Have Golden State Warriors Improved Its Bench Enough?
The Golden State Warriors had one of the most outstanding starting fives in the NBA last season but had very little help from their bench. The lack of competent reserves severely hurt the team, which prompted the front office to address the issue this offseason.
Reinforcements have arrived, but will they be enough?
The Warriors' issues started in the summer leading up to the 2013-14 NBA regular season, when Festus Ezeli was written off for the entire campaign before it even began. Jermaine O'Neal also got hurt early in the year, leaving a very thin frontcourt behind starting center Andrew Bogut.
To make matters worse, Harrison Barnes found himself in a new role off the bench, struggling to adjust, and failing to provide the expected sixth-man production.
The team eventually brought in Jordan Crawford and Steve Blake, adding much-needed ball-handlers behind Stephen Curry. Even with the positive additions and O'Neal's eventual return from injury, the Warriors' bench managed to improve only marginally, ranking 24th in scoring at the end of the year.
Perhaps one of the most infuriating factors for fans to stomach was former head coach Mark Jackson's inclination to run bench-exclusive lineups. Rather than adjusting his rotation to keep at least one starter on the floor at all times, Jackson would often experiment by resting his best players and running the bench mob (dubbed "Stench Mob" by some fans).
As a result, we saw lineups such as these:
Lineup 1: Blake - Crawford - Barnes - Draymond Green - Marreese Speights
Lineup 2: Blake - Crawford - Barnes - Green - O'Neal
Lineup 3 (prior to the mid-season trade): Toney Douglas - Kent Bazemore - Barnes - Green - Speights
What do all these lineups have in common? Well, for starters, they all shot below 39 percent from the field, while the first two couldn't crack 30 percent shooting accuracy from beyond the arc. All three were also featured in more than 10 games.
Despite fan complaints, Jackson would pull all of his starters every once in a while and let one of the worst benches in the league dig holes for his team.
First-year head coach Steve Kerr has a bright basketball mind, and it's safe to assume that he will put a smarter rotation in place than what we saw last year. He will also have more talent at his disposal. Let's evaluate the pieces which the Warriors' front office put together this offseason.
The Warriors could not have gotten anyone more perfect than Livingston. Despite his unfortunate injury record, the 6'7" point guard has all the tools you want for his role.
While he's very tall for a point guard, Livingston certainly doesn't lack in the ball-handling and playmaking department. He makes up for his lack of three-point range with an ability to post up just about any smaller guard, while also possessing a respectable off the dribble pull-up jumper. He usually gets to his comfort mid-range spots with ease when running high pick-and-rolls and can even shoot over guys when he has a mismatch.
What really makes Livingston stand out is the fact that he's a two-way player. His defensive instincts are exceptional, and he often drew the toughest assignments for the Brooklyn Nets last season. His frame allows him to guard three different positions, as he has the speed to hang with point guards and the length to bother small forwards. Having a player like him behind Curry is a luxury.
Leandro Barbosa
Following a decent showing at the FIBA World Cup with Brazil this summer, the 6'3" Barbosa became a late addition to Golden State's roster. After a knee injury derailed his career, he bounced back with a short-term deal with the Phoenix Suns last year and will enter his 12th NBA season in 2014.
Despite his age, Barbosa still possesses blistering speed and can blow by defenders off the dribble. He's an acceptable spot-up shooter, moves well off the ball and can also handle the primary ball-handling duties. He's not a natural point guard, but with Livingston hurt, the Warriors appear to be leaning towards deploying the Brazilian at both guard positions.
You can certainly do a lot worse than Barbosa as a role player off the bench, but we probably shouldn't expect wonders.
It remains to be seen what kind of role he can carve out for himself once Livingston is healthy. A similar role to what Jordan Crawford filled is conceivable, and Barbosa should be a slight upgrade over his trigger-happy predecessor. However, he's still a liability on the defensive end, so it will be important for Kerr to have a good perimeter defender on the floor at the same time.
Festus Ezeli
Ezeli isn't really a fresh acquisition, but he did miss the entire 2013-14 season. He will be coming off an extended layoff, so it will take a while to shake off the rust.
He had a relatively limited role for the Warriors in his rookie season, but established himself as a good defensive big, which is something the team needed last year. He's somewhat awkward offensively and isn't a good finisher, so Kerr will have his work cut out for him when trying to put the right guys on the floor around Ezeli.
Brandon Rush
After being traded to the Utah Jazz in order to facilitate a deal for Andre Iguodala, Rush will be making his return to the Warriors this season. He's another interesting piece that should fit nicely, and he had the best season of his career at Golden State before he tore up his knee.
Rush is another hard-nosed defender and a great shooter, which is a skill set that fits perfectly on the Warriors bench. He's probably not going to play 26 minutes a game like he did in 2011-12, but Kerr will most certainly find ways to utilize the 6'6" shooting guard.
The Returning Bench Players
Barnes, Green and Speights are the other three bench players who are expected to be regulars in the rotation this year. Last season, Barnes struggled mightily when on the court without a ball-dominant playmaker like Curry accompanying him—and he found himself in lineups without Curry a lot. Adding someone like Livingston could potentially do wonders for Barnes' game, as he will now have a legitimate passer who can get him involved.
Despite increased minutes, Barnes became less efficient as he was asked to do too much with the second unit, and the 6'8" small forward could very well become a major contributor this year.
Green became quite the fan favorite last season, as he occupied the stretch-4 role, and he had a very solid postseason showing on both ends of the floor. He made huge progress in his second year, although he still needs to become a little more reliable from beyond the three-point line.
Speights saw quite a lot of playing time last season due to various injuries around him, but he could take a step back in the rotation with Ezeli returning. Though a decent mid-range shooter, Speights has questionable hands and doesn't play well with his back to the basket. Whether or not he can establish a firm role with the team this year remains to be seen.
The Verdict
Improving one of the worst benches in the league can be hard, but a lot of the things the Warriors have done this summer were moves in the right direction.
Golden State's offense used to collapse with Curry off the floor, and adding a couple good two-way guards in Livingston and Rush will likely help the case. More ball movement and passing prowess in the backcourt will also benefit the likes of Green and Barnes, who could potentially carry even heavier scoring and playmaking loads moving forward.
The major concern would be the lack of frontcourt depth. While Ezeli and Speights add some bulk, the Warriors really don't have a reliable offensive center on their bench. There are ways to work around this, and Kerr will most likely play a lot of small-ball with Barnes and Green at the power forward position. However, if Andrew Bogut would go down with an injury, Golden State would be left pretty thin up front.
The Warriors ranked third in the league in defensive efficiency last season, but only 12th in offensive efficiency. Adding two good perimeter defenders will make sure the team remains solid on the defensive end, but having another versatile scoring big would've helped this team greatly.
This is perhaps why the addition of Barbosa was somewhat curious, considering the fact that there are still some decent frontcourt players available in the market. Both Thompson and Curry will play major minutes, so it's debatable whether or not adding the Brazilian was necessary.
All in all, the Warriors should have more reliable reserves this season. The bench will probably still not be a strength of this team, as the starters will have to continue carrying a heavy load. Even so, most of the additions, at least on paper, are for the better. With smarter rotations and more talent, it's probably safe to assume that the Warriors have done enough to have at least an average bench this season.
You can follow me on Twitter: @VytisLasaitis
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