In the grand scheme of things, a team's opening night starting lineup doesn't have to be all that important. The starting lineup doesn't play the whole game, after all. And coaches regularly change that lineup as a season progresses for dozens of possible reasons. Who you are on opening night isn't necessarily who you'll be at the end of the season.

But there's something symbolic about a team's starting lineup. It may not represent who the team actually is so much as who a team wants to be. It can represent a stylistic declaration. Are we a big team or a small one? Do we emphasize offense or defense? Are we putting our five best players on the floor or the five that fit best together? The season is a months-long process of exploration. By April, the teams that hope to be playing into Ma

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