Empty the Bench

(Reader Picks included at the bottom; feel free to add your own in the comments)

Amir Johnson, F, Detroit Pistons

Despite preseason assurances from Pistons GM Joe Dumars that this was “his year” and that there’d be no more DNP’s, the last guy to ever be drafted straight out of high school is still one of the NBA’s most hyped players who hasn’t accomplished much on the court. He’s averaging just over 8 minutes in the 24 games he’s been called upon, and even that burn has come mostly in garbage time. He’s yet to score or rebound in double figures this season, and at times looks a bit lost in the Pistons’ offensive sets; perhaps he hasn’t quite grasped Flip Saunders’ playbook enough to make his coach feel comfortable with giving him quality minutes.

That said, Johnson has flashed big promise as a shot-blocker–his 22 on the season are more than full-time starters logging heavy minutes like Carlos Boozer, Josh Howard, Chris Wilcox, and Eddy Curry–and he can run the court and finish with pizzazz on fastbreaks. He’s still only 20-years-old, but it’s time for Saunders to start regularly giving this kid some minutes here and there with the starters; his development will be stunted if he’s only playing alongside his fellow backups all year long. And there’s no reason for Primoz Brezec to be ahead of Amir in the rotation of big men. None.

Amir Johnson Photo Credit: Jeff Lewis/Icon SMI

Sean Williams, F/C, New Jersey Nets

Lawrence Frank brought Williams along slowly this year, with only two starts and a handful of DNP – Coach’s Decisions in the first 24 games. He finally inserted the rookie into the starting lineup for good on Dec 18th, and the Nets have gone 8-5 since. The lanky F/C has grabbed a solid 6.3 boards and scored 8.5 points a game on 51.6% FGs as a starter, but the reason we love to watch Williams is his explosive shot-blocking ability. He’s averaged an impressive 2.3 swats a game in just over 25 minutes/per while starting. Overall, his 2.0 blocks a game are good for tenth in the league, an impressive feat given his limited court time. Given 30+ minutes he might be able to compete with Marcus Camby for the NBA lead.

Unlike a lot of the players on this list, though, Williams is in control of his playing time. He usually has to sit down early because poor defensive positioning and bad decisions lead to foul trouble (he averages a whopping 3.5 fouls a game), something Williams should be able to improve upon as the season wears on.

Gerald Green Photo Credit: Icon SMI

Gerald Green, G/F, Minnesota Timberwolves

Gerald Green is the most athletic player on the Timberwolves roster, but his poor defense has limited him to less than 12 minutes per game this season. That’s nearly half the playing time Green saw as a sophomore last season, which is an unusual development for a healthy 21-year-old and former 18th overall pick. It’s especially baffling for a skilled offensive youngter on a rebuilding team with a 5-32 record, the worst in basketball. Sure, his defense is a work in progress, but can you really make an argument that Minnesota’s long-term interests are better served by feeding minutes to Greg Buckner, Marko Jaric and Antoine Walker? The answer is no, absolutely not.

It’s terribly frustrating because the 6-8 swingman has the skills to develop into a premier scorer: a feathery outside jumper, a quick first step, explosive leaping ability, good size and the capability to rise over defenders, a desire to be great and the ability to stop-and-pop on a dime. And all of those raw skills mean that he could become at least a capable defender with the proper coaching and experience; his defense isn’t getting any better from riding the bench.

At the very least, Minnesota should want to see what they have in the 2007 NBA Slam Dunk Champ. They should be in full-on evaluation mode and making sure they have the most ping-pong balls this summer; playing Walker and Buckner over Green accomplishes neither. Gerald was able to score 16.0 points per in 26 games as a starter last season, and even this year Gerald has produced on the offensive end when he gets a chance. He saw 30 minutes of action on Dec. 19th (below), and responded with a season-high 18 points on 6-of-13 FGs (4-of-8 on threes), 8 rebounds and 2 assists. His aerial acrobatics would also make Gerald a fan favorite in an arena that doesn’t get many opportunities to cheer. Put him out there and see what he can do, Wittman.

