Best Bench in the NBA?

[Poe]

Simple question: what team has the best bench in NBA this year?

 

 

 

Please vote and explain your answer.

Edited March 19, 2010 by Poe

[The Regime]

When healthy Dallas has the best bench. Terry can start for any team. Beaubois has emerged as one of the better scoring guards off the bench. And either Dampier or Haywood can start at center which gives the Mavs alot of flexibility.

Edited March 19, 2010 by Confidence

[xx.]

Magic have the best bench, its just poorly used because of Van Gundy's coaching tactics

[Clutch]

i like the hawks bench, zaza and jamaal, joe smith..all come in and do their job each night

[BlueDevil]

hawks are a close 2nd, but i gotta give it to the Mavs. too many weapons and a very solid rotation.

[Dash]

Magic have the best bench, its just poorly used because of Van Gundy's coaching tactics

 

This.

[Dr. Feelgood]

Portland has a great bench in my opinion. Jerryd Bayless, Rudy Fernandez, Martell Webster, Joel Przybilla (or Greg Oden). Dante Cunningham and Jeff Pendergraph show a lot of hustle when they step into the game with their limited amount of minutes.

[Poe]

For me, it's the Magic. They just have so many quality guys that can fill in and give productive minutes. Every position has a good back up.

 

- For Jameer Nelson, there's veteran Jason Williams with Anthony Johnson as a third string back up.

- For Vince Carter, there's JJ Redick, who is a better shooter and help defender than Vince, with Mickael Pietrus as a third stringer.

- For Matt Barnes, there's Mickael Pietrus, who has proven to be a good slasher and defender off the bench, and Rashard Lewis is versatile enough to fill in minutes at the position as well.

- For Rashard Lewis, there's Ryan Anderson, who fits in perfectly because of his range and can rebound a decent amount due to his size, and then there's Brandon Bass at third string, who easily deserves more minutes and a better role.

- For Dwight Howard, there's Marcin Gortat, who is probably the best back up center in the NBA and could possibly be a top 10 center if given the proper minutes and role. At third string, Brandon Bass has enough size to fill some minutes here as well.

 

 

The Mavericks are also a team to consider because of the strong quality of players they have off the bench, with Jason Terry making another good case for the sixth man award, Dampier now a back up, and JJ Barea. I still feel the Magic are ahead of them because of the quantity. Every single player they have is solid, and most of them would start for many other teams in the league. Actually, I'm sure there are plenty of teams that would start Bass, Pietrus, Redick, and definitely Gortat.

 

 

 

Also, I'm surprised nobody has chosen the Bucks, or at least gave them a mention for second place. Just look at the stats:

 

Luke Ridnour: 10.3 points (48% FG, 39% 3PT, 92% FT), 3.8 assists, 0.7 steals in 21 minutes.

Jerry Stackhouse: 8.5 points (42% FG, 40% 3PT), 2.6 rebounds, 1.8 assists in 21 minutes.

Carlos Delfino: 10.6 points (41% FG, 37% 3PT), 5.3 rebounds, 2.7 assists, 1.2 steals in 30 minutes.

Ersan Ilyasova: 10.3 points (44% FG, 35%), 6.2 rebounds, 1.1 assists, 0.7 steals in 21 minutes.

Kurt Thomas: 2.6 points (50% FG), 3.4 rebounds, .6 blocks in 13 minutes

 

That's a combined 40 ppg out of the second unit with none of these players averaging over 21 minutes, other than Delfino who's bench demotion only came after the addition of John Salmons. That's pretty damn good.

[Big Penny]

the Lakers bench, we have THE Ear Jordan, His Earness, or w/e you want to call him, Shannon Brown; who can dunk the ball with extreme ability, THE MACHINE!! who is the most consistent player in the NBA, Luuuke Walton who is a great passer and has a HOF Dad, Adam Morrison, who can go through a whole NBA game without working up a sweat, Josh Powell who has corn rows, Lamar Odom who brings a lot of energy to the game through his candy, and the one and only DJ 'Dacoos' Mbenga.

[YugoRocketsFan]

Magic have the best bench, its just poorly used because of Van Gundy's coaching tactics (I just want Gortat to play)

[xx.]

You wish the Rockets had Gortat, he would of been perfect in that offense. Dallas needed him but not anymore since they picked up Haywood.

