Is our bench better than we’ve been led to believe?

[Loaded_Hollows]

Option 4. Bench is mid and coaching isn’t holding it back.

Welcome to the forum, Coach Thibodeau! I’m a big fan!!

[K_ick_God]

Bench is good if hart comes off the bench.

AI masquerading as spree2kawhi solved the riddle

[prophet_of_rage]

The bench is not good and redundant. The problem is they just replace the starters. They are not different or better.

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[Luv those Knicks]

no our bench isnt good, it's just that indy's isnt either, thibs forgetting they suck and cant play defense

Indy's bench is pretty good, and if you want to say they're not good, at least they're well used and well balanced and they play well together.

I didn't want to vote "Our bench is trash . . . going back to the original poll, but I didn't see the option I wanted. I think our bench is thin and below average. We lack a Quickley type player, who gave us a spark when he came off the bench. When we had I-Hart and Mitch sharing time, that was a nice duo.

I think our bench is OK but below average, and teams can win with a below average bench. The Bulls never had a really good bench when they were 3-peating. The Knicks however, I think they need a stronger bench. I think it would help next year if they can pull it off.

[HabenKG]

no our bench isnt good, it's just that indy's isnt either, thibs forgetting they suck and cant play defense

Indy's bench is pretty good, and if you want to say they're not good, at least they're well used and well balanced and they play well together.

I didn't want to vote "Our bench is trash . . . going back to the original poll, but I didn't see the option I wanted. I think our bench is thin and below average. We lack a Quickley type player, who gave us a spark when he came off the bench. When we had I-Hart and Mitch sharing time, that was a nice duo.

I think our bench is OK but below average, and teams can win with a below average bench. The Bulls never had a really good bench when they were 3-peating. The Knicks however, I think they need a stronger bench. I think it would help next year if they can pull it off.

I agree. The goal in the off season isn't to blow up the starting lineup but to fix our bench and get a coach that is willing to play them. I don't want us going into next year burning the players out again. Look how amazing Robinson looked at the playoffs with all the rest he had.

[Luv those Knicks]

no our bench isnt good, it's just that indy's isnt either, thibs forgetting they suck and cant play defense

Indy's bench is pretty good, and if you want to say they're not good, at least they're well used and well balanced and they play well together.

I didn't want to vote "Our bench is trash . . . going back to the original poll, but I didn't see the option I wanted. I think our bench is thin and below average. We lack a Quickley type player, who gave us a spark when he came off the bench. When we had I-Hart and Mitch sharing time, that was a nice duo.

I think our bench is OK but below average, and teams can win with a below average bench. The Bulls never had a really good bench when they were 3-peating. The Knicks however, I think they need a stronger bench. I think it would help next year if they can pull it off.

I agree. The goal in the off season isn't to blow up the starting lineup but to fix our bench and get a coach that is willing to play them. I don't want us going into next year burning the players out again. Look how amazing Robinson looked at the playoffs with all the rest he had.

I think there's a little more to it than that. Indy was really good at finding the open man. They played like a team while we played isolation ball on offense. In a slower halfcourt game, that would have worked for us, but Indy out ran us.

We need a different style on offence, or different options. I'm not sure what we can do about our defense other than making significant roster changes. . . .

We could use another good 3 pt shooter (like Donte). I think the talent is there. They just need to make some adjustments and/or get more used to playing together.

You're also right. Better rested players for the playoffs would be a plus as well. And a deeper bench. I don't think the fixes we need are necessarily out of reach.

[Kidknick!]

It's COACHING. The answer was always coaching, we have been GASLIT into thinking that Josh Hart is better as a starter, and that our bench is LESS than G League talent.

[old skool]

Our bench is somewhere between Trash and Mid. An excellent coach like Spoelstra could maximize it,. But even then its just not great. The bench guys with skill all lack size or athleticism, and the the few with size lack skill. The 2 exceptions to this might be Dadiet - who is years away, and Mccullar who may be solid or better given the reps.

Spoelstra had Wright on his bench in 2023-24 and let him go rather than sign him to a vet minimum contract.

Going into this season Wright was an unrestricted free agent.. All 30 NBA teams evaluated Wright as not being worth more than a vet minimum contract.

Wright has played for 10 different teams in the last 7 seasons. Each of those teams preferred to let him play elsewhere, rather than retain him.

No one should think that Thibs is alone in his assessment of Wright's value to a winning NBA roster.

[RHODEY]

Our bench is somewhere between Trash and Mid. An excellent coach like Spoelstra could maximize it,. But even then its just not great. The bench guys with skill all lack size or athleticism, and the the few with size lack skill. The 2 exceptions to this might be Dadiet - who is years away, and Mccullar who may be solid or better given the reps.

Spoelstra had Wright on his bench in 2023-24 and let him go rather than sign him to a vet minimum contract.

Going into this season Wright was an unrestricted free agent.. All 30 NBA teams evaluated Wright as not being worth more than a vet minimum contract.

Wright has played for 10 different teams in the last 7 seasons. Each of those teams preferred to let him play elsewhere, rather than retain him.

No one should think that Thibs is alone in his assessment of Wright's value to a winning NBA roster.

