Minnesota Timberwolves and the NBA's Best Benches

In a year with a lockout-shortened schedule, it is more important than ever for teams to have depth. The condensed schedule has two ramifications.

First, it means starters are getting rest between games. A solid bench means they can cut down on their minutes. 

Second, it means that when players are injured, they are missing more games than they would normally miss. Having a solid bench that can step up and fill in is vital. 

Here are the 10 most productive benches in terms of efficiency per 48 minutes. The advantage of using efficiency here is that it doesn't just measure scoring. It includes scoring, but it also includes rebounds, assists, steals and shooting. It's a more complete look at what the benches provide. 

This is important because not all benches are designed to be scoring. Some are designed to provide "glue" off the bench. 

Minnesota Timberwolves, 19.1

With the Timberwolves committing to giving first-round pick Derrick Williams more playing time, the 10th-most productive in the league is about to get even more productive.

Last night, the bench scored 72 points as a unit. Headed up by Williams and Michael Beasley, this is a unit that can keep up the scoring, even when Ricky Rubio and Kevin Love grab the pine. 

Particularly since they started giving more time to Williams, the 'Wolves have gone from good to better. Over the last five games, they are the second-most productive bench in the NBA. 

San Antonio Spurs, 19.5

Maybe it's the genius of the front office, or maybe it's the genius of Gregg Popovich. Whatever it is, the San Antonio Spurs never seem to miss on a draft pick, even though they never seem to get picks at the top of the draft. 

Kawhi Leonard is the most recent addition, who combined with the likes of Danny Green, Taigo Splitter and Gary Neal, provides the Spurs with the ninth-deepest bench in the NBA. 

The Spurs are solid across the board, averaging 17.1 points, 7.7 boards and 3.6 assists per 48 minutes. 

Houston Rockets, 19.7

The Houston Rockets have a surprisingly effective bench, since they don't have a lot of players that are talked about as great bench players.

Courtney Lee is their highest-scoring bench player, but the Rockets get it done with a number of different players sharing the bench load. 

Every Rocket who has played in at least 10 games—a total of 10—is averaging at least double-digits in scoring per 36 minutes. Seven of them are also averaging at least 5.0 rebounds per 36 minutes. The others are averaging at least six assists per 36 minutes. 

The Rockets' secret to success is balance. They have a second unit that produces across the board. 

Dallas Mavericks, 20.2

The Dallas Mavericks proved last year that depth can overcome superstar talent. Dirk Nowitzki is a superstar. Jason Terry is a Sixth Man of the Year. Jason Kidd is a Hall of Fame player. 

This year, they aren't quite as deep as they were last year, but they are still deep enough. The Mavs have Terry coming off the bench. 

Oklahoma City Thunder, 20.2

The Oklahoma City Thunder have a solid bench, and they have arguably the best bench player in the league in James Harden, who is averaging 16.8 points, 4.2 boards and 3.6 dimes a game. Harden isn't the only contributor from the Thunder bench, though. 

Nazr Mohammed and Nick Collison bring in solid rebounding off the bench. Reggie Jackson has been doing solid backup work for Russell Westbrook in the absence of Eric Maynor. 

The Thunder are talented up top with their dynamic duo, but their deep bench gives them a lot of role-playing help. 

Milwaukee Bucks, 20.3

It's probably going to come as a surprise to see the Milwaukee Bucks bench up this high. That doesn't mean it's "too high," though. That's the benefit of using objective criteria; you can see things your presumptions wouldn't. 

The Bucks bench is interesting because it's filled with borderline starters. The problem is that their starting lineup is also filled with borderline starters. So, regardless of who is starting, which is pretty much up in the air from game to game, two things are generally true. 

One, their starters are usually outplayed. They've lost the collective battle 27 times in 35 games. Two, their bench usually outplays other benches. It's won the battle 25 times. 

Want to know how they beat Miami twice? In their two wins, the Bucks bench outplayed the Heat bench by a collective +50 in efficiency.

Portland Trail Blazers, 20.7

The Portland Trail Blazers' already deep bench just got a little deeper when the team signed Joel Przybilla, giving it what must be the oldest center position in the history of the NBA. Przybilla is the young whippersnapper of the trio at the age of just 31. 

The strength of this bench is the tandem of Jamal Crawford and Nicholas Batum, who are averaging a combined 31.2 points per game and are the team's second- and third-highest scorers. 

Portland has been an up-and-down team, winning at home and losing on the road. A large part of that is due to its inconsistent bench. It's been beaten nine times in 15 tries on the road, while it's won 11 times in 18 tries at home. 

If the Trail Blazers' bench can get some consistency on the road, they'll be a much tougher team to beat. 

Chicago Bulls, 20.8

The amazing thing about the Chicago Bulls bench being this high on the list is that the team has faced so many injuries. The Bulls have lost 47 starts due to injury, which means that their bench has gotten less deep, because they're putting their best bench players into the starting lineup. 

Consider this little fact from ESPN's John Hollinger:

"

But offensively? Suddenly, they're a juggernaut. Even with Rose missing nearly a third of the schedule, the Bulls are third in offensive efficiency, speaking well of how broad-based their attack has become. Six other Bulls besides Rose carry PERs above the league average, and as I noted in my piece on "BAD" rating, the Bulls haven't had a single minute played by a player with a PER below 12.

"

The Bulls have seven players with an above-average PER (at least 15.0), and the entire team is at at least 12. They will only get deeper now that the Bulls are a healthy team. 

Philadelphia 76ers, 23.3

The Philadelphia 76ers bench is a veritable scoring machine. They average 43.0 points per game (more than any team in the NBA), 17.9 boards (third most in the NBA) and 8.5 assists (third most in the NBA).

The 76ers don't really "rest" their starters so much as they just bring out another wave of starting-caliber players, particularly at the guards and wings. In all, they have six players averaging in double-digits. Their leading scorer, Louis Williams, isn't even a starter.

Thaddeus Young, their third-leading scorer, is not a starter either. 

The Sixers are so young and athletic that they can play with a suffocating style that is 48 minutes of pressure. Their depth is a huge part of their success. 

Denver Nuggets, 24.2

The best bench in the league goes to the Denver Nuggets, who increasingly seem to look like "winners" in the Carmelo Anthony trade. That's not to say that the New York Knicks were necessarily "losers," but the depth the Nuggets got was very impressive. 

They lead the NBA in assists and rebounds per 48 minutes and are second in scoring. 

That's a lot of production. 

While the Nuggets have had a plethora of injuries lately to slow them down, the bench has remained impressive, whether it's players stepping up and filling starters' roles or starters taking on bench roles, like Andre Miller. 

If this team gets healthy and keeps Wilson Chandler, look out. The Nuggets could be scary in the postseason.