[Poe]

I think every team could use a Gortat

[YugoRocketsFan]

You wish the Rockets had Gortat, he would of been perfect in that offense. Dallas needed him but not anymore since they picked up Haywood.

 

Actually we courted him big time, even Morey made an email address during off-season and let Rockets fans send him emails. I would actually want Gortat and he could have started, should have actually came here.

[Hawks Fly High]

i gotta say the hawks or dallas

 

hawks- jamal crawford has so much explosiveness and when he gets hot he is unguardable. just ask the celtics. zaza pachulia can come and play a similar role as gortat. jeff teague is a rooke with a lot of potential.

 

dalls- the reigning 6th man of the year, beabouis, and haywood or erick dampier coming off the bench

[Cleveland's Finest]

The Cavs, and it's not even close.

 

Z and Andy are quality starters for any team and they come off the bench. Delonte is so talented yet he comes off the bench. Boobie led the league in three point shooting but we have so much depth he barely plays anymore. Leon Powe is so physical down low and can get the rebound when he wants to. Jamario and Jawad are versatile players who can do many things. Moon is talented on the defensive end and can make the occasional three while Jawad can hit the three when you need one.

 

The Lakers, in comparison, are worse when you compare backup bigs and even backup guards. Brown is very overrated, Farmar can be inconsistent. Powell is good, but Odom is really the only guy I can see starting on another team. He's very good, but the rest of the bench isn't that good.

 

The Magic are ok, but their bench hasn't been effective to the extent Cleveland has. Same with Dallas. The Cavs bench actually has shown up all season propelling them to where they are.

Edited March 20, 2010 by Cleveland's Finest

[Big Penny]

The Cavs, and it's not even close.

 

Z and Andy are quality starters for any team and they come off the bench. Delonte is so talented yet he comes off the bench. Boobie led the league in three point shooting but we have so much depth he barely plays anymore. Leon Powe is so physical down low and can get the rebound when he wants to. Jamario and Jawad are versatile players who can do many things. Moon is talented on the defensive end and can make the occasional three while Jawad can hit the three when you need one.

 

The Lakers, in comparison, are worse when you compare backup bigs and even backup guards. Brown is very overrated, Farmar can be inconsistent. Powell is good, but Odom is really the only guy I can see starting on another team. He's very good, but the rest of the bench isn't that good.

Varejo isnt a quality starter... hes an energy hustle guy who is suited for coming off the bench. Z isn't even a quality starter anymore. sure you could start him, and he wouldn't be absolutely terrible, but he would be an average starter at best.

 

The Lakers don't need backup bigs because Pau/Drew/Odom are the only 3 that play. even so, JP and Dacos are very underrated. Powell can strech the floor and DJ had about 10 boards and 4 blocks during all his starts in the pre season. are they good starters? no, far from it, but they do what is asked from them. its a shame they dont get more minutes

 

Farmar isn't inconsistent some times, Farmar is incosistent all the time. Shannon isn't overrated, it's just when people look at his scoring, they don't see 8PPG, they see 4DPG (dunks per game) and assume he can't do anything else, when he is primarily a jumpshooter (too much of a jumpshooter imo)

 

btw im not trying to make it sound like i think the Laker bench is good, because i dont.

 

PS. Gibson got nothing on THE MACHINE!!!!

http://www.vujacic.net/wp-content/gallery/photo-session/sasha3.jpg

[Jenneral]

The Bucks because of this.

 

Also, I'm surprised nobody has chosen the Bucks, or at least gave them a mention for second place. Just look at the stats:

 

Luke Ridnour: 10.3 points (48% FG, 39% 3PT, 92% FT), 3.8 assists, 0.7 steals in 21 minutes.

Jerry Stackhouse: 8.5 points (42% FG, 40% 3PT), 2.6 rebounds, 1.8 assists in 21 minutes.

Carlos Delfino: 10.6 points (41% FG, 37% 3PT), 5.3 rebounds, 2.7 assists, 1.2 steals in 30 minutes.

Ersan Ilyasova: 10.3 points (44% FG, 35%), 6.2 rebounds, 1.1 assists, 0.7 steals in 21 minutes.

Kurt Thomas: 2.6 points (50% FG), 3.4 rebounds, .6 blocks in 13 minutes

 

That's a combined 40 ppg out of the second unit with none of these players averaging over 21 minutes, other than Delfino who's bench demotion only came after the addition of John Salmons. That's pretty damn good.