Renaldo Balkman, F, New York Knicks

Along with legions of disgruntled Knicks fans, we’ve clamored for Isiah Thomas to re-jig his frontcourt starting lineup to get more hustle, defense, and rebounding in there. Somebody needs to compensate for the general lack of, well, hustle, defense, and rebounding that Eddy Curry and Zach Randolph usually fail to provide. He finally made the move of benching Quentin Richardson last week, but in true Zeke fashion opted for the third guy we had in mind for that slot, Jared Jeffries, over players with much more upside in David Lee and Renaldo Balkman. Thomas has been adamant about keeping Lee on the bench, but not so much with Balkman, who’s just over a year removed from being drafted 20th overall in the 2006 draft.

For some reason, Balkman is thus far averaging less court time this season than he did in his rookie year, and until recently hadn’t played more than 22 minutes in any game since November 6. The 6-8 Balkman has become a crowd favorite at the Garden because he can do a little bit of everything when he’s actually in there: block shots, run the floor, hit the boards, cause turnovers, throw it down, and fluster his opponent. Those are all qualities this team is in desperate need of–it’s time for him to get 20 – 25 minutes every night.

Thabo Sefolosha, G/F, Chicago Bulls

We’re not necessarily suggesting last year’s lottery pick supplant Chris Duhon in the Bulls starting backcourt, but if interim head coach Jim Boylan sticks with his guns by continuing to bring Ben Gordon off the bench and Duhon continues to struggle, it might not be a bad idea. The Heinrich/Gordon duo will always struggle to defend bigger backcourts, and aside from breaking them up through trade there’s only a few ways to make up for their lack of size. Considering Duhon’s severe lack of production since his promotion (22% FG, 3.9 points, 4.5 assists, 0.5 steals), upping the 6-5 Sefolosha’s minutes from 11 to somewhere in the 20s is one possible solution.

His game is still raw, but this native of Switzerland is a solid passer and energetic defender, the kind that nags and annoys whomever he’s guarding. He’s actually hit season highs in minutes these past two games (26 and 30, respectively), which could be a sign that Boylan is spoiling on Duhon and is considering a change. We say go for it, especially if he can do this again:

Rodney Carney, F, Philadelphia 76ers

Philly’s first-round pick in ’06 has gotten such little playing time that we can’t even deduce why, exactly, he can’t crack the rotation of a team that’s knee-deep in the rebuilding process. Sure, he has his limitations handling the ball and is shooting just 37% from the field so far, but that’s on less than five shots a game. Young players unsure of themselves and their place on their team will almost always struggle when they’re jerked in and out of the game, so it’s hard to draw any definitive conclusions about his strengths and weaknesses. However, we do know from college that he’s a rangy, fast, and long-armed defender that can smother people with an improving offensive game and jumper that was coming on strong at Memphis.

Carney seems like a prime candidate to be traded (perhaps in a package headlined by Andre Miller?), but new 76ers GM Ed Stefanski recently hinted that Carney may be in for more playing time before he makes any decisions about whether or not his future is in Philadelphia. “I have to see more of Rodney to make an evaluation; it’s too early,” Stefanski said. “He’s a superior athlete, has a great attitude, and I think as the season progresses, you will see more and more from Rodney.”

Julian Wright, F, New Orleans Hornets

We called upon Ron Hitley of Hornets 24/7 for his take on why Wright, the Hornets’ 2007 lottery pick, has yet to see much action despite little to no production from his teammates off the bench. Here’s Mr. Hitley’s take:

I think the main reason Julian Wright isn’t getting much playing time is Byron Scott. He’s always had a problem with young, inexperienced dudes not named Chris Paul. When Julian has gotten some PT this season, he’s been a bundle of energy, but it’s nervous energy that causes him to make some dumb turnovers and such. Another coach might put up with that and let the guy play through and learn from his mistakes, but not Byron. He has a very low tolerance for mistake-prone players, as Hornets fans have seen before with the likes of J.R. Smith, Kirk Snyder, and Brandon Bass. I think Byron is a little short-sighted in this respect. Some might say he’s jeopardizing the future of the team in order to win right now.

