2013-14 NBA Bench Power Rankings

Apr 17, 2013; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Raptors small forward Landry Fields (2) during the game against the Toronto Raptors at the Air Canada Centre. The Raptors beat the Celtics 114-90. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Hoffman-USA TODAY Sports

29. Toronto Raptors

The Raptors have long been relegated to the periphery of the NBA. They’re the one team that operates out of Canada, they are never that good, and for many years a man with a Ninja Turtle sounding name has been making increasingly mediocre moves with the roster. Enter Masai Ujiri, the current darling of aggressive and smart General Managers (sorry Kevin Pritchard, you had your day in the sun). The biggest bummer of the organization, Andrea Bargnani, has been shipped out and things are looking marginally less hopeless in the Great White North. But the bench, man! The bench is still a problem. Terrence Ross hasn’t developed into the player Toronto thought they were drafting. He looks lost and tentative, and though young, he hasn’t yet shown enough to inspire much hope he’ll be a solid rotation player on a playoff bound squad. Landry Fields can’t shoot straight anymore, and the glory days of half a season with the Knicks seem like a long forgotten dream. Tyler Hansborough is a limited goon whose elbows and shoves rank as his greatest asset. Steve Novak is a great shooter who needs to be spoon-fed the ball and can’t dribble. Aaron Gray once (at least) received sarcastic MVP chants from Toronto fans! D.J. Augustin was absolutely awful as an Indiana Pacer. You get the feeling the Pacers could have beaten the Heat had they only had a reliable back-up point guard, someone like Chris Duhon or Ish Smith! Dwight Buycks might just steal Augustin’s job as primary back up point, and that would indeed be a low place to fall for the former lottery pick. In short, the Raptors can expect to have a reliably crummy bench this season.