NBA: Analyzing Modern-Day NBA Bench Play

In the modern-day NBA, nine-man rotations are most common for contending teams. After the five starters, teams usually have four guys that come off their bench and play valuable roles.

The most recent theme we’ve witnessed is the emergence of the combo guard. Guys like Jamal Crawford and Jerryd Bayless played huge roles on contending teams last year and served as backup point guards and/or off guards, leading their respective second units with their unique combination of scoring ability and ball handling. Both Bayless and Crawford struggled to find balance early in their careers, as they played point guard but couldn’t juggle the responsibilities of distributing and scoring, often times ostracizing their teammates by taking too many shots. One of the perks of having a combo guard as your backup point guard is their ability to play both guard positions, which means if they get hot on a given night, they could be inserted next to the starting point guard down the stretch.

With a combo guard, teams can have three-man guard rotations, but teams without a combo guard usually have four-man guard rotations. Teams like these have a backup point guard and then some backup wings, in which case the point guard rotation is separated from the wing rotation. If you haven’t noticed by now, there isn’t too much difference between a 2 and a 3; The difference between the two positions usually comes down to matchups. Take Kevin Martin for example. At 6-6, Martin could possibly play the 3, but because he’s so thin, he can’t match up with the average NBA small forward, which forces him solely into the 2 spot.

The wing positions (the 2 and the 3) are often times interchangeable, but the 3 and the 4 usually aren’t. In the NBA draft, one of the biggest pitfalls in projecting incoming players are guys who were 4s in college, but have to move to the 3 when they come to the NBA. It’s very common to see these guys turn into busts (Marcus Fizer comes to mind), due to their lack of perimeter skills.

Most top-notch NBA teams have solid four-man inside rotations, meaning that they have a total of four power forwards and centers in their rotation. Take last year’s Indiana Pacers for example. They started David West at the 4 and Roy Hibbert at the 5, while bringing Tyler Hansborough and Ian Mahinmi off the bench. If a team has the ability to consistently play a three-man inside rotation, they need the right type of players. For example, when the Lakers won back-to-back titles in 2009 and 2010, they mainly used a three-man inside rotation of starting power forward Pau Gasol, starting center Andrew Bynum, and sixth man Lamar Odom (although to be fair, D.J. Mbenga did play 16 minutes in those 2009 playoffs). Phil Jackson was able to use the three big men interchangeably because Gasol had no problem playing the 5 next to Odom while Bynum was on the pine.

So, on the average team you have a nine-man rotation, but how exactly that rotation is configured depends on personnel. On a team like the Houston Rockets, their wing rotation could include just one bench player because of all the minutes that Chandler Parsons and James Harden play. On the other hand, a team like next year’s Los Angeles Clippers will commonly rotate four wings, because point guard Chris Paul and power forward Blake Griffin will play the most minutes, not their projected starting wings, J.J. Redick and Jared Dudley. For the Clips, it won’t be surprising to see combo-guard Jamal Crawford, shooting guard Willie Green and small forward Matt Barnes all graze the wing on an average night.

While the bench analysis thus far has been pretty black and white, there’s a major upside to having players who can play and guard multiple positions on the floor. A guy like Earl Clark (who signed for $8.5 million over two years with the Cavaliers this summer) will be extremely valuable to Cleveland’s rotation due to his ability to play and guard both forward positions. It’s a distinct possibility that we see Clark starting at the 3 for Cleveland this year, but his ability to play the 4 will be very valuable to the team. Like most stretch 4s, Clark probably can’t start each night at power forward (mainly due to his inability to guard 4s like LaMarcus Aldridge and Dirk Nowitzki on a consistent basis), but when Cleveland hands the ball to Jarrett Jack to start the second quarter while both team’s have their second units in, Mike Brown’s second-unit offense will have the capacity to score in bunches with Jack playing alongside C.J. Miles, Anthony Bennett, Clark and Anderson Varajao. If Cleveland didn’t have a stretch 4 and instead had to play two backup big men for defensive and rebounding purposes, their second unit might lack the scoring punch that they envisioned having.

