Empty the Bench

By: Zachariah Blott

Fourteen teams have hit the court so far this preseason, and although you can’t put too much stock into what happens at this time of year, it’s still fun to peak at the boxscores to see if so-and-so is still doing you-know-what. I looked through all the games so far and picked out some of the notable stat lines through Monday. Enjoy.

October 1

Utah Jazz 103, Denver Nuggets 87
This game featured two of the top rookie point guards who will be playing significant back-up roles this year. I personally like both of these youngsters and expect them both to have fine careers. Ty Lawson played 11 minutes in a losing effort, and his line in the boxscore is rather bland: 4 points, 1 assist, 1 turnover, 2 fouls. It should be noted he actually lead his entire team with a +5 point differential. Granted, he was probably playing during an insignificant part of the game, but the Nuggets performed their best when he was on the floor. On the other side, Utah’s Eric Maynor played 12 minutes, hitting 2 of 5 shots for 4 points, 1 assist, 0 turnovers (get used to this), 1 rebound, and 2 steals.

October 2

Chicago Bulls 104, Indiana Pacers 95
Joakim Noah picked up where he left off for the Bulls last year, grabbing 10 boards in 24 minutes. Chicago’s rookie forwards, both first-round selections, had drastically different nights. James Johnson (16th pick in the draft) didn’t seem to do much in his 20 minutes, fouling out with 0 rebounds and a paltry 1- 6 shooting from the field. I can’t imagine he was very aggressive in his time on the floor, seeing as he went to the free throw line only one time. On the other hand, Taj Gibson (26th pick in the draft) filled the stat sheet in his 30 minutes: 19 points on 6-12 shooting and 7-8 from the charity stripe, 9 rebounds (including a game-high 5 offensive), and a team-high 3 assists.

The Pacers’ Danny Granger had a very Granger night, dropping 27 points on only 13 shots, and grabbing 3 steals. All-star blogger Rod Benson, something of a NBDL celebrity, did what he does best in his 7 minutes off the Indiana bench, pulling in 3 rebounds (best reb/min rate in the game) and blocking 2 shots. He lead the NBDL in rebounding two seasons ago with 12.1 per contest.

October 4

New York Knicks 115, New Jersey Nets 107
The Nets apparently didn’t want the ball, giving it away 24 times, with 8 players registering at least 2 turnovers, compared to only 3 players getting multiple assists. Reserve swingman Bobby Simmons put together a respectable night: 16 points (on 5 for 6 3-pt shooting), 6 rebounds, and 2 steals. No big surprise from the Knicks’ boxscore: David Lee continues to be the perfect fit for Mike D’Antoni, going for a typical 20 and 9 on an efficient (hard not to be when you’re a fast breaking big) 9 for 15 from the field.

Minnesota Timberwolves 117, Milwaukee Bucks 103
I don’t mean to keep beating up the Grizzlies, but GM Chris Wallace is a flat-out imbecile. He lets their best bench player—the exciting Hakim Warrick who fits perfectly into Lionel Hollins’ uptempo system—go, and the Bucks wisely picked him up for only $3 million. What does the Wallace castoff do in his first game as a Buck? Go off for 24 points in 28 minutes, adding a team-high 5 rebounds and a block for good measure. Rookie point guard Brandon Jennings put up some numbers, but he was quite inefficient at doing so. Sure, he dropped 14 points and 5 dimes, but he took 15 shots (dipping below the dreaded more-shots-than-points line is always bad) and had as many fouls plus turnovers as assists plus free throw attempts (think about how bad this is for a freakishly athletic point guard).

The Timberwolves’ starting frontcourt (Kevin Love, Al Jefferson, and Ryan Gomes) had 26 rebounds to the entire Bucks’ 24. Jefferson only had 3 of those, by the way. And if Jennings is interested in seeing how to intelligently use that speed, hopefully he was watching the Wolves’ Johnny Flynn go 14 for 15 from the free throw line while only picking up 2 fouls (and 7 assists to 3 turnovers).

More early NBA preseason analysis after the break…

Golden State Warriors 108, LA Clippers 101
Warrior Anthony Randolph started things off with a near double-double: 10 points and 9 rebounds. He also threw in 3 blocks. A great game’s work, all in 11 minutes. 11 minutes. I think he’ll be alright this year. Rookie Stephen Curry keeps gunning it with mixed results, throwing up 10 shots but only hitting 2 for 5 points. Remember how they made him run the point at Davidson last year? Well it paid off, at least for one game, as he also had 9 assists and 5 steals in his 24 minutes. Second-year guard Anthony Morrow continues to shoot the lights out, hitting 8 of 11 shots, including 4 of 6 from deep, for 21 points off the bench.

For the Clippers, Blake Griffin didn’t play because of a knee bruise. DeAndre Jordan, who put up good numbers last year for LA in limited minutes, was the star for the losers, dropping 22 on only 8 shots and snaring 10 rebounds.

October 5

Detroit Pistons 87, Miami Heat 83
Dwayne Wade: 18 points on 13 shots, 6 of 8 free throws, 5 assists, 4 steals, and 1 block. Of course. Detroit rookie stick figure Austin Daye (6-11, 200 pounds) had a great summer league, and he did alright in his 11 minutes of burn on Monday. He grabbed 5 rebounds, blocked 2 shots, hit a 3, and only got called for 1 foul.

Orlando Magic 110, Dallas Mavericks 105
The Magic got to the championships last year for two reasons. One, Kevin Garnett was hurt. Two, they shot triples like they were going out of style. They lost Hedo Turkoglu in the offseason, but added Vince Carter, so it looks like more of the same. They came out firing on Monday, jacking up 38 long-distance shots, but only connecting on 12 (seriously J.J. Redick, 0 for 4?). Still, the Magic continue to stretch the half court, allowing for Dwight Howard to dominate the paint (17, 11, and 3).

For the Mavericks, Dirk Nowitzki and Dwight Gooden predictably go theirs (23 and 18, respectively), and Jose Barea resumed his spot as the NBA’s most annoying looking non-Dukie to continually hurt opponents (17 points off the bench, but 0 assists—which is quite odd for this severely underrated backup point guard).

Zachariah Blott is a teacher in Portland, not an Amish Charles Dickens character.

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