NBA mailbag - A left-handed lineup meets a team of undrafted underdogs in Miami - ESPN

When the Miami Heat and New York Knicks square off in Saturday's Game 3 of their conference semifinals matchup and beyond, it will be a battle between the lefties and the undrafted stars.

The Heat and Knicks both feature lineups that highlight players that go against the NBA norm. In New York's case, it's a heavy reliance on southpaws — starters RJ Barrett, Jalen Brunson and Julius Randle plus reserve Isaiah Hartenstein. The Portland Trail Blazers, with five, were the only team with more left-handed shooters this season. Three of those were players signed in the final week of the season.

Meanwhile, after losing lottery picks Tyler Herro and Victor Oladipo to injuries in the first round, Miami's rotation in this series features five undrafted players out of the 10 to see action: Starters Max Strus and Gabe Vincent plus key reserves Haywood Highsmith, Caleb Martin and Duncan Robinson.

This week's mailbag puts both teams in historical context.

Throughout the NBA season, I answer your questions about the latest, most interesting topics in basketball. You can tweet me directly at @kpelton, tweet your questions using the hashtag #peltonmailbag or email them to peltonmailbag@gmail.com.

«When was the last time an NBA team had three left-handed players (or more) in their starting lineup like the Knicks do currently? Let alone their top three leading scorers.»

— Thomas Shields

It's been nine seasons since we've seen a team start three southpaws as part of their primary lineup. Back in 2013-14, both the Detroit Pistons (Brandon Jennings, Greg Monroe and Josh Smith) and Memphis Grizzlies (Mike Conley, Tayshaun Prince and Zach Randolph) qualified.

That Pistons lefty trio was also the team's leading scorers. Using handedness data