[NBA.com] Rockets Bench Ranks 4th In The West

Western Conference Insider: Jazz bench tops our list

By Dave McMenamin, NBA.com
Posted Nov 10 2008 8:05PM

The NBA honors the best bench player every season with the Sixth Man Award but often times the success of that super substitute can be attributed to him being part of a second unit that comes in with a different gameplan than that of the starters.





Inserting bench players into the game as a group, like a line shift in hockey, can provide a team with a different look without having a dropoff in production.

Thanks to the infusion of international ballers from overseas and the rule that requires players to either be 19 years old or attend a year of college before becoming eligible for the draft, the NBA talent pool is the deepest it's been in years.

With only 10 players on the court at any given time and teams carrying 13-15 players on their roster, teams are bursting at the seams with quality second and third options to spell the starters when they need a rest or find themselves in foul trouble.

Here's a look at the top 10 benches in the Western Conference.

There are several factors I took into consideration when doling out the ranks including statistical rankings as of Nov. 8 in the five major categories (thank you, Elias Sports Bureau), as well as the amount of impact players vs. specialty players (for instance, the amount of five-tool swingmen vs. backup big men) and the overall style of play that the bench crew is able to will on the game.
1. Utah Jazz

PPG: 1 (41.4) APG: 1 (11.6) RPG: 1 (19.8) SPG: 1 (5.6) BPG: 4 (2.2)
Impact Player: Andrei Kirilenko
Key Reserves: Kyle Korver, Paul Millsap, Brevin Knight, Ronnie Price

Ronnie Price has been starting in Deron Williams' place while D-Will recovers from an ankle injury, so the Jazz bench stands to get even stronger once Williams returns. Kirilenko is a player who can control a game both offensively and defensively when he gets going and is a former All-Star. Millsap is a bull who recently put up 15 points in just over four minutes of playing time against the Clippers. Korver gives Jerry Sloan a shooter to bust open a zone and spread the floor and Knight is as reliable a backup as they come and started an average of 48 games over the last four seasons.
2. Los Angeles Lakers

PPG: 2 (39.3) APG: 5 (8.0) RPG: 2 (19.0) SPG: 2 (4.0) BPG: 10 (1.5)
Impact Player: Lamar Odom
Key Reserves: Jordan Farmar, Trevor Ariza, Sasha Vujacic

People were skeptical at first about moving Odom to the bench -- including L.O. himself -- but the change has helped the Lakers' "Bench Mob" morph into the "Minute Men" because of their impact in short spurts. As starter Derek Fisher says, "Forget the Big Three, we're the Big 12," because the Lakers are so stacked from their starters down to their subs. "I think it helps when you have competition at positions and you have guys who are confident and capable of going in there and not missing a beat when the next person gets in foul trouble or is not having a good day," said Farmar, the de facto leader of the group. "If you have unselfish guys, it can work."
3. Portland Trail Blazers

PPG: 5 (32.4) APG: 9 (6.2) RPG: 7 (15.0) SPG: 4 (3.2) BPG: 12 (1.4)
Impact Player: Rudy Fernandez
Key Reserves: Travis Outlaw, Channing Frye, Sergio Rodriguez

Outlaw was Nate McMillan's ace in the hole last year and now Portland's coach is sitting on pocket rockets with the addition of Fernandez. Frye was a starter in New York and Rodriguez could probably start on at least five other NBA teams. Plus, when Greg Oden returns they'll either have him or Joel Pryzbilla to fill in at center.
4. Houston Rockets

PPG: 15 (21.8) APG: 14 (4.0) RPG: 9 (13.3) SPG: 14 (1.3) BPG: 15 (0.5)
Impact Player: Shane Battier
Key Reserves: Aaron Brooks, Carl Landry, Chuck Hayes, Brent Barry

With Battier out until at least Thanksgiving with a bum ankle, Houston has integrated Ron Artest as the starter at the three and Luis Scola at the four. When Battier returns he could start at the three, sliding Artest to the four, but that will still give the Rockets Scola to use as a sub. Battier calls it the deepest team he's played for since he was a youngin' for the Grizzlies when Hubie Brown was playing a 10-man rotation and cited Brooks' speed, Landry's energy and Barry's ability to stretch the defense as game-changing skills. Brooks told me they go by "The Goons" or "The Goonies," but he has no idea how the nickname came about.
5. Phoenix Suns

