Nov 21, 2014; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Milwaukee Bucks guard Giannis Antetokounmpo (34) is fouled on his way to the basket by Toronto Raptors forward Patrick Patterson (54) at Air Canada Centre. Mandatory Credit: Tom Szczerbowski-USA TODAY Sports
This is the third part of a multi-part series. If you haven’t read part one, click here.
Most of us have said it before: the Raptors have one of the deepest, if not the single deepest bench in the league. Further, most of Toronto’s supporting cast have experience (40+ games) as starters in the Association.
Which teams could the bench unit defeat if they were the starters, and Lowry, DeRozan, Johnson (Amir), Ross and Valanciunas didn’t exist? For the sake of this series, let’s simply compare Toronto’s top-five bench players with the five regular starters for some of the league’s saddest squads.
The Raptors
Centre: Tyler Hansbrough
Power Forward: Patrick Patterson
Small Forward: Landry Fields
Shooting Guard: Louis Williams
Point Guard: Greivis Vasquez
A Team They Could Easily Beat
Nov 19, 2014; Denver, CO, USA; Denver Nuggets forward Kenneth Faried (35) battles for position with Oklahoma City Thunder guard Andre Roberson (21) and forward Serge Ibaka (9)during the first half at Pepsi Center. Mandatory Credit: Chris Humphreys-USA TODAY Sports
Oklahoma City Thunder
Centre: Stephen Adams
Power Forward: Serge Ibaka
Small Forward: Lance Thomas
Shooting Guard: Andre Roberson
Point Guard: Reggie Jackson
OKC are a great team, suffering from some bad luck. I would have never imagined they could have slipped so far from dominating the Western Conference only last season. With Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook out (injuries), the Thunder are having a hard time finding offence, and more importantly, wins. They are 3-10, and can only really win when Ibaka plays amazingly well. The Raps bench unit would be the right group of guys to take advantage of the Thunder’s weaknesses and get a big win. It would be fun to see Hansbrough and Adams play against each other, since both can be considerable annoyances for their opponents. The real advantage for the Raptors would be at the guard positions. Roberson hasn’t offered much offensively so far, and Williams would likely be able to score big against him, as he seems to be able to do against most decent defenders. Reggie Jackson has been pretty good, but he’s no Westbrook, and with some good defence from Vasquez, his offensive game would fall apart. The Thunder just don’t have enough viable offensive options. The Raps would be too much- blending outside shooting (Patterson, Williams and Vasquez) with inside toughness (Hansbrough and Patterson) offensively. Ibaka would probably have a big offensive game against Patterson, who isn’t always the best defender, but it wouldn’t be enough.
A Team They Could Grind Out a Close Win Against
Nov 19, 2014; Minneapolis, MN, USA; New York Knicks forward Carmelo Anthony (7) looks on during the first half against the Minnesota Timberwolves at Target Center. Mandatory Credit: Jesse Johnson-USA TODAY Sports
New York Knicks
Centre: Samuel Dalembert
Power Forward: Carmelo Anthony
Small Forward: Tim Hardaway Jr.
Shooting Guard: Iman Shumpert
Point Guard: Jose Calderon (who should be back from injury on Saturday)
The triangle doesn’t work without a good point guard. While I don’t think Calderon returning from injury (right calf) will solve all of their problems, it should solve a few. He is better than Shane Larkin, his stand-in, in almost every way. Calderon is a better shooter, a more aggressive playmaker, and generally a more intelligent player. The problem is, the Knicks still have too many dysfunctional and irrelevant parts to win games consistently, even in the Eastern Conference. This would be a close game, but I think the Raps would pull it out. Patterson and Fields would have to work together to handle Melo, which would lead to some open looks for Hardaway Jr., but he isn’t a consistent enough shooter to really make it count. Shumpert would not be able to cover Williams well enough to slow him down, but Williams also wouldn’t really be able to cover Shumpert very well in return. This game would ultimately be won on the glass. The Knicks rank 28th league-wide in rebounds per game. Hansbrough is aggressive enough to dominate Dalembert (the pride of Montreal), and give the rest of his teammates opportunities via rebounds. Calderon would be effective against Vasquez, but ultimately, it wouldn’t be enough to hold back the Raps.
In the comments, let me know what other teams you think the bench unit could beat.