Bench players are vital to any team’s success in the NBA, as no team can win a championship without backups who can carry the load while the starters take a breather. Though every team has a starting lineup and a leading scorer, a key difference between the great teams and everyone else is whether they’re sending out a mere penalty kill unit to knock some time off the clock while the starters rest, or an actual second unit with the potential to be as dangerous and dominating as the first unit. Just ask Monta Ellis, who averaged nearly 26 points per game this season, but could not help Golden State win more than 26 games this year with Devean George being their biggest name off the bench.
This year, the C’s boasted a bench that was strong, but the Lakers’ bench was simply better. Sheed, Nate, and Big Baby all stepped up and showed flashes of brilliance in the postseason. However, the 7-game battle that featured a different hero almost every game was painful to watch at times, as guys like Odom and Shannon Brown really stepped up for L.A. and exposed weaknesses in the Celtics’ second unit. By losing Perk for the finale, they simply did not have the size they needed to close out Game 7 and the series. Boston won it all in 2008 when their bench was better than L.A.’s, with Posey shutting down opposing scorers, PJ Brown and Leon Powe patrolling the paint, and Eddie House knocking down clutch three pointers left and right. Like with that team, I think that the 2010-2011 Celtics will truly be a force to be reckoned with, featuring possibly the best bench and sixth man in basketball.
Keep checking back here, as each day this week I will break down why the Celtics’ bench will be so sweet next year, one player at a time. First up will be the NBA’s 2010-2011 sixth man of the year.
No comments:
Post a Comment