Bad trades of the past really make me appreciate Olshey. I mean the only real questionable trade was AAA but in his defense he was what we needed AND he was playing well off the bench and ending games for us when we went Dame-AAA-Wes-Nic-LA. It's not his fault Wes got hurt and he messed his shoulder up. Last season was basically a throwback to a Roy year with injuries.
Honestly AAA was the best thing long term, ya we will lose a pick but we picked up a confident CJ out of it. Who I will admit thought was a bust until the playoffs. Losing Barton is really "meh" to me, I love him as a person and root for him but he isn't a guy who can help you go to the playoffs. He is like a slightly more talented Nick Young.
It was the 2012-2013 season. If you measure it by bench scoring, our bench averaged an NBA low (by a huge margin) 18.5 ppg (Indy was second worse at 24.1 ppg). But that doesn't tell the whole story, if you look at bench Deff (efficiency differential), we were dead last at -17.7 (Indiana was second worse at -9.4). Here's how our bench scoring and bench Deff have progressed over the last 4 seasons: 2012-13: Bench Scoring = 18.5 ppg, Rank = 30th Deff = -17.7, Rank = 30 2013-14: Bench Scoring = 23.6 ppg, Rank = 30th Deff = -8.4, Rank = 27 2014-15: Bench Scoring = 27.4 ppg, Rank = 27th Deff = +1.4, Rank = 11 2015-16: Bench Scoring = 34.4 ppg, Rank = 19th Deff = +5.5, Rank = 4th Note: We still don't have an exceptionally high scoring bench (although it's MUCH better than 4 seasons ago), but I think that is by design. Stotts always leaves one of Lillard or C.J. on the floor so we have one big time scorer on the floor at all times with the ball in his hands. So, although C.J. is a starter, he's the number 1 scoring option with our second unit. Since Deff also includes, rebounding, shot blocking, passing, field goal percentage, etc., guys like Ed Davis, who isn't a big time scorer, but is one of the best rebounders in the league off the bench, have a significant impact on our bench Deff ranking. What I really like is the progression. We went from a historically bad bench (the worst in league history) that was a huge liability and incapable of holding a lead, to a bench that is a big asset and regularly increases our leads. I mean look at that Deff progression, from 30th (by a HUGE margin) to 4th in the entire league. I'd say Neil has done a great job upgrading our bench and Terry is doing a great job utilizing those guys in combinations that maximize their individual skill sets. We're still not the Spurs (42.0 ppg, +13.1 Deff), but we're a damn sight closer than we were just two years ago. All stats courtesy hoopsstats.com. BNM
The Spurs bench plays way more than any other bench, with (frankly) legendary but weaker starters than any other team. Their bench numbers wouldn't translate to a team that still regularly plays two starters 36 minutes a game. That said, our bench only produces 8 points less than theirs, and if you counted CJ's time with the bench as bench points, they'd be basically alike.
Leonard has had a ton of good games for us that have helped us win. He's one of the best bench big men in the league.
To be fair, we don't have a creator off the bench. We just have all hustle guys and a 3 point shooter.
I love the beach! At Lincoln City! It's gorgeous out! Dog, Mrs Spd and I have already played in the ocean. Amazing weather for Feb. See you guys later!
That's a reflection of a general trend for coaches playing starters fewer minutes. Call it the Popovich Effect. Fewer minutes for the starters == more minutes for the bench == more bench scoring. Gone are the days of guys averaging > 40 MPG. Just last year, 34.4 ppg would have ranked 13th in the league for bench scoring. Two years ago, it would have been top 10 in bench scoring. Back in 2008-2009, just seven seasons ago, the Blazers ranked second in the entire league in bench scoring at 34.6 ppg. The times, they are a changing. BNM
against Utah, the starters saved us, the bench didn't perform well. But that's not a knock on the bench, on the contrary. Sometimes our bench doesn't play well and we can win. Sometimes our starters play poorly, and we can still win. Maybe that's what a real team is!
Henderson, Crabbe and Leonard all had off shooting nights, but Ed Davis (11 points on 4 - 4 FG and 5 reb) and Maurice Harkless (17 points on 5 - 9 shooting and 7 rebounds, 6 offensive) were huge. Altogether, Utah's bench outscored ours by 1 point (39 - 38). Even with three guys having off nights, our bench still held their own. BNM
