Bench spots. They’re not very exciting. Some people ignore them. But they shouldn’t. Injuries happen. A lot. Depth is key. But it’s good to have a variety of types of players on your bench. Let’s take a look at some of those types.
The Unexciting Fill-In
It’s never a bad idea to use one of your bench spots on someone who is a pretty boring player with not much upside, but if you were forced to start him, he’d at least help you hold your ground. These are usually going to be older players whose best years are behind them, who aren’t too intriguing to most people in the league. Some possibilities:
James Posey – For all the minutes he gets, he should really be putting up better numbers. He averaged nearly 33 mpg in January, but was only able to put up a line of 9.1/5.7/1.3, but he added 2.5 3s and 1.1 steals. Those 3s alone make him valuable, even though he’s a crippling FG% guy.
P.J. Brown – Another totally unexciting player who can help hold down the fort in times of great distress. Brown’s numbers continue to decline just a bit, but he’s still close to 10 and 8 with solid percentages and not complete zeros in steals and blocks.
Smush Parker – His January numbers – 12/3/3.5 with 1.4 3s and 1.7 steals on 45% shooting actually make him a very worthwhile starter in most leagues. Because of his lack of game-to-game consistency, he’s best suited to the super-sub role for teams looking to actually win their league.
The Flavor of the Week
There’s nothing wrong with taking a chance on the guy with the temporary hot hand, but you probably don’t want to get too carried away with these guys. More often than not it will just be a flash in the pan, but sometimes you have to try to catch lightning in a bottle and roll with it. Some current possibilities here:
Qyntel Woods – I actually picked up Woods the other night when he had a strong game coming off missing a game with an injury. That’s always a good sign for me. I’m not sure if any of you bet on horses at all, but whenever I see a horse that has a good race coming off a layoff, I’ll always pay extra attention to him, same sort of theory in place. The Knicks are obviously a fantasy wasteland, and even though I sort of bought into bublitchki’s claim that Larry Brown loves Qyntel Woods like the pitbull abusing son he never had and he wants him to succeed with all his heart, I mean, people said the same thing about David Lee a few weeks ago and now he’s DNP-CD. Still, a three-game stretch of nearly 17/8/1 with good steals and 3s is hard to ignore. Worth a shot.
Marcus Banks – His 9/1/2 last night was nowhere near as impressive as his 20/1/6 debut with the Wolves, but it was important to note that he saw 31 minutes of action. I’m a Marko Jaric owner, and for the third season in a row, I’ve given up on him. I still haven’t dropped him, but man am I ready. All the usual caveats of bench players apply to Banks, but it might be worth taking a shot to see if he can unseat Marko.
The Temporary Fill-In
BV talked about this a bit yesterday in his column. These guys differ from the above category because they clearly are only going to have value for as long as the person they are filling in for is hurt. But if there’s one thing that’s been stressed here since FBB’s beginnings, it’s that more often than not, day-to-day means a week. We’re seeing that right now with guys like Allen Iverson and Jason Richardson. Some names…
John Salmons – He was worth consideration since he took over Kyle Korver’s spot in the starting lineup, but when AI is out, Salmons is money. This is how it works in Philly. Willie Greene filled the role last year, and now it’s Salmons’ turn. In three games sans AI, he’s been good for 18/8.3/5.7 with 2 steals, which is obviously just fantastic. Iverson is scheduled to miss at least one more game, and you know that he’s one of the more fragile superstars in the league.
Mickael Pietrus – It’s really all about the PT with these swingmen types. Give just about any swingman in the league 35 minutes and he’ll put up decent numbers. That’s how it works. In the Flying Frenchman’s three starts he’s put up a line of 16.3/6/2 with 2 3s per game. Solid stuff. Pietrus will never be a fantasy star until he improves his dreadful percentages – not to mention finds some consistent PT – but for a few games he’s not bad.
Fred Jones – What do you know, another swingman who can put up numbers when given the chance. Hey, is it just me or has Indiana had some bad luck over the past few seasons? Has anyone else noticed that? Anyway, Jones put up some big numbers last year when he was one of the team’s six players in uniform, and if Stephen Jackson is going to miss some
The Upsiders
Pretty self explanatory. Mostly young guys who are inconsistent and just waiting for that extended opportunity to show what they can do. Because of their upside, it’s easy to get excited and throw them into the lineup before they really belong.
Danny Granger – With Peja Stojakovic in town, the impressive looking rookie has lost his starting spot, but with the rest of the Pacers starters likely to come down with Bubonic Plague in the coming weeks, Granger could still have some value. He’s looking like a Shane Battier-type, one of those guys that will give you solid, but not overwhelming numbers in 3s, steals and blocks. The type of guys who can still have value even on an off night.
Charlie Villanueva – I grabbed CV after BV dropped him when I dropped B-Jax after he lost his starting job to CA. Sorry, enough of that. Anyway, I since dropped him for Woods, then watched Charlie put up one of his great lines last night. The main problem I see with him is that Sam Mitchell has shaken up his starting lineup plenty this year, but CV has never been put in there. But if Jalen Rose gets dealt or someone gets hurt, he might see his chance.
Al Jefferson – PR and I are gonna have a rumble one of these days of Jefferson. Like I said earlier in the week, he’s fine if you park him on your bench in the role of The Upsider. Yes, his numbers the past few games have been borderline starter-worthy, but it’s tough for anyone to continue to put up those numbers consistently with just 25 minutes per game. The total crappiness of the bottom the East is sort of working against Jefferson because the Celtics are nominally still in the race to get obliterated by the Heat or Pistons in the first round. Danny Ainge should fire Doc Rivers, hire someone who will start Jefferson alongside Perkins, Wally, Pierce and West and just see what they have. If that happens, I will stop all Jefferson bashing and jump on the bandwagon. Until then? Park him on the bench and hope for good thing.