "big" lineup the regular starting lineup after using it nine times this season.

“I’ve given it some thought,” Drew said. “I haven’t made a clear-cut decision if that’s what I want to do across the board. For right now I will keep doing what I’ve been doing and match big when we feel we need to go big and move Al to [power forward].”

Drew seems to be warming to the idea of starting Collins even when opponents don't have a formidable center.

The Hawks used the lineup -- which also includes Mike Bibby, Joe Johnson and Josh Smith on the first two games of their current Western Conference road trip. Neither the Thunder nor the Clippers have a center who demands a double team, which is the usual trigger for Drew to call on Collins.

With Collins able to hold his own in the post without help, the Hawks avoid situations where they constantly leave shooters on the perimeter. The numbers suggest the Hawks are better able to contest shots when using the big lineup.

The Hawks allow the fewest points per possession with that alignment, according to basketballvalue.com. They hold opponents to a much lower shooting percentage with that lineup in relation to their other more frequently used combinations.

It could be that the big lineup has been so effective because Drew has almost always used it against teams who focus on giving the ball to their center in the post. If he continues to deploy it against teams that play different styles, it may not be as efficient.

Collins, for instance, was quickly pulled from the Hawks' game against Phoenix because of the game's fast pace. The big lineup also pulls Smith, the Hawks' best help defender, away from the basket and leaves the slow-footed Collins to deal with pick-and-roll attacks.

"It can definitely hurt you defensively, if you are big and they are small and you can't match their speed," Drew said. "Jason has been absolutely phenomenal for us, but if we are playing against a team that has the speed, I have got to be a little bit more selective of whether to go big because that does put me at a disadvantage."

Whether Drew sticks with the big lineup, he has kept his pledge to use Collins more this season.