There is bad. And then there is the 2012-13 Portland Trail Blazers bench.
Last season the team’s bench was by far the NBA’s worst. They scored 18.5 points per game in 13.3 minutes played. The Indiana Pacers bench was the next worse, scoring 24.1 points per game. The next lowest minutes per game came from the LA Lakers: 14.3. Portland was also one of two teams to shoot less than 40 percent from the field (.399) and the only team worse than 30 percent from three (.298).
They were atrocious.
Luckily, help is on the way. Since the end of last season the team has acquired Robin Lopez, Thomas Robinson, Mo Williams, C.J. McCollum, Dorell Wright and Allen Crabbe.
None of these guys are big names and likely none will be competing for sixth man of the year honors, but there is no doubt potential for vast improvements.
Pencil Lopez in to start alongside returners Damian Lillard, LaMarcus Aldridge, Nicolas Batum and Wesley Matthews. Lopez provides similar production to last year’s starter J.J. Hickson. He is a superior shot-blocker, though is the inferior rebounder of the two 24-year-old centers. Although Hickson has a better defensive rating, per basketball-refernce.com, Lopez makes some of that up with his rim-protecting capability. The Lopez-Aldridge-Batum frontline will also form a strong rim-protecting trio. Lillard will definitely welcome more of this behind him as he is not the most sure defender on the perimeter.
Lopez’s addition means second-year center Meyers Leonard will remain where he belongs this season: on the bench. Leonard did little to impress last year as a rookie. He did, however, post a .596 true-shooting percentage and projects to be at least an average rebounder. Last season his total-rebound percentage, 12.3 percent, was just a shade below new starter Lopez’s 12.9. Leonard was also good for 1.1 blocks per-36 minutes last season. While he won’t be taking over any games, second-year improvements by the 20-year-old should be expected.
Leonard’s struggles last season do well to highlight how the transition to the NBA can be tough on certain players. Not everyone hits the ground running like rookie of the year Damian Lillard. That being said, there is no telling what type of production the Blazers will get from the two rookies: McCollum and Crabbe. Blazers fans have especially high hopes for McCollum, a small school standout, after watching Lillard play so well last year. Lillard left high standards to be compared with; however, McCollum has the game to match them. Defensively, he’ll struggle, as most young players do. But he’ll make his money on the other end of the floor. At Lehigh, he averaged 21.3 points per game in his four-year career. Prior to suffering a season-ending broken foot, 3J (hasn’t played an NBA game and already with a killer nickname) was shooting .495 from the field and a sizzling .516 from three. He has the potential to one day be a 50-40-90 club member.
The expectations for Crabbe are not as lofty as for McCollum. Portland was, however, lucky to acquire the guard after he slipped into the second round and Cleveland snagged him with the first pick in that round. Like McCollum, Crabbe comes with a skill that allows players to stick in this league: shooting. In his three years at Cal, Crabbe shot .382 from beyond the arc. His defensive skills could earn him some playing time as well. At 6’6”, Crabbe’s length could be beneficial to a Blazers team with few strong perimeter defenders.
Wright is another player who can provide shooting from the Blazers’ bench. In Philadelphia last season he was good for .374 percent of his three point attempts. Despite shooting .396 overall, he still posted a .551 true-shooting percentage with more than half of his field-goal attempts coming from three-point land. Wright is the stereotypical three-and-D player talked about in NBA circles. Last season he had more steals per-36 minutes than Batum, a player often touted for his defensive skills. Wright also posted a better defensive rating, 109 vs. 105, and more defensive win shares, 2.1 vs. 1.9, than Batum.
Thomas Robinson’s time in the league has been shaky. After being selected fifth overall by the Kings in the 2012 draft, Portland will be his third team in just his second year. The struggles have been real, especially offensively, and there is a reason Sacramento and Houston were both OK with letting the young player go. But starting out in Sacramento and being involved in two trades before your second NBA season even tips off is not the path to success. He does seem happy with his new team, telling KUsports.com that he “feels wanted [in Portland].”
After a strong summer league campaign in which he averaged 10.4 points, 12.8 rebounds and 1.2 blocks, his career path seems to finally be trending up. Robinson’s best asset to the team may be his rebounding. The team’s bench was the NBA’s worst bench-unit in rebounds per game last season. Portland will be ready to let him loose and give him an opportunity to show off the skills that made him a top-five pick.
Mo Williams is the veteran of the group and perhaps the most important. His NBA know-how will be very beneficial to the young team, but his ability to spell Lillard and run the offense while he sits is even better. Williams could be for the Blazers what Jarrett Jack was to the Warriors last season. Their per-36 numbers from last season are eerily similar. Williams has maintained a consistent level of play throughout his career and likely won’t decline yet, though he did miss 36 games due to injury last season.
Lillard made some news this week when he spoke about a desire to play less minutes. Per USA Today Sports: “Sometimes when you’re out there (playing) so many minutes, your body can wear down. So you’re not always productive at the highest levels because you might be worn down.”
As a rookie, he led the NBA in minutes played last season, logging 3167. He was joined by fellow Portland starter’s Batum and Aldridge in the league’s top ten of minutes per game. Portland’s other returning starter, Wesley Matthews, came in at 32nd.
The starting unit for Portland is very strong. Lillard and Aldridge form an All-Star caliber inside-out game and Batum is one of the NBA’s underrated players. While Indiana has proven an elite starting group can carry a team, it is not an easy feat. Health and durability become real issues when a team’s starters are continually logging heavy loads of minutes.
The improved bench can help Portland’s starters maintain a high-playing level throughout the year. Lillard was the only Blazer to play all 82 games last season. Aldridge missed eight games, Batum nine and Matthews 13.
Keeping Lillard and co. competing at a high level is the obvious goal in Portland and the way to maintain that is a strong bench. The team can’t take a sky dive when the starters sit. Last year, Portland’s bench lost them games, this season they can win some.
The Western Conference is a gauntlet and securing a playoff spot will be very difficult. Oklahoma City, San Antonio, the Clippers, Golden State, Houston and Memphis all seem like safe bets for the postseason. That leaves the rest of the teams battling for the seventh and eighth seeds. Portland projects to be in this battle with Denver, Minnesota, New Orleans, Dallas and the Lakers.
And if they hope to secure one of those spots, the bench will have to play a vital role.
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