The Real Five

What counts as garbage

1. 4QOnly the fourth quarter. Overtime is never garbage time.
2. 25 · 20 · 10A lead of 25+ with 12 to 9 minutes left, 20+ with 9 to 6, 10+ in the last 6. The threshold analysts use.
3. PossPossessions are counted one by one from the play-by-play, not estimated. Units need 200+ possessions.

The real top 15

Five-man lineups ranked on real minutes only. Grey dot: net rating with every minute. Coloured dot: without garbage time. The arrow is how far the ranking moved.

1. 1
   Fox · Vassell · Wembanyama · Castle · Harper9 games · 94 min · 397 real possessions · close games +34.7
   +40.3=
2. 2
   Doncic · Thybulle · Reaves · Kessler · LaRavia5 games · 53 min · 217 real possessions · close games +17.0
   +31.3=
3. 3
   Gobert · Edwards · Ball · McDaniels · Kuminga4 games · 56 min · 227 real possessions · close games +36.4
   +22.0=
4. 4
   Doncic · Thybulle · Williams · Reaves · Kessler6 games · 58 min · 241 real possessions · close games +44.7
   +19.9=
5. 5
   Gordon · Jokic · Murray · Johnson · Braun6 games · 95 min · 367 real possessions · close games +39.8
   +15.8▲1
6. 6
   Jerome · Edey · Wells · Coward · Boozer7 games · 87 min · 342 real possessions · close games +8.1
   +14.0▼1
7. 7
   Landale · Alexander-Walker · Dort · Wiggins · Flemings7 games · 59 min · 251 real possessions · close games +2.4
   +11.2=
8. 8
   Turner · Kuzma · Herro · Rollins · Jaquez6 games · 54 min · 243 real possessions · close games +20.6
   +7.4▲1
9. 9
   Davis · Young · Sarr · George · Dybantsa4 games · 54 min · 223 real possessions · close games +3.7
   +6.3▼1
10. 10
    Durant · VanVleet · Sengun · Smith · Thompson6 games · 78 min · 292 real possessions · close games +7.0
    +5.5=
11. 11
    McCollum · Alexander-Walker · Okongwu · Johnson · Daniels9 games · 110 min · 429 real possessions · close games −3.5
    +5.1=
12. 12
    Davis · Young · Coulibaly · Sarr · George4 games · 47 min · 189 real possessions · close games −24.8
    +4.2▲4
13. 13
    Gobert · Ball · McDaniels · Kuminga · Dosunmu9 games · 82 min · 331 real possessions · close games +17.6
    +3.6▲1
14. 14
    James · Embiid · Brown · Maxey · Edgecombe7 games · 106 min · 468 real possessions · close games −2.1
    +3.0▲1
15. 15
    Dunn · Jones · Hachimura · Garland · Jackson6 games · 79 min · 327 real possessions · close games +4.4
    −0.6▼2

Padded by garbage time

Every team's net rating with all minutes (grey) and without garbage time (colour), most padded first. The Pacers gain the most from the final minutes of decided games.

1. Pacers−3.5 → −7.95% garbage
2. Bucks−11.6 → −15.19% garbage
3. Raptors+3.3 → +0.713% garbage
4. Bulls−18.7 → −21.314% garbage
5. Clippers−4.1 → −6.68% garbage
6. Kings−13.2 → −15.712% garbage
7. Magic−9.3 → −11.77% garbage
8. Suns−10.8 → −13.012% garbage
9. Jazz−11.4 → −13.37% garbage
10. Hawks+2.0 → +0.26% garbage
11. Wizards−4.9 → −5.18% garbage
12. Nets−9.0 → −9.19% garbage
13. Mavericks+2.3 → +2.28% garbage
14. Timberwolves+11.0 → +10.910% garbage
15. Pelicans−4.9 → −4.96% garbage
16. 76ers+3.1 → +3.14% garbage
17. Grizzlies+7.0 → +7.29% garbage
18. Cavaliers+1.7 → +2.08% garbage
19. Trail Blazers+5.7 → +6.311% garbage
20. Pistons+8.3 → +9.111% garbage
21. Heat−5.1 → −4.28% garbage
22. Nuggets+0.8 → +1.97% garbage
23. Celtics+11.0 → +12.610% garbage
24. Thunder+15.7 → +17.511% garbage
25. Warriors+10.9 → +13.010% garbage
26. Hornets−12.0 → −9.410% garbage
27. Knicks+6.3 → +9.38% garbage
28. Lakers+7.6 → +11.58% garbage
29. Rockets+5.5 → +9.57% garbage
30. Spurs+13.3 → +17.513% garbage