Benches? Benches? I ain’t coming off no stinking benches!
As we head down the final straightaway of the regular season toward the checkered flag of the playoffs, let’s take a moment to look at the contributions being made by the bench men, those not good enough to crack the starting lineup of their own teams, but essential grist for the mill that is an 82 game schedule.
Let’s start by examining bench scoring. A good team needs scoring from the bench. Most importantly, if the bench can score and not fall off the pace it gives the starters a chance to rest and catch their breath. And while they are incredibly well conditioned athletes, after 3 quarters of play, the final 12 minutes in close games always comes down to conditioning and rest. If you’ve had to depend heavily on your starters throughout the game, chances are they will be winded in the 4th quarter and more prone to mistakes and injuries.
Here are some numbers:
Scoring
Top Team: Indiana; 43.2 ppg (96 mpg, 0.45ppm)
Bottom Team: Portland 26.1 ppg (77.1 mpg, 0.34ppm)
So from the top to the bottom there exists a 17.1 ppg disparity. Since even the top teams win games with an average of 5 points or less, that disparity can make all the difference. At the same time, Indiana’s bench is also gobbling up an additional 19 minutes of game time that the starters won’t have to play, keeping them fresh and ready to play.
Top Contenders:
In the East, Milwaukee’s bench leads the top 4 teams with 34.2 ppg (91.8 mpg, 0.37ppm), followed by Boston 32.2 ppg (81.1mpg, 0.40ppm), Philly 31.5 ppg (81.8mpg, 0.40) and Cleveland 28.0 ppg (80.3mpg, 0.35ppm).
This would suggest that Cleveland has had to ride its starters harder than the other top teams in the East and that opens them up to injuries and errors while the Bucks give their starters more rest than the other contenders. Could this mean they will be better able to handle the rigors of a long postseason?
In the West, the King’s bench is 1st with 37.4 ppg (83.1mpg, 0.45ppm), followed by the Grizz 35.2 ppg (93 mpg, 0.38ppm), the Suns 35.7 ppg (87.5 mpg, 0.40ppm), and the Nuggets 33.0 ppg (85.2 mpg, 0.39ppm).
Once again, we would presume that of these top 4 Western teams, Sacramento and Denver have the greatest chances of injury and the Kings have the most efficient bench scoring at the highest ppm of any of the top 8.
Conclusions:
It is common knowledge that the bench shortens in the playoffs, coaches often going with no more than 8 players in total, 5 starters and 3 men off the bench. Indeed, the impact of the deepest benches is greatest on the regular season. A good bench will give the starters a decent chance to rest and recover without falling off the pace of the game. This ensures they can finish strong in the 4th quarter with reduced risk of injury and this is significant over an 82 game schedule. Of the 4 top Eastern Conference teams, only Cleveland falls below the pace of the top 3 teams, while in the West the reverse is true – the top place team, Denver, sits off the pace the benches of the other 3 top teams have set.
What does it tell us? It tells us that of the top 8 teams – 4 in the East and 4 in the West – Denver has had to ride its starters for longer. How will it impact them in the playoffs? It could be that the higher usage throughout the regular season could impact the fitness of Denver’s starters and open them up to a higher risk of injury.