Portland Trail Blazers Quarterly Report: It’s Good, Real Good
THE BENCH
Nov 20, 2013; Milwaukee, WI, USA; Portland Trail Blazers guard Mo Williams (25) during the game against the Milwaukee Bucks at BMO Harris Bradley Center. Portland won 91-82. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports
This was a huge sticking point for this team last season as their bench production really stifled them; many blamed this lack of depth when citing the Blazer’s main issues during their 33-win campaign.
Last season the bench scored a horrid 18.5 points per night for this team.
So, rather than sitting around and doing nothing, general manager Neil Olshey went out and made some nice under-the-radar moves to bring in some assistance. First, they drafted sharpshooter C.J. McCollum out of Lehigh — unfortunately he has yet to play due to a broken bone in his foot. Next he added Dorell Wright, Mo Williams, Earl Watson and then made the trade for Thomas Robinson to help anchor this bench unit.
This season the bench is scoring 23.3 points per night — which still lands them at 27th in the NBA, but it’s an improvement nonetheless.
Mo Williams has been their sixth man and is averaging 8.9 points and 4.4 assists in 24.8 minutes a night. Again, the numbers don’t tell the full story as time and time again Mo has provided late buckets right when the Blazers needed them. Having a second lead guard to go to has been a blessing for Stotts as well, as last season Damian Lillard was run into the ground — Lillard, Batum and Aldridge were all in the top 10 in minutes played.
Joel Freeland and Dorell Wright have certainly done their jobs so far. Freeland has been great on the defensive end in his 14.4 minutes and though Wright hasn’t been a sniper off the bench like we had hoped (only shooting 34.5% from deep) he has provided above average play on both ends in his limited minutes (14.2).
The enigma that is Thomas Robinson has had ups and downs so far this season. There are many out there (myself included) who are screaming for Robinson to get more minutes (only getting 11.6 so far), but Stotts has yet to release the reigns on his young, backup power forward. Robinson is only 22-years-old and has already been traded twice in his short NBA career, but the Blazers might just have found a diamond in the rough with this one. His per 36 minute numbers are unreal at 16.6 points and 11.1 rebounds — all he needs are minutes — C’mon Stotts!!
| Rk | Player | MP | FG% | 3P% | 2P% | FT% | TRB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | Mo Williams | 24.8 | .418 | .367 | .438 | .923 | 2.0 | 4.4 | 0.8 | 0.3 | 2.3 | 8.9 |
| 7 | Thomas Robinson | 11.6 | .474 | .474 | .611 | 3.6 | 0.3 | 0.2 | 0.1 | 0.7 | 5.3 | |
| 8 | Dorell Wright | 14.2 | .384 | .345 | .464 | .737 | 2.6 | 0.7 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.5 | 4.8 |
| 9 | Joel Freeland | 14.4 | .429 | .000 | .443 | .857 | 3.5 | 1.1 | 0.3 | 0.6 | 1.1 | 3.3 |
| 10 | Meyers Leonard | 8.3 | .429 | .429 | 1.000 | 2.8 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 3.0 | |
| 11 | Allen Crabbe | 3.5 | .500 | 1.000 | .333 | .667 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 0.2 | 2.0 |
| 12 | Will Barton | 4.1 | .333 | .000 | .444 | 1.000 | 0.6 | 0.9 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.3 | 1.4 |
| 13 | Victor Claver | 1.3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.3 | 0.0 | ||||
| 14 | Earl Watson | 6.2 | .000 | .000 | .000 | 0.6 | 1.4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.8 | 0.0 |
Provided by Basketball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 12/9/2013.