What’s more important – the first line of defense or the last one? It’s not an easy question to answer, even for NBA teams. On the one hand, it’s never optimal to lean on your last line to clean up your messes.

On the other hand, the first line will get beaten regardless – having someone who’s capable of cleaning those same messes up is ideal. 

In basketball terms, we’re talking about perimeter defense vs interior defense. It seems that several teams have decided that the latter is more important. After all, rim protection is a heavily emphasized quality in an NBA big man. 

At the same time, a strong enough collection of perimeter defenders can compensate for a weak defensive big.

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Perhaps the key is roster balance: as long as you have a strong offense and a strong defense, it doesn’t matter how it’s constructed. 

With that in mind, the Los Angeles Clippers have one of the best collections of perimeter defenders in the NBA. Could they target a defensively limited big man in Nikola Vucevic?