No Thibs is not alone, but I've watched Delon on other squads and outside of Milwaukee he always looked fairly solid in spot minutes. Many teams have beeter benches and could afford to sit him...we are not one of those teams.

[Barcs]

The bench wasn't good. A few decent players, but almost nobody reliable who can rotate in and finish games.

I like Deuce, but he's streaky and can't do it alone.

I like Mitch, but he can't play offense and can only be used situationally.

Kolek will probably be decent in the future but has a lot to prove.

Achiuwa is also a situational player, he's not really a rim protector, only really good against small ball lineups.

Payne, Shamet, Wright are meh. 21 PPG from the bench this season is pretty bad. I know they played low minutes, but there's a reason for that.

They need to add that sparkplug guy for the bench, it's been the biggest hole on the team for a while. Hart should also be a bench guy.

[gavran]

The bench is not good and redundant. The problem is they just replace the starters. They are not different or better.

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Oh hai Thibs.

[nykballa2k4]

It's COACHING. The answer was always coaching, we have been GASLIT into thinking that Josh Hart is better as a starter, and that our bench is LESS than G League talent.

Who was gaslit? Never seen an objection on this board to the idea Hart should be on the bench not a starter.

Our bench is somewhere between Trash and Mid. An excellent coach like Spoelstra could maximize it,. But even then its just not great. The bench guys with skill all lack size or athleticism, and the the few with size lack skill. The 2 exceptions to this might be Dadiet - who is years away, and Mccullar who may be solid or better given the reps.

Spoelstra had Wright on his bench in 2023-24 and let him go rather than sign him to a vet minimum contract.

Going into this season Wright was an unrestricted free agent.. All 30 NBA teams evaluated Wright as not being worth more than a vet minimum contract.

Wright has played for 10 different teams in the last 7 seasons. Each of those teams preferred to let him play elsewhere, rather than retain him.

No one should think that Thibs is alone in his assessment of Wright's value to a winning NBA roster.

Spo is an overrated coach. good coach, but aside from the weird covid bubble never has overachieved.
He, like every coach from the Riley tree (Van Gundys, Thibs, Steve Clifford, Mike Malone) does a great job developing centers.

[god shammgod]

no

[spree8]

It's COACHING. The answer was always coaching, we have been GASLIT into thinking that Josh Hart is better as a starter, and that our bench is LESS than G League talent.

Who was gaslit? Never seen an objection on this board to the idea Hart should be on the bench not a starter.

Our bench is somewhere between Trash and Mid. An excellent coach like Spoelstra could maximize it,. But even then its just not great. The bench guys with skill all lack size or athleticism, and the the few with size lack skill. The 2 exceptions to this might be Dadiet - who is years away, and Mccullar who may be solid or better given the reps.

Spoelstra had Wright on his bench in 2023-24 and let him go rather than sign him to a vet minimum contract.

Going into this season Wright was an unrestricted free agent.. All 30 NBA teams evaluated Wright as not being worth more than a vet minimum contract.

Wright has played for 10 different teams in the last 7 seasons. Each of those teams preferred to let him play elsewhere, rather than retain him.

No one should think that Thibs is alone in his assessment of Wright's value to a winning NBA roster.

Spo is an overrated coach. good coach, but aside from the weird covid bubble never has overachieved.
He, like every coach from the Riley tree (Van Gundys, Thibs, Steve Clifford, Mike Malone) does a great job developing centers.

None of those guys besides the Van Gundys are from the “Riley tree”…I’ve seen this said once before but I don’t get it. Every time people say “Popovic tree” they literally mean they worked under him. Using the 6 degrees of separation thing isn’t accurate. They’re from the “JVG tree” if anything

[DOT]

The bench wasn't good. A few decent players, but almost nobody reliable who can rotate in and finish games.

That's like, basically every bench in the league

You guys can't seriously tell me that Indiana's bench is that much more talented than ours.

[Barcs]

The bench wasn't good. A few decent players, but almost nobody reliable who can rotate in and finish games.

That's like, basically every bench in the league

You guys can't seriously tell me that Indiana's bench is that much more talented than ours.

It was... by a lot. Pacers bench was ranked #7 by PPG (40), The Knick were bottom 2 (21).

[gavran]

The bench wasn't good. A few decent players, but almost nobody reliable who can rotate in and finish games.

That's like, basically every bench in the league

You guys can't seriously tell me that Indiana's bench is that much more talented than ours.

It was... by a lot. Pacers bench was ranked #7 by PPG (40), The Knick were bottom 2 (21).

You can't score if you are not on the court.

[FrozenEnvelope]

Maybe it's a little bit better or maybe it's a little bit worse or maybe it's exactly what it was, which is mid. I honestly think it's one of the worst ones in the league. Deuce is not a reliable or consistent 6th man and Shamet/Payne/Precious/Wright are journey men and the rooks weren't ready.

[bonita_the_frog]

Bench needed a sparkplug scorer like Jamal Crawford or Nate Robinson-style. Too much pressure was on the starters, not just because Thibs relies on starters, but because something was missing on the bench

[Woodsanity]

Its mid but we do have a few guys who can give us 10-15 minutes situationally or if they are playing well. Thibs needed to play the bench more earlier to give starters more rest. Fatigue has burned us quite a few times.