10 Players Who Give the Biggest Boost off the Bench in the Playoffs

Having a big boost off the bench in the playoffs can make a massive difference between winning and losing.

In 2011, the Dallas Mavericks’ Jason Terry set an NBA record for scoring off the bench in the postseason, with 368. The Mavericks won the championship. The record he broke belonged to Manu Ginobili, who scored 333 points in helping the San Antonio Spurs to win the title in 2007.           

It’s not just about scoring either. Lamar Odom, in making a critical contribution to the Lakers 2010, chipped in totals of 222 points, 198 rebounds, 46 assists, 21 blocks and 15 steals through the postseason. That’s the only time someone ever posted such numbers off the bench for a postseason.

In the postseason the rotation tightens, but the first player or two off the bench can be as important, if not more important, than some of the starters.

In compiling these rankings, only stats off the bench were considered. They were also adjusted to per-36 minute averages, but with a 1,000-minute minimum. Defense, plus/minus and on/off stats were factored in as well. More emphasis was placed on recent performance then early season performance. First-round opponents were taken into consideration as well.  

The final rankings were a subjective summation of all these factors. 

Bonus: Ray Allen, 15.3 Points, 3.8 Rebounds and 2.4 Assists Per 36 Minutes

Ray Allen has not had as much impact on the Miami Heat as many expected this season. He had a career low of 10.9 points per game, but he also had a career low of 25.8 minutes per game. Allen is far from a young man, at the ripe old age of 37.

With the Heat rolling through the regular season and dominating the Eastern Conference, it didn’t make sense for them to play Allen heavy minutes. With the competition tighter and the stakes higher, expect Allen’s minutes, and correspondingly his production, to ramp up. 

10. Carl Landry, 16.8 Points, 9.2 Rebounds, 1.3 Assists Per 36 Minutes

Carl Landry was not the most celebrated free-agent pickup this season, but his impact should be. He has been instrumental in returning the Golden State Warriors back to the postseason. Landry was fifth in scoring and second in rebounding for the Warriors on the season. That’s pretty decent production for a guy making just $4 million.

With the Warriors squaring off against the Nuggets, who led the NBA in points in the paint by a mile this season with 58.0 per game, Landry will be critical in the first-round series. Dirty work is hard to measure, but Landry would be among the leaders in it if it were. 

9. Kevin Martin, 18.2 Points, 3.0 Rebounds, 1.8 Assists Per 36 Minutes

When the Oklahoma City Thunder traded away James Harden this season for financial reasons and got Kevin Martin in return, the big question was how well Martin would be able to fill Harden’s shoes.

If it’s true that Harden wears a size 14 and Martin wears a size 12, then it would be appropriate. Martin’s feet mostly occupy the space, but there’s still plenty of room to wiggle his toes.

Martin does have the NBA’s third-most total points off the bench, at 1,077, which is actually more than the 1,014 points that Harden scored last season, but the rebounding, passing and defense that Harden provided aren’t there.

Look for Martin to contribute scoring off the bench, but little else. 

8. Manu Ginobili, 18.2 Points, 5.2 Rebounds, and 7.1 Assists Per 36 Minutes

Manu Ginobili is a tough figure to place here since he has traditionally been one of the premiere sixth men over the last decade, and in any game he can have a game-changing impact. On the other hand, he’s had an injury-riddled season.

Based on his player efficiency rating, he’s having his least productive season in a decade, but that’s still a highly productive season. San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich has been careful about how he plays his aging roster as the playoffs near, so Ginobili could have a massive impact

If he has a healthy postseason, Ginobili will have a productive postseason, but he drops in the rankings because of the uncertainty regarding his health. 

7. Jeff Green, 15.2 Points, 4.7 Rebounds, 1.7 Assists Per 36 Minutes

Jeff Green has had his best games in the starting lineup with the Celtics this year, averaging 20.1 points in that role compared to only 10.9 coming off the bench.

Starting vs. relief isn’t the only distinction, though. His elite performances in either role have come in the biggest moments of the season.

He’s averaged 20.5 points against the Miami Heat and 17.8 against the New York Knicks. What else do you expect form a player whose heart is three sizes too large?

Green has been 100 percent pure Celtic this year—the type of player who plays not only to the level of competition, but to the level of inspiration. Pressure crushes some and pushes others to the surface. Clearly Green is the latter. 

6. Taj Gibson, 12.7 Points, 8.3 Rebounds, 1.5 Assists Per 36 Minutes

Not every player can be measured by what they do statistically, and Taj Gibson, perhaps more than any player in the league, exemplifies that. He is a defensive terror on a team whose defense is its calling card.

Advanced stats (plus/minus and on/off) have come into vogue lately, particularly as a measure of defense, and they have a lot to offer, but they can also be misleading, as sometimes a player will play with another player who has a major impact, causing his advanced stat numbers to appear better than they are.

For example, Mario Chalmers has the third-best net production this season, with his Heat averaging 13.7 more points per 48 minutes more than their opponents while Chalmers is on the court. No one is going to argue that Chalmers is the third-best player in the league, though. That has more to do with his sharing the court most of the time with LeBron James, who is first, and Dwyane Wade, who is fifth.

