Deep bench players who had breakout moments in the NBA bubble

Which fringe players moved from the deep bench into playoff rotations during their team’s NBA bubble games?

While teams like the Portland Trail Blazers, Memphis Grizzlies, Phoenix Suns, and San Antonio Spurs were going full-bore wire to wire in an attempt to secure a spot in the play-in game, other NBA teams used the seeding games as more of a laboratory. That includes some of the squads that ended up making the playoffs. Stars were alternately rested and minutes-managed, which opened things up for players who would not usually be in the rotation. Some of those players showed enough that it’s worth considering putting them on the floor once the postseason begins. Let’s talk about those guys.

Darius Bazley, Thunder

Bazley was part of the Thunder rotation during the regular season, but he was not all that productive. In around 17 minutes a night, Bazley averaged just 4.5 pounds and 3.7 rebounds, while shooting 38 percent from the field and 30 percent from deep. That’s not unexpected from a 19-year-old rookie. Rookies are usually bad, and young rookies are usually worse.

That’s what made his leap in the bubble games so surprising, and so interesting. Bazley played at least 22 minutes in each of the Thunder’s eight games. He hit double-figures in scoring in five of them and had seven-plus rebounds in six. Despite a brutal 0 of 7 showing against the Lakers, Bazley averaged 13 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 1.5 assists in 27.5 minutes a night.

His shot looked considerably smoother than it had pre-hiatus and he was much more active and involved on both ends of the floor. His rim protection numbers in the bubble games were on par with those of Nerlens Noel, but he also made 42 percent of his catch-and-shoot 3s, taking 3.9 a night. He’s an intriguing player, at the very least. In a series where the opponent is going to play small 100 percent of the time, it makes sense to give an athlete like Bazley a chance to run with the backup units.

Robert Williams, Celtics

Williams should get Boston’s backup center minutes ahead of Enes Kanter. Perhaps not in the team’s first-round series against the 76ers, where Kanter isn’t at as much of a disadvantage because he won’t be asked to defend in space that often. But if and when they get into the next round against (probably) the Raptors and the Conference Finals against (probably) the Bucks, Williams makes more sense due to his ability to move his feet on the perimeter and still maintain the ability to be a force around the rim. Kanter remains an excellent scorer in the post, but it’s not like Boston is hurting for offensive options.

Chris Boucher, Raptors

Boucher operated as the Raptors’ fourth big man for most of the season, though he worked in as the rotational third big during the periods where Marc Gasol or Serge Ibaka missed time due to injury. He’s been an excellent per-minute producer throughout his short career (he’s a terrific rebounder and looks like he might be a plus shooter), and that was the case during the regular season as well.

But his production spiked even on a per-minute basis during the seeding games. Almost all of that is due to the monster nights he had when he was afforded starter-level playing time, though. He doesn’t necessarily seem like somebody who is going to come in for five minutes and crush it. But if he gets a chance to settle in, he’s shown he’s capable of some big performances.

He’s not going to pass Gasol, Ibaka, or Pascal Siakam in the rotation, but if any of them gets injured or into a bit of foul trouble, Boucher showed enough to think he can be counted on to pick up where they left off.

Jeremiah Martin and Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot, Nets

Luwawu-Cabarrot took 5.6 catch-and-shoot 3s per game (in only 22.8 minutes) during the seeding games, hitting them at a 48.9 percent clip, per Second Spectrum tracking data on NBA.com. Meanwhile, Martin averaged 8.2 drives in 13.9 minutes per game, shooting 60 percent on those attempts.

TLC’s been an intriguing role player type since he entered the league but hasn’t entirely fulfilled his promise. With the Nets missing so many players in the bubble, he has a shot at regular playing time, and he should get it. I will cop to never having heard of Martin prior to the seeding games, but he showed enough that I’m intrigued with him as a potential backup point guard. If you can collapse the defense, finish at the rim, and occasionally make the right pass, you have a place in the modern NBA.

P.J. Dozier, Nuggets

With Gary Harris and Will Barton sidelined for all eight of Denver’s seeding games, Dozier got a chance to run for extended minutes. He looked the part of a rotational backup wing in the games where the Nuggets played their starters; and when given a shot to play during crunch time in a couple of games, he looked like he at least belonged on the floor. Dozier can shoot a little bit, dish a little bit, and defend a few positions. With two starters still out, that’s a very valuable player to have coming off the bench.

Miye Oni, Jazz

Mike Conley is headed back to Columbus for the birth of his son and will miss Games 1 and 2 against Denver. Jordan Clarkson likely slides into the starting lineup in his place, but if the Jazz want to dip a bit deeper into the rotation, Oni seems like the guy best suited to pick up a few minutes here and there. He can act as a designated-shooter type of guy, working off of the opportunities created by Donovan Mitchell, Joe Ingles, and Clarkson. He knocked down 7-of-18 3s in the seeding games. That’s not a lot, but there aren’t many better options deep on the Jazz bench. They don’t need him to replace Conley, just be another guy who fits into their system that prioritizes creating open catch-and-shoot opportunities from the perimeter.