PPG: 10 (28.8) APG: 6 (7.3) RPG: 12 (12.2) SPG: 3 (3.3) BPG: 8 (2.0)
Impact Player: Leandro Barbosa
Key Reserves: Grant Hill, Boris Diaw, Robin Lopez

Barbosa isn't off to a hot start after missing most of the preseason dealing with a family issue, but the former Sixth Man Award winner should round into form, considering he's one of the quickest players in the league with the basketball. Hill and Diaw are versatile vets at Terry Porter's disposal and Lopez can give good minutes as well.
6. Oklahoma City Thunder

PPG: 4 (34.2) APG: 11 (5.4) RPG: 4 (17.2) SPG: 6 (2.6) BPG: 5 (2.2)
Impact Player: Russell Westbrook
Key Reserves: Chris Wilcox, Joe Smith, Desmond Mason

Westbrook provides the same jolt to the Thunder when he checks in for Earl Watson that Farmar gives the Lakers in Fisher's place or Brooks gives the Rockets in Rafer Alston's spot. Wilcox, Smith and Mason remind me of the Celtics' Leon Powe, P.J. Brown and Tony Allen of a year ago -- three solid pros that you can plug in there and know you'll get production out of.
7. Denver Nuggets

PPG: 9 (29.2) APG: 10 (5.8) RPG: 5 (15.8) SPG: 10 (2.6) BPG: 2 (2.2)
Impact Player: J.R. Smith
Key Reserves: Linas Kleiza, Anthony Carter, Renaldo Balkman

Anybody who watched Denver's playoff series with the Lakers last season knows how good Smith can be when given a chance and Kleiza has the ability to dominate, witnessed by his 41 points against the Jazz in January.
8. Minnesota Timberwolves

PPG: 3 (37.0) APG: 2 (8.6) RPG: 10 (13.2) SPG: 8 (2.4) BPG: 7 (2.0)
Impact Player: Rashad McCants
Key Reserves: Ryan Gomes, Craig Smith, Randy Foye

Coming into this season in the last year of his rookie contract, McCants had a lot on the line and hasn't delivered quite yet as his points per game (10.8) and shooting percentage (.393) have both dipped considerably since last season. Kevin Love vaulting into the starting lineup downgraded Gomes into an excellent player to bring off the pine. Smith and Foye are two young talents who have shown flashes.
9. Memphis Grizzlies

PPG: 8 (29.2) APG: 7 (6.8) RPG: 3 (18.5) SPG: 9 (2.3) BPG: 13 (1.2)
Impact Player: Hakim Warrick
Key Reserves: Kyle Lowry, Darko Milicic, Quinton Ross

Warrick is a guy who scores in his sleep while Lowry, Milicic and Ross are three defensive minded players, giving coach Marc Iavaroni the luxury to go one of two ways when he makes his first in-game player swap.
10. Los Angeles Clippers

PPG: 14 (22.5) APG: 3 (8.3) RPG: 13 (12.0) SPG: 7 (2.5) BPG: 3 (2.3)
Impact Player: Mike Taylor
Key Reserves: Ricky Davis, Paul Davis, Eric Gordon

The Clippers round out the top 10, which means suspiciously absent from the list are the Hornets and Spurs -- two teams that made it to the second round in last year's playoffs. With Manu Ginobili out for San Antonio and New Orleans really only bringing James Posey and Rasual Butler off the bench consistently, neither team is as deep as the rest of the conference.


Link ---> http://www.nba.com/2008/news/features/dave_mcmenamin/11/10/111008westinsider/index.html

 

Our Bench being ranked 4th is about right but I would put us 3rd and put the Jazz 4th, with the Blazer and Lakers head of us.

 

Yeah, I wouldn't be surprised if AB got the nickname from CF's but he says he has no idea where the nickname came from...