Last season, the Golden State Warriors boasted one of the most dominant starting lineups in the entire league. Their #FullSquad of Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Andre Iguodala, David Lee and Andrew Bogut walloped opponents by a startling 16.3 points per 100 possessions. They outperformed the strong unit of the Portland Trail Blazers and arguably outplayed the Indiana Pacers' heavily-used starting five as well. The #FullSquad’s Points Per Possession of 1.149 (via NBAwowy.com) was better than any team’s season total (which includes subs, of course) and their 98.6 PPP allowed would have been third in the NBA behind the Chicago Bulls and Pacers.

Despite all that dominance, Golden State’s starting five was not even the best five-man unit the team put on the court last season. Replacing David Lee with Draymond Green actually produced even better results albeit in far more limited minutes. In an admittedly small sample size of just 71 minutes (thanks, Mark Jackson!), this group I call “The Torture Chamber” outscored opponents by an insane 17.2 points per 100 possessions, nearly a full point better than the #FullSquad.

The statistics are fine to provide some framework but the true power of this lineup comes out when imagining them functioning as a regular unit. With Bogut, Iguodala and Green on the floor, Klay Thompson becomes the fourth-best defender on the floor which should be downright scary for opponents. That combination of perimeter defenders also allows Stephen Curry to get non-taxing assignments on that end so he can preserve energy for carrying the offense and ideally avoid foul trouble which has periodically caused problems. While I feel Mark Jackson focused too much energy on hiding Curry throughout games, some chances at cover are necessary to keep him on the floor and at his best.

This lineup also makes substantially more sense on offense as the young players on the team progress. While David Lee has plenty of offensive strengths, he can be a self-starter and has not shown faith in his jumper in recent years (especially last season). Draymond has no issues in terms of confidence in his shot as both playoff runs illustrated. In fact, after the All-Star Break the Dancing Bear shot 38.1% from three, a better percentage than stretch fours Channing Frye and Patrick Patterson made over the course of their full seasons. Lee and Bogut have played well together but their natural positions on the floor gum up the works for drives since neither big can draw their opponent out of the paint to open up driving lanes. The combination of Bogut and Green gives the Warriors two dangerous screeners that Coach Kerr can use in concert with one another to break open multiple players at the same time, especially since Andre Iguodala can handle the ball enough to let both Splash Brothers wreak havoc when necessary.

I am not saying The Torture Chamber should log the insane minutes together like the #FullSquad or other top-heavy combinations around the league when healthy. David Lee and Harrison Barnes should both receive plenty of minutes with members of the core (particularly Barnes with Curry to see if his offense can be resuscitated) and the Warriors should have one of their best perimeter defenders on the floor for all significant minutes to keep other teams on their toes. Rather, that insanely potent lineup must be the top choice for closing out games and a possible starting five against opponents who struggle defending drives.

This Warriors' team possesses a compelling combination of pieces that can be mixed and matched to create problems for their opponents and the Curry / Thompson / Iguodala / Green / Bogut five should be the crown jewel sooner rather than later.