Portland TrailBlazers' Bench Woes: Fact or Fiction?

Since the Portland Trail Blazers lost in embarrassing fashion to the Utah Jazz at the end of Feb., they have lost only three times (two of those against Western Conferen playoff teams). Perhaps a combination of an easier schedule, more time off, a healthier Brandon Roy, and solidified starting unit, the Blazers are finally taking care of business heading down the home stretch, and all but guaranteeing their spot in the Western Conference playoffs.

Not only are they sure to make the playoffs, it appears that a first round exit is no longer imminent as a seventh seed and a decidedly more favorable matchup seems likely.

Indeed, it has never been more fun this season to be a Blazers fan than this last stretch of awesome play. All the front office drama, ticket price increases, and an absurd amount of injuries haven't deterred the Blazers, or their fans, as the team, and seemingly the entire city gear up for a playoff run.

With everything clicking at the right time, what is there to criticize? After a brief respite from life and an awesome trip to Florida, I came back this week to watch some game tape hoping to see what everyone has been raving about. Although I was impressed by the offense and increased energy on defense, one thing stood out to me the most:
Where have the Blazers' second unit gone?

I checked out some stats on the second unit in order to find out whether I am just imagining the "bench woes" or if the second unit is indeed struggling. To clarify, the second unit is most commonly comprised of Jerryd Bayless, Rudy Fernandez, Martell Webster, Juwan Howard, and LaMarcus Aldridge (or another starter such as Andre Miller or Brandon Roy). With the addition of Marcus Camby, Jeff Pendergraph's minutes have understandably plummeted, and to much fans' chagrin (including my own), so have Dante Cunningham's.

At first glance, the second unit seems to struggle most with creating offense and getting back on defense. Upon further investigation, what I've found is certainly indicative of this. According to 82Games.com , the five man unit of Fernandez, Bayless, Webster, Aldridge, and Howard shoot 37 percent while allowing almost 48 percent opponent shooting. More significantly, the majority of their shots are not close range. With Webster and Rudy on the floor, it is obvious many shots will be deep jumpers (three pointers) and the numbers certainly indicate this.

Sadly, both Martell and Fernandez seem to have lost their shot at the same time, which appears to be the main reason offensive production for that second unit is so low. Even with Howard or Aldridge and Bayless to score, much of Coach Nate McMillan's offense relies on the two wings drawing the defense from whoever is in the middle. If the two wings can't hit a shot, defenders won't bother to stay out on them and this is certainly a trend we have seen lately.

Fernandez has been fighting with nagging injuries all season and especially of late, so I think in a fit of magnanimity, I'll just allow that he most likely struggles because of those injuries. Martell has no such excuse and whatever the problem is, whether it's insecurity or lack of confidence, the Blazers need him to reignite his shot and pose a legitimate threat to opposing defenders.

A perfect example of the above analysis would be Sunday night's game against the Oklahoma City Thunder. During that game, the Blazers boasted an early 10 point lead and then the starters watched from the bench as the second unit allowed the Thunder a huge run and ability to briefly gain a lead. This occurred again later in the game as the first unit built another lead right out of half-time, only to watch the Thunder get right back into the game once the starters sat for rest. Frustrating to watch as a fan and even more so for McMillan, who needs to be able to rest the likes of Roy and Camby.

What became apparent during this game was the second unit's decided inability to create any offense or offensive rhythm without the guidance of Roy or Miller. The second unit came in as quick shooting, trigger-happy, almost reckless bunch of guys who failed to control the game as their starters had. They were sloppy, too relaxed, displayed poor spacing, and allowed poor ball movement.

Defensively, the second unit fared even worse. Simply put, they played lazy.

The first unit stifled the Thunder's offensive firepower with energy and execution on defense (perfectly executed switches on picks, great movement on the perimeter and several heads-up plays, just to name a few). The second unit looked like the polar opposite in every way. Their rebounding was stagnant, there were numerous miscues and players missed assignments all over the place. I hardly expect a unit composed of Webster and Fernandez to be defensively on par with the first unit, but what they lack in raw skill they can at least make up with effort and energy. Lately, there has been little of that on the defensive end.

Now, I know what you are thinking, "leave it to Sophia to find something negative about the team when they have clearly been playing so well." Although the team has been playing extremely well overall and there have been brilliant flashes and clutch plays from bench guys, lately the second unit has been more consistently bad than good and this is a serious concern. It should go without saying that no team goes far in the playoffs without a solid bench and reliable role players in the second unit.

Through all the trials and tribulations of this season, I am truly elated that the Blazers are poised to get into the playoffs with good position. There was a time not too long ago when I thought the Blazers wouldn't even be able to get into the playoffs. Now, my competitiveness sets in and I'm in attack mode.

As a fan, I want the Blazers, at the very least, to get into the second round. In order to achieve that, we need our bench unit to step up and start playing solid basketball.