Philadelphia 76ers, Brooklyn Nets, New York Knicks: Top 6 Benches in NBA (Part 1)
Powerful second units are as much part of any team’s success as the presence of a superstar. Over the years, the trend of packing up role players by championship contending sides has picked up, and if anyone wants to gauge the difference a strong bench can make, he should look back at the NBA Finals between the Miami Heat and the Dallas Mavericks nearly a year back.
In this two part feature we will take a look at six of the strongest reserve lineups in the league at present;
6. Philadelphia 76ers:
While we may not know yet as to precisely who the Sixers’ starting five will be, they will be coming from a pool of players which gives any coach a tremendous amount of flexibility.
For the small forward and shooting guard, Dou Collins can play anyone out of Thaddeus Young, Dorell Wright, Evan Turner, Nick Young and Jason Richardson. Andrew Bynum is now at Philadelphia and Spence Hawes will probably take the starting power forward position.
With the duo holding the back court, Collins has the luxury of inserting Kwame Brown and Lavoy Allen off the bench, and if rotation are run properly, the Phillies can make a huge impact this season.
5. Brooklyn Nets:
After an active off season, Brooklyn Nets have some very viable options on their bench which can go a long way in ensuring a deep playoff run next season. These names may not be able to turn head instantly but their potential is indeed not in question.
The arrival of C.J Watson gives them a good choice in the point guard and with both him and Tyshawn Taylor having the ability to play in the starting five; Avery Johnson will be spoiled for choice.
For a shooting guard they have the Rookie of the Year nominee MarShon Brooks to back up Joe Johnson, and some rugged defensive options like Reggie Evans and Jerry Stackhouse. All these players combined give some pretty solid options for the new look Nets who will be expecting renewed luck with a renewed team.
4. New York Knicks:
Like their neighbours, the Knicks also have some firepower on the bench. Although Jeremy Lin has departed, the Knicks still have Steve Novak, who emerged as the best three point shooter last season. J.R. Smith is as good a role player as any and when in groove, he can take the oppositions apart.
Marcus Camby seems to be the perfect back up to their star centre Tyson Chandler with his average of 2.4 blocks per game and whenever the Knicks will want to give Chandler a breather, they will have a perfect replacement in form Camby. Similarly veteran Kurt Thomas is back with the Knicks and his rebounding skills and an ability to charge on the offence are looking to give the Knicks a healthy advantage. He might not be able to give a lot at 39, but his precious 10-15 minutes can be game changing for the Knicks.
The point guard position had been an area of concern for the Knicks, but now they have Jason Kidd and Raymond Felton to hold that front and that adds to the overall depth in that roster.
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