2013-14 NBA Bench Power Rankings
By Alex Siquig
February 10, 2013; Sacramento, CA, USA; Sacramento Kings point guard Isaiah Thomas (22) celebrates during the fourth quarter against the Houston Rockets at Sleep Train Arena. The Kings defeated the Rockets 117-111. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
3. Sacramento Kings
A case can be made that any good team has a more valuable bench than any downright crummy team. Statistical sorcery will back this assertion up to a degree. Peer closer to advanced stats to find that the Sacramento bench last year acquitted itself quite well, though they weren’t what you would consider a group that really stopped baskets from entering the hoop, but grading on the curve of low expectations and the starters limited skill in the same department and the Kings bench mob stacks up decently. A staple of many a successful bench is change of pace point guard, cagey veteran, or an energy guy. Often these dudes possess no flash or upside, they just happen to be the cogs and pinions that mesh well with their stars. The Kings on the other hand have some extremely decent role-players that don’t fit as neatly in media constructed “bench narratives”.
Chuck Hayes, Carl Landry, Patrick Patterson are going to have to fight it out to back up the likes of DeMarcus Cousins and Jason Thompson, which is an extremely good problem for the Kings to have. As a franchise in the midst of an ownership change, a new head coach, and an urge for a reformation on they’re squalid losing culture, a surplus of talent is of supreme importance. Former UCLA standout and a certified Prince, Luc Richard Mbah Moute is a solid defender, can score sometimes, and should be a good change of pace from his fellow forwards, currently the over-the-hill John Salmons and the absurdly bad Travis Outlaw.
So there’s that, a pretty good (but not amazing) collection of front-court talent, but then there are the guards. The guards off the bench are an intimidating bunch that nobody wants to guard, due to the possibility of looking silly. They say defense is half of the game, but t is not really such a binary proposition. The Kings have a lot to answer on this front (and an excellent defensive coach in Mike Malone to start the ball rolling) but they also have four guards ready to drop thirty on you if the stars align (the stars often align when playing average to poor defensive teams).
Marcus Thornton is a killer, a J.R. Smith type without humor or theatrics. Jimmer Fredette was supposed to be the next Stephen Curry and is still a blood thirsty scoring machine in his heart of hearts. Ben McLemore is near universally agreed to have the most super-star potential out of his draft class. And either Grievis Vasquez or Isaiah Thomas will by necessity be relegated to the bench, though both are likely to log meaningful minutes, as they are two of the teams’ better all-around players. Vasquez had a miniature breakout season last year with the former Hornets and I’ve been a fan since he helped the Grizzlies put the Spurs away a few years ago. He’s a good pick and roll point guard and his deceptive non-flash cleverness should benefit DeMarcus Cousins and the rest of the bigs. And Thomas, the 60th pick in a 60-man draft, plays with that 60th player chip on his shoulder. At 5’9 he’s a bit on the average size (for a human) in a league of giants, but he’s the least “King-ish” of the Kings, and he’s fully capable of wresting that starting point guard job. The Kings are probably going to be very bad this year, but they’re moving in the right direction and their bench looks like it’ll be one of the most exciting in the league to watch.
Cue Mike Malone’s decree to walk the ball up the court and demolish all my high hopes. Oh well. At least I will get the joy of a proper rotation from the corner?