One way to take care of that bias is to look at two-man rotations. If a player's teammates are consistently better while he is on the court, it’s a strong indication that the player is having a positive impact on his teammates.

According to NBA.com/STATS (media account needed) every one of Taj Gibson’s teammates are better when he is on the court. Of the main nine-man rotation, six players have their best plus/minus when they share the court with Gibson, and the other two have their second-best numbers.

That, coupled with the fact that the Bulls are 11 games over .500 with Gibson playing, and three games under .500 without him, shows the tremendous value that Gibson brings to the Bulls. Look for him to have a massive impact in guarding Brook Lopez in the opening round. 

5. Andre Miller, 13.1 Points, 8.2 Assists, 4.3 Rebounds Per 36 Minutes

The Denver Nuggets arguably have the deepest bench in the league, with Andre Miller, Corey Brewer and JaVale McGee all providing healthy contributions, as well as Wilson Chandler who has recently moved into the starting lineup.

Andre Miller has long been one of the most underappreciated players in the league. Did you know he’s 10th all time in assists? Or that he’s 80th all time in career win shares?

Those achievements are remarkable, but that both are the most among any player in history who has never made the All-Star Game argue strongly that he’s the most underrated player ever.

Miller has discreetly been doing it again this year. He leads the league in assists per 36 minutes off the bench. Look for him to continue to run the Nuggets extremely deep second squad with the same proficiency he’s done it all season. I mean actually look for it. It’s time to give this guy some recognition. 

4. Nate Robinson, 20.0 Points, 3.5 Rebounds, 5.9 Assists Per 36 Minutes

Nate Robinson’s per-minute scoring off the bench is the second best in the NBA this year. The Chicago Bulls offense is so much better while he’s running it that it actually looks like an offense. Overall, the Bulls score 3.1 more points per 100 possessions while he is on the court.

When he’s coming off the bench, Robinson plays much better than when he starts as well. Both his regular field-goal percentage and his three-point percentage are almost 40 points higher in reserve, and he scores nearly four more points per 36 minutes.

Look for Robinson to bring exuberant energy off the bench and play with a bit of a chip on his shoulder, as he will be going against the player he replaced in the lineup, C.J. Watson. He seems to have a bit of a chip on shoulder in regard to him. Robinson will score.

And Robinson will make you laugh, or cry, or wonder what he’s doing, or all three at the same time. 

3. Jamal Crawford, 20.3 Points, 2.1 Rebounds, 3.1 Assists Per 36 Minutes

Jamal Crawford’s off-the-bench, per-minute scoring led the NBA this season, and his overall point total was second at 1,255 points.

With Crawford, the key will be more about scoring efficiently than just scoring. In fact, Crawford actually scores more when the Clippers lose, notching 17.2 points per loss compared to 16.2 points per win.

However, those points come off of .443 shooting in wins to .428 in losses.

Crawford is the quintessential big man, a high-volume scorer who can be hot or cold. With the Clippers' first-round opponent being the Memphis Grizzlies, who have a tremendous interior defense, the Clips will need Crawford’s shooing to spread the court for them. Look for him to play heavy minutes off the bench and be a featured part of their offense. 

How the Clippers fare will depend a lot on how many of Crawford’s shots fall. 

2. Jarrett Jack, 15.5 Points, 3.8 Rebounds, 6.6 Assists Per 36 Minutes

Jarrett Jack has been a tremendous asset for the Golden State Warriors. In fact, with him and Stephen Curry, you can argue that the Warriors are the deepest at the point guard position of any team in the Association.

What makes Jack so critical is visible in his on/off numbers. Both the Warriors offense and their defense are exactly the same when Jack is on the court or off it. That might not seem impressive unless you consider that Stephen Curry is one of the five best point guards in the postseason, and that’s the man Jack is normally replacing.  

That the Warriors can plug in Jack (see what I did there?) without losing anything on either side of the ball, it is a tremendous luxury, especially when you consider that the Denver Nuggets are also extremely deep at the point guard position with Ty Lawson and Andre Miller.

In fact, whoever wins that position battle will probably win the series. 

1. J.R. Smith, 19.4 Points, 5.7 Rebounds, 2.9 Assists Per 36 Minutes

In the history of the NBA, only three times has a player scored more off the bench in a season than Smith’s prodigious 2013 season with 1,446 total points.

Smith also snared the fourth-most rebounds in relief this season, and he’s a shooting guard. His 218 total assists were 10th in the NBA. He is only the second player since 1985 to score 1,200 points, grab 400 boards and dish 200 dimes off the bench, with Detlef Schrempf having accomplished the feat twice.

He is not only the Sixth Man of the Year, but perhaps the Sixth Man of forever. And the Knicks will need him to keep producing in the same way if they are going to make a deep playoff run. 

They’ll have a monster battle to get past the Boston Celtics, and Carmelo Anthony alone won’t be able to produce all the scoring.

The one-two punch of Anthony and Smith down the stretch proved to be a successful formula, with the Knicks stringing together a 13-game win streak. Look for the duo to continue to succeed in the postseason.

If the Knicks aren’t careful, Smith could be too good for the Knicks' own good. If he shines too brightly, the free-agent-to-be may boost his asking price beyond what they can pay.