For all the talk we've been having about a bench, when it really comes down to it in the playoffs, all the starters are probably going to play close to 40 minutes anyway. So in terms of talent, we're talking about a whopping 40 out of 240 minutes in a game (48 X 5) for these bench players. Their real value is going to be in the regular season in allowing Doc to rest the starters so that they're ready to play big minutes in the playoffs.
But what if we don't have a good bench and we still limit all the starters to 32 mpg next season?
Even if we're looking at a stellar backup rotation of House, Giddens, Walker, Scal, and a random 7-footer, we're still going to win at least 55 games and get (at worst) the 3 seed.
And if the starters are are well-rested, the 3 seed, and can play 40 mpg come playoff time on fresh legs, is it really going to kill us if our bench is subpar?
A little, but maybe not as dramatically as we might think.
You make a good point. I wonder if Doc can be trusted to keep the starters minutes limited, though. This is going to be especially challenging in the beginning of the season (I would imagine) as KG will need time to recover from the offseason surgery (same goes for anyone else who had surgery).
Topic: financial constraints and S&T (Read 4072 times)