Fansided

NBA Playoffs: How much does a good bench matter?

By FanSided Staff

Feb 22, 2015; New York, NY, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James (23) comes off the bench reacting to guard J.R. Smith (5) reverse dunk during the fourth quarter against the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden. Cleveland Cavaliers won 101-83. Mandatory Credit: Anthony Gruppuso-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 22, 2015; New York, NY, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James (23) comes off the bench reacting to guard J.R. Smith (5) reverse dunk during the fourth quarter against the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden. Cleveland Cavaliers won 101-83. Mandatory Credit: Anthony Gruppuso-USA TODAY Sports /
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Every Team Has An Off Night Shooting

It doesn’t matter if you shoot as many shots a day as Michael Jordan or you have a natural ability to put the ball through the net, every shooter has an off shooting night. Sometimes, for whatever reason, a team just can’t find the bottom of the net.

It happened to one of the best shooters in the history of the game during a critical game four in the 2009 NBA finals. Kobe Bryant couldn’t make anything. He made just 11-of-33 shots shooting just 35 percent from the field. This is the worst shooting performance from an NBA Finals MVP in the history of the league’s existence.

As you may remember, the Lakers would go on to win Game 4 and cruise on to beat the Magic 4-1 crowning themselves as NBA champions. So even with Bryant shooting so poorly, they Lakers bench, who consisted of Lamar Odom, Luke Walton, and Jordan Farmar, added quality playing time to back up Bryant. Odom added nine points himself and Luke Walton scored six and didn’t even miss a shot. Quite the crunch time minutes if you ask me.

Just like the Lakers in 2009 proved, it’s important to have those guys who can come off the bench and get the starters out of the shooting rut they may be in. Who knows, if the Lakers bench didn’t come to play that night the Magic could have evened the series up at 2-2 to play game five at Orlando.

So if any team could take a lesson from this Lakers squad, it is that your bench gives valuable minutes. Sometimes they can be the deciding factor in a series. After all, even Kobe Bryant has off shooting nights. Which means it’s up to the reserves to put up points in order to win games.

Next: Old guys can’t hang

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