So what does Wright have to do to get some minutes? His biggest problem right now is probably shooting. Opposing teams dare him to shoot from distance, and he can’t even knock down 15-footers reliably. I’ve seen him shooting a high percentage in warm-ups, so perhaps it’s just a confidence thing. Apart from that, he needs to be a little more selfish. He’s known to be a point-forward type with a nice handle and passing skills, and on numerous occasions I’ve seen him try to set up his teammates when he’d be better served just taking it to the rack. I think if he were to develop more of an attacking instinct, it would do wonders for his game.

The whole situation with Wright is somewhat of a Catch-22 though. If he can start to play with more confidence, he’ll earn more minutes, but more minutes might be the only way to raise his confidence. I’m just hoping the Hornets can blow out some teams regularly so the kid can get on the floor.

Craig Smith, F, Minnesota Timberwolves

The barrell-chested Smith has been an ETB favorite since Day One. He was a second-round pick out of Boston College for the Wolves last year and earned the nickname “Rhino” as a hard-nosed power forward that plays with hustle and brute strength on the block. He’s just a beast around the basket and manages to make good things happen every time he gets minutes. At just 6-7 Smith is a tad undersized at power forward, but he makes up for it by being the strongest man on the court every night.

Smith also plays tenacious defense that makes up for that lack of height, and he’s the best player in Minnesota at boxing out and keeping big men away from the basket. We got a taste of what he could do on offense in December when he had 16 points on 7-of-11 shooting in the upset of Phoenix. The next game he dropped a career-high 36 points in Washington on 14-of-22 shooting from the floor, and three games later he had 30 points and 10 rebounds on 12-of-17 shooting against Milwaukee. Smith is still rough around the edges, but there’s no reason he cant find more than 22 minutes a game for the worst team in the NBA.

J.R. Smith, G, Denver Nuggets

Smith is best known from the 2005 Slam Dunk contest, where he performed the famous behind-the-back slam, but he hasn’t accomplished much else yet. We understand why we don’t see more of Smith because he doesn’t learn the plays, doesn’t play defense, turns the ball over, isn’t very coachable, and is too content to just stand behind the three-point line and chuck ‘em. He’s already managed to work his way into the doghouses of George Karl and Byron Scott in his young career as a result.

Still, he has a ton of untapped potential if the right situation and coach come along. J.R. just turned 22 in November, so it’s not like he doesn’t have time to turn things around. It sounds like his days in Denver are numbered, so we could be seeing more of him somewhere else later this season. With his outside shooting and rare athleticism, he could be a good scoring option for a rebuilding team.

Louis Williams, G, Philadelphia 76ers

Williams was a 2005 second-round pick out of South Gwinnett High School, where he was named a member of the McDonald’s All-American East Team and the Naismith Prep Player of the Year as the nation’s top high schooler the same year. He’s got downright scary speed and a developing shot that could make him an electric 20+ point scorer in the next couple of seasons. He’s also starting to flash some defense as well. On November 9th he opened a lot of eyes by scoring 19 points in the fourth quarter alone in a tight game against the Raptors. Philly is going nowhere, so they have no reason not to play the kid and let him learn.

It appears that Maurice Cheeks agrees with us on this one. The Kyle Korver trade opened up some minutes in the backcourt, and Williams has seen a nice boost in playing time. In January Williams’ playing time has risen to just over 24 minutes a game, and the increased tick has led to averages of 12.8 points, 3.4 assists and 1.4 steals. He hasn’t been perfect, but he is living up to his billing as an extremely quick guard who can blow by people on offense and get into passing lanes on D (evidenced by his 14 free-throw attempts and 4 steals on Dec. 31st).

Reader Picks

- C.J. Miles, G, Utah Jazz
- Walter Herrmann, F, Detroit Pistons
- David Lee, F, New York Knicks
- Kelenna Azubuike, G/F, Golden State Warriors
- Tyrus Thomas, F/C, Chicago Bulls
- Hakim Warrick, F, Memphis Grizzlies
- Andrea Bargnani, F, Toronto Raptors
- Javaris Crittenton, G, Los Angeles Lakers
- Rodney Stuckey, G, Detroit Pistons
- DeSagana Diop, C, Dallas Mavericks
- Joakim Noah, F/C, Chicago Bulls
- Kris Humphries, F, Toronto Raptors
- Shelden Williams, F, Atlanta Hawks
- Andray Blatche, F/C, Washington Wizards

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