The Best Second Options in the NBA Western Conference

Everyone knows Kobe Bryant is going to take (and make) the most shots for the Lakers.

It's the same for LeBron James, for Tim Duncan, and for lesser stars like Michael Redd and Joe Johnson.

They are the primary options, the main guys, the spearhead of the attack.

But we already know all about them, right?

So instead, Overtime is going to take a look at the second guy. If the poster boy gets double teamed, who's the ball going to? Who provides that steady stream of consistency and steps up when the big guys take a rest? Who may go unnoticed until they're suddenly not there?

I'm going to try and identify that second guy on all thirty teams—both for the season just gone and the upcoming one—and then at the end, I will choose my top five from the group.

Have I got it right for your team?  Tell me what you think, and let me know who's in your top five.

Dallas Mavericks

Last Year: Josh Howard, Jason Terry

This Year: Jason Kidd, Jerry Stackhouse

With Dirk being the obvious first option on the team, Josh used to be good for another scoring option, and many thought he would fit well with J-Kidd as a finisher for the alley-oops.  However, Howard has let offcourt issues dictate his career, and his future is no longer set in stone, sending the Mavs into a search for a reliable second option for this season.

Denver Nuggets

Last Year: J.R Smith

This Year: J.R Smith

I almost put Allen Iverson in this spot.  But if you watch the Nuggets, although they will normally choose Carmelo first, the second option depends on the match-ups and what kind of defense they are playing against. Smith is one of those crazy scoring options that can go off at any given time, and will have confidence that management is behind him since they just re-signed him to a multi-year contract.

Golden State Warriors

Last Year: Monta Ellis, Stephen Jackson  

This Year: Stephen Jackson, Corey Maggette
    
With the departure of Baron Davis, Monta Ellis has been given the scoring load, but he is undergoing surgery and will miss the beginning of the season.  So Stephen and the new Warrior Corey Maggette will have to step up for Golden State.

Houston Rockets:

Last Year: Rafer Alston, Luis Scola

This Year: Ron Artest
        
I'm going to have to let T-Mac and Yao share the first option as it could be either one of them.  Last year, Rafer helped from the perimeter and Luis had an unprecedented rookie season as a solid scoring option.

Of course Ron Artest has now been brought in, and will be the main scoring threat other than Tracy and Yao. Ron has better scoring ability than he is given credit for, and could easily become part of that shared first option.

L.A. Clippers

Last Year: Corey Maggette  

This Year: Chris Kaman, Al Thornton

Last year, the Clippers didn't have many options to begin with, but with Elton Brand gone for the season it got even worse. Chris Kaman had a solid season and stepped up as the first option, and you could argue that Corey shared part of that. Al Thornton had an impressive rookie season and is now a reliable option.

With Maggette gone, they lost some offense, but they now have Baron Davis, who is easily the most offensively-talented player on the roster and will send Kaman back to the second-option spot.

L.A. Lakers

Last Year: Pau Gasol, Andrew Bynum, Lamar Odom    

This Year: Pau Gasol, Andrew Bynum, Lamar Odom
 
Any guesses for who the first option is? Last year Bynum and Gasol both only played half of the season with the Lakers, but when they were there on the court, they were both great second options.

You could argue that Lamar is more of a third option, but again it depends on the situation. This coming year it will be no different, aside from the fact that Kobe is going to have two or three great scoring options for an entire season.

Memphis Grizzlies

Last Year: Rudy Gay, Mike Miller  

This Year: O.J Mayo
   
For half the year, Pau Gasol was still a Grizzly and Rudy Gay was a scoring threat. With Gasol's departure, however, Rudy stepped up to be the team's first option and became known as a rising talent in the league. Meanwhile, Mike Miller had a surprisingly solid season and was a large piece of the puzzle for Memphis.

Mike is gone now and Rudy is going to be a full-time first option, so it remains to be seen if O.J Mayo can begin to integrate himself into the team.

