James Harden and 10 Backups Ready for Starting Roles with NBA Teams

If we learned anything from the 2011 NBA Finals, it's that you can have three of the best players in the NBA in your starting lineup, but without a strong bench player or two, you cannot get the job done.

These 10 players have become some of the NBA's most elite bench players and are primed to step into, or back into, starting roles with their respective team or be dealt to a team in need of a strong starting player.

Taj Gibson

Taj Gibson, the Chicago Bulls' No. 26 overall selection in the 2009 NBA draft, has emerged as one of the best bench players in all of the NBA over the course of the past two seasons.

Last season, Gibson averaged 7.1 points and 5.7 rebounds per game with the Bulls. Although Gibson only started 19 games for Chicago last season, he averaged more than 20 minutes per game and shot almost 50 percent from the field.

Jamal Crawford

NBA veteran Jamal Crawford, who made his league debut in 2000 with the Chicago Bulls, is a former Sixth Man of the Year Award winner and was one of the Hawks' best players last season.

In 76 games with Atlanta last season, Crawford averaged 14.2 points, 1.7 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game. In addition to shooting 42 percent from the field and more than 85 percent from the line, Crawford was an asset to the Hawks and a key reason why they made the playoffs this season.

Jason Terry

After struggling in the first few games of the 2011 NBA Playoffs, Mavericks sixth man Jason Terry found his touch in the NBA Finals and scored 15 or more points in all but the first game of Dallas' championship run.

Over the course of the entire season, Terry averaged 15.8 points, 1.9 rebounds and 4.1 assists per game. He shot 45 percent from the field and 36 percent from beyond the arc, becoming one of the team's emotional leaders down the stretch.

Brandon Bass

Late last season and into the playoffs, the Orlando Magic began to utilize Brandon Bass' skills and elected to move him into the starting lineup. However, because Bass spent much of the season coming off of the Magic bench, he's earned a spot on this list.

Bass averaged 11.2 points and 5.6 assists per game over the course of last season. The sixth-year player out of LSU shot 51.5 percent from the field as well, his second consecutive season of shooting better than 50 percent.

Lou Williams

Philadelphia 76ers guard Lou Williams, a second-round pick in the 2005 NBA draft, has emerged as Philadelphia's best bench player over the course of the past few seasons.

In the 2010-2011 season, Williams averaged 13.7 points and 3.4 assists per game and shot roughly 40 percent from the field. He appeared in all five of the 76ers' games against the Heat in the playoffs, in which he averaged more than 25 minutes per game. In the Sixers' one win in the series, Williams scored 17 points and shot nearly 43 percent from the field.

Lamar Odom

Los Angeles Lakers forward Lamar Odom won the NBA's Sixth Man of the Year Award this season for his contributions off the bench in what was his twelfth season in the league.

Last season, Odom averaged 14.4 points per game off the bench as well as 8.7 rebounds and three assists. He shot 53 percent from the field, well above his career average of 46.9 percent, and scored well into the double digits in all but two of the Lakers' games in the postseason.

Nate Robinson

Although we didn't see too much of Oklahoma City guard Nate Robinson during the team's playoff run last season, he is still primed and ready to start if and when he is called upon.

Last season, Robinson averaged 6.8 points per game and just shy of two rebounds and assists with both the Boston Celtics and Thunder. Robinson's numbers were far more impressive with Boston last season, but the Thunder can expect a consistent, sometimes even electric player to come off their bench again this coming season.

Thaddeus Young

Thaddeus Young, another strong bench player for the Philadelphia 76ers, has been with the team ever since they drafted him twelfth overall in the 2007 NBA draft.

Last season, Young shot 54.1 percent from the field and averaged 12.7 points per game. He was also a threat on the offensive and defensive boards, as he averaged 5.3 rebounds per game. Unlike teammate Lou Williams, Young's best postseason performances came in Sixers losses, as he scored 20 points in Game 1 and 18 points in Game 2.

Glen Davis

Glen Davis appeared in 78 games for the Boston Celtics last season and put up some of his career-best numbers in doing so.

Davis shot 44.8 percent from the field and averaged just under 30 minutes per game. Over the course of the 2010-2011 season, "Big Baby" averaged 11.7 points, 5.4 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game as well. All things considered, Davis has drastically improved from his NBA debut in 2007 and is a reliable big man for the Celtics.

James Harden

Oklahoma City shooting guard James Harden was electrifying in the 2011 NBA Playoffs. Although he didn't start in any of the Thunders' games, he shot 47.5 percent from the field and even became a dominant force off of the glass.

During the regular season, the Thunder's third overall pick in the 2009 draft averaged 12.2 points per game in just under 25 minutes. Look for Harden to not only continue to complement small forward Kevin Durant's game, but make the Thunder one of the elite teams for years to come.