As I looked through the league’s projected starting lineups (although the projections seem automated in the offseason with their lack of common sense), there were four benches that stuck out to me as being well constructed, interesting and promising. Here they are in no particular order:

New York Knicks: Projected Starting Lineup- Raymond Felton, Iman Shumpert, Metta World Peace, Carmelo Anthony and Tyson Chandler

Projected Impact Reserves: Beno Udrih, Pablo Prigioni, J.R. Smith, Amar’e Stoudemire, Andrea Bargnani and Kenyon Martin 

Mike Woodson has a bevy of options coming off his bench and there are so many different combinations he can use. In Udrih he has a point guard who can attack the basket and put points on the board and in Prigioni he has a veteran floor general who can dictate pace. In J.R. Smith he has a lethal scorer who’s capable of scoring from anywhere at any time, although he’s equally capable of screwing everything up on a given night, too. In the frontcourt, he has a solid scorer in Stoudemire (if he’s healthy), a stretch-4 in Bargnani (if he’s healthy) and Martin has the ability to guard and play both inside positions. Udrih’s ability as a scorer will make him extremely valuable in the second unit and the same goes for Bargnani, although his rebounding and defense are atrocious. The Knicks have a lot of moving parts (Melo, Shumpert, Stoudemire and Martin can all play multiple positions), and coach Woodson shouldn’t have any problems finding the right combinations, although finding minutes for all of them could be a challenge.

Denver Nuggets: Projected Starting Lineup- Ty Lawson, Evan Fournier (that’s ESPN’s prediction but it could be Randy Foye), Danilo Gallinari, Kenneth Faried and J.J. Hickson (ESPN’s prediction is JaVale McGee, but I’m not buying it)

Projected Impact Reserves: Nate Robinson, Andre Miller, Randy Foye, Wilson Chandler, JaVale McGee, Darrell Arthur 

While Denver is an injury away from being a little too thin inside, guys like Gallo and Chandler can slide over and serve as stretch-4s, which is something they did a lot of last year. Robinson can play off the ball at times (as long as the matchup permits), while Miller is strictly a veteran backup (a rich man’s Prigioni) and Foye is the definition of a combo guard (who fits into the same category as Crawford and Bayless as guys who struggled early in their careers, but eventually found their niches). Wilson Chandler is a lethal scorer who can play the 2, 3 and 4, as long as the defensive matchup works. Hickson can play both the 4 and the 5 and it will be nice to see him playing next to JaVale McGee, as McGee might start getting embarrassed that a guy with a tenth of his natural athleticism is outplaying, out-hustling and putting up better nights than he is. Darrell Arthur will provide sound inside play and will serve as a great fourth big man, but his chances of staying healthy are slim as always. There’s no doubt that this Nuggets’ crew will be fun to watch once again this season, especially if Fournier can display some promise in his second season.

Washington Wizards: Projected Starting Lineup- John Wall, Bradley Beal, Otto Porter, Nene Hilario, Emeka Okafor 

Projected Impact Reserves: Eric Maynor, Martell Webster, Chris Singleton, Glen Rice Jr.,  Al Harrington, Trevor Booker, Kevin Seraphin 

Obviously all of these guys won’t be featured in the rotation, but each guy has a chance at carving out a role on this upstart squad. Maynor will serve as the backup point guard, although if he starts looking like the Eric Maynor we saw before the ACL tear, I’d bet on seeing him play some minutes next to Wall. Martell Webster will provide length, energy and scoring punch from the wing. Singleton is a very good defender, but he’ll struggle to get minutes because of his offensive ineptitude. Rice is an interesting candidate to land a role early in his career on this young team, providing them with legitimate length and scoring ability from the wing. Booker and Seraphin can both bang inside, with Seraphin being a slightly better option due to his size. Harrington, the team’s latest offseason signing, could be used as a stretch-4, providing them with veteran leadership and a unique and polished offensive game. The Wizards have a surplus of depth at both the wing and interior and it will be interesting to see how Randy Wittman distributes the minutes. Does he support the youth movement, showing patience with Porter and Rice early in the season, or does he jump into win-now mode right away, putting his faith in grizzled veterans Harrington and Webster? We’ll find out soon enough (finally a little excitement in Washington—they’ve been one of the most unwatchable teams in recent history).

Los Angeles Clippers: Projected Starting Lineup- Chris Paul, J.J. Redick, Jared Dudley, Blake Griffin, DeAndre Jordan

Projected Impact Reserves: Darren Collison, Jamal Crawford, Willie Green, Matt Barnes, Byron Mullens and Ryan Hollins 

Although they could use a better body than Ryan Hollins as their backup center, Los Angeles might still have the best bench in the game next season. Darren Collison is a newcomer and he’ll serve strictly as a backup point guard, although Doc Rivers may find some more minutes for him if he sees success. Jamal Crawford, who I touched upon earlier, will be the offensive backbone of the second unit, bringing his electric shooting and awe-inspiring dribble moves to the table. Willie Green and Matt Barnes are both solid bench wings, although they’ll see decreased minutes with the arrivals of Redick and Dudley. Mullens is the biggest variable here, but as a second-unit scorer, he should succeed with his shooting ability. Again, a lot of combinations arise with this unit and it will be interesting to see how Rivers uses them all. Mullens playing alongside Griffin could be fun to watch if they have the right matchups on defense, while the rest of the league will have trouble dealing with the surplus of shooters led by Redick and Crawford.

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