Minnesota Timberwolves

Last Year: Rashad McCants, Randy Foye    

This Year:Mike Miller
     
Al Jefferson is a great talent and the foundation for this team, the gem in the Garnett trade. Last year McCants was a surprise, and could be again this season. The T-Wolves also added Mike Miller, who as I mentioned previously was solid in Memphis this year, and could be a good compliment to this team also.

New Orleans Hornets

Last Year: David West 

This Year: David West

I hesitate to put West in this spot—technically, David is often used as the team's first option on their offense. But Chris Paul is more of a scoring threat and the one that opposing teams are ultimately trying to stop, hence West as the second option.

I could also have put West and Paul down as a shared first option, but after that there is no definitive second option. Peja could be. Or Posey. Pargo could have been. Chandler doesn't qualify as an "option" in my eyes, as he is more of a clean-up man and largely plays off of Paul (though this is a good thing, as he is quality at what he does).

Oklahoma City Thunder

Last Year: Jeff Green, Chris Wilcox 

This year: Jeff Green, Russell Westbrook, Chris Wilcox
 
They are here. Unfortunately, after Kevin Durant, there is no set second option, though OKC does have various players who could step up to fill that void. But it's whether this will actually happen that is the question.

Jeff Green looks to have a solid sophomore season and Russell Westbrook really impressed in the summer leagues. It could be a improved season for the Thunder, but in the Western Conference that will be no easy feat.

Phoenix Suns

Last Year: Shawn Marion, Leandro Barbosa, Grant Hill    

This Year: Shaquille O'Neal, Leandro Barbosa
 
This was a tough one. First, I decided that Steve Nash and Amare Stoudemire both share the first option spot. The offense runs through Nash and the team is nothing without him, but the same is also true for Amare.

Then there's the rest of the team. You could make a good argument for half of the roster being a second option—on any given night, Barbosa, Bell, Diaw, Hill and now Shaq could be a second option (at least under D'Antoni's reign—things may be different with Terry Porter).

Most consistently, however≤ it is likely to be Barbosa and possibly Shaq.  Whether you like it or not, the Big Diesel is always going to be a threat. HINT: That's why they still bother to double-team him.

Portland Trailblazers

Last Year: LaMarcus Alridge  

This Year: LaMarcus Alridge, Greg Oden
 
This is another team who have many players that could all be scoring options and have great depth. Brandon Roy is the indisputable first option and Alridge is another quality option. Oden, while he is not designed to be a large cog in the offense for the team—at least at the start—could still work himself into it very easily.

Sacramento Kings

Last Year: Ron Artest 

This Year: Brad Miller, Beno Udrih
 
The scoring machine that is Kevin Martin is easily the first option for the team, and Ron Artest was a great second option. Artest has now departed, but there are several players that could step up to fill the scoring void.

Brad Miller is a veteran with good offensive skills, and Beno Udrih did show some promise last year. Towards the end of the year, the Kings played spoiler to several possible playoff teams.  Quincy Douby and Francisco Garcia were a big part of that, so they are also in the running for the second option.

San Antonio Spurs

Last Year: Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili   

This Year: Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili

The Spurs are another team that takes full advantage of its role players, more so than any other team in the league. Because of this, I had to give a shared second-option spot to Parker and Ginobili, as opposed to a three-way first option spot with Tim Duncan, who is still the main option. Finley, Bowen, Oberto will still be there, and will still be as effective as ever.

Utah Jazz

Last Year: Mehmet Okur

Last Year: Mehmet Okur, Ronnie Brewer
 
I've decided to give the first-option spot to the duo of Deron Williams and Carlos Boozer, because they are both so integral to the Jazz. Okur is a talented offensive player, and Ronnie Brewer is really starting to show some promise. Kirilenko is still an important part of the team, but he is not really part of the offense—more of a Tyson Chandler type, like I mentioned earlier.

And there we have it, the second options for the Western Conference.  If you take them away, the team will suffer. Some will become the first options over time, some will simply be great at what they do now. Either way, they are not to be taken lightly.

Here's my quick top five, in no particular order:

1. Kevin Garnett/ Ray Allen
2. Tony Parker/ Manu Ginobili
3. Andrew Bynum/Pau Gasol/Lamar Odom
4. David West
5. Caron Butler