Heat vs. Spurs: Ranking Most Important Bench Players of NBA Finals

Bench play is going to be essential in determining whether the Miami Heat win back-to-back NBA championships or whether the San Antonio Spurs capture the fifth title in the franchise’s history.

LeBron James has single-handedly carried the Heat through the postseason and into the NBA Finals while the San Antonio Spurs feature a more balanced attack. But the Spurs rely heavily on bench play and the Heat will need to as well depending on how San Antonio defends James, Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh.

Both conference champions have had their benches contribute roughly 33 percent of their points throughout the postseason. Winning this series isn’t going to be solely on the starting fives; rather, the NBA champion will be the team whose bench outduels the other.

That being said, here are the three most important bench players heading into the NBA Finals. Feel free to leave who you think the most important bench player is in the comments section below.

3. Shane Battier, F, Miami Heat

During the regular season, Battier averaged nearly 25 minutes per game for the Heat, starting in 20 of the 72 games in which he appeared. He’s not the best defender on the team, but will need to match up against the likes of Kawhi Leonard and probably Tim Duncan at times throughout the series.

Stopping those two when guys like James and Bosh aren’t on the floor is vital to Miami’s success—Chris Andersen and Udonis Haslem are expected to aid the low post as well. Even if Battier picks up a couple of fouls to prevent an additional rebound or an easy basket, the Heat will take that.

Battier should get a couple of opportunities to shoot the ball as well. He’s a good shooter from inside the three-point line, downtown and the charity stripe. He shot 42 percent from the field during the season, but has been abysmal during the playoffs, shooting just 22.7 percent.

While Battier is shooting 80 percent from the free-throw line throughout the postseason, he hasn’t been effective from beyond the arc either. He’s averaging 4.1 three-point attempts per game, but is shooting just 23 percent.

If Battier doesn’t get hot at some point during the series, the Heat could have a problem.

2. Manu Ginobili, G, San Antonio Spurs

The progression of Danny Green has made Manu Ginobili one of the top bench players in the league. Ginobili came off the bench for the Spurs the entire season and did for most of last season too. He’s been as effective as he used to be; he's just playing a different role these days.

Ginobili averaged 23.2 minutes per game during the year, scoring 11.8 points while contributing 3.4 rebounds and 4.6 assists per game as well. A great defensive player and an accurate shooter, the veteran guard provides plenty of value to the Spurs.

He’s been even better in the postseason than he was during the regular season too.

In the NBA Finals, Ginobili will be coming off the bench to take on Wade, who wasn’t very good during the Eastern Conference Finals. Wade did turn it on for Game 7, but the Spurs guard will be doing his best to prevent a similar performance against San Antonio.

If Ginobili can score around 12 points per game in roughly 25 minutes and do some of the little things while stopping Wade, the Spurs will be in fantastic shape. If Ginobili fails to shoot well and Wade takes him to school, however, San Antonio can forget about stopping the defending champions.

 

1. Ray Allen, G, Miami Heat

The Heat need a great series from Ray Allen. He plays nearly as many minutes as some of the starters and plays a huge role for Miami. Despite being a starter before coming to the Heat, Allen has come off the bench full-time this year, his first with the organization.

Allen, one of the best shooters of all time, was great for the Heat during the season. In 25.8 minutes per game, he averaged 10.9 points per game while shooting 44.9 percent from the field, 40.9 percent from downtown and 89 percent from the charity stripe.

While those are quality numbers, he’s been less effective during the postseason.

Playing in every playoff game for the Heat this postseason, Allen is averaging nearly the same minutes per game but has shot considerably worse. He’s shooting just 38.9 percent from the field, 36.5 percent from three-point territory and 85 percent from the free-throw line.

Allen must start feeling it from the field in order for the Heat to win this series. Sure, most of the series relies on the play of James, Wade and Bosh for Miami, but Allen is important too. Ten points might not seem like a lot, but they could go a long way and determine whether Miami wins or loses a game against the Spurs.