 

The majority of our wins come when we have large roles filled by certain bench players. Stackhouse and Ilyasova have been huge for us. Also, Ridnour has been having a great year shooting the ball and is a great replacement for Jennings throughout the game. I'd feel comfortable with pretty much any of our bench players starting over the current starters with the exception of Bogut. That's how good or competent I feel our bench is.

[Cleveland's Finest]

Varejo isnt a quality starter... hes an energy hustle guy who is suited for coming off the bench. Z isn't even a quality starter anymore. sure you could start him, and he wouldn't be absolutely terrible, but he would be an average starter at best.

 

You must not watch the Cavs. Verajao is third in ESPN's six man of the year talk and the top three in the league in plus minus are Andy, LeBron, and Kobe.

 

Z started last year and almost averaged a double double. Once we got Shaq, who was third team ll NBA last year and a top three center, it's sort of a no brainer to start him. So we had to put Z on the bench. Z plays about ten minutes less and averages 8 and 5 so per 35 minutes you'd see the usual numbers.

[Newman]

In terms of depth, I would go with the Cavs because they just have so much talent on that team that Leon Powe, a guy who have scored 18+ points in a finals game, is their 12th man. However, come playoff time when only 7-8 players play out of the 12, I'll have to go with the Mavs because they have JET, Dampier/Haywood and JJ Barea, who are all starting material (maybe not JJ in terms of a full-time starter, but he is a more than capable temporary starter)

[Big Penny]

You must not watch the Cavs. Verajao is third in ESPN's six man of the year talk and the top three in the league in plus minus are Andy, LeBron, and Kobe.

 

Z started last year and almost averaged a double double. Once we got Shaq, who was third team ll NBA last year and a top three center, it's sort of a no brainer to start him. So we had to put Z on the bench. Z plays about ten minutes less and averages 8 and 5 so per 35 minutes you'd see the usual numbers.

i do watch the cavs. and im not saying Varejo is a bad sixth man, im saying he wouldn't be very good as a starter, because of the type of player he is. and +/- doesn't mean much in the NBA

 

yes, Z did start last year, im not denying he could start... im saying he wouldn't be a quality starter. i guess me and you must have different definitions of the word 'Quality' because to me it doesn't mean average.

 

and in 2007-08 Z averaged 14/9, in 2008-09 he averaged 13/7. he's getting old an declining, his averages would be down even if he did start.

[Cleveland's Finest]

If 13/7 isn't quality for a 7'3" starter when you have all the other talent, then what is quality? Shaq is averaging less....

[Big Penny]

If 13/7 isn't quality for a 7'3" starter when you have all the other talent, then what is quality? Shaq is averaging less....

"and in 2007-08 Z averaged 14/9, in 2008-09 he averaged 13/7. he's getting old an declining, his averages would be down even if he did start. "

 

nice reading skills

[Check my Stats]

The Cavs, and it's not even close.

 

Z and Andy are quality starters for any team and they come off the bench. Delonte is so talented yet he comes off the bench. Boobie led the league in three point shooting but we have so much depth he barely plays anymore. Leon Powe is so physical down low and can get the rebound when he wants to. Jamario and Jawad are versatile players who can do many things. Moon is talented on the defensive end and can make the occasional three while Jawad can hit the three when you need one.

 

The Lakers, in comparison, are worse when you compare backup bigs and even backup guards. Brown is very overrated, Farmar can be inconsistent. Powell is good, but Odom is really the only guy I can see starting on another team. He's very good, but the rest of the bench isn't that good.

 

The Magic are ok, but their bench hasn't been effective to the extent Cleveland has. Same with Dallas. The Cavs bench actually has shown up all season propelling them to where they are.

 

Lol.... Powe, Jawad, Boobie, Moon, these players can all be picked up in the off-season by any team, they are easily replaceable, give me a break.

 

The Cavs bench hasn't 'propelled' them to where they are, LeBron has, this team wins 55 games with D-League kids on the bench as long as they have LeBron. Andy and Delonte and Z are the only the only guys on the bench worth a mention. Magic and Mavericks have a much more talented bench, I can't believe how much you are overrating the guys I mentioned before

[Check my Stats]

You must not watch the Cavs. Verajao is third in ESPN's six man of the year talk and the top three in the league in plus minus are Andy, LeBron, and Kobe.

 

I just have this feeling you don't watch any team in the NBA besides the Cavaliers and who they are playing.