Before last night’s loss to the Miami heat, the Philadelphia 76ers were 4-0 after acquiring James Harden. While that 4-0 start was fun to watch, the question to be asked is whether the team has enough bench help to win a title.
To be fair the starting five is more important than the bench and in a couple games the starting five has scored over 100 points combined. That is going to be hard to beat no matter how poor your bench is. Still, there is going to be a player or two that is going to have to give you solid minutes or clutch baskets or two during the playoffs. So, who could those bench players be?
Shake Milton – Shake Milton has shown glimpses of being a real solid NBA contributor but the problem is his inconsistency. Hopefully, Shake can get hot during a playoff run or start to become more consistent.
Danny Green– A three-time NBA champion and veteran, Danny has had his cold moments in the playoffs. At this stage of his career he is just a catch and shoot specialist. Still, he could get hot for a couple games.
George Niang – George has played better than anticipated this year and arguably has been the teams best bench piece. While not known to be good defensively, if he can continue to shoot and make a couple threes a game, he could be a key contributor.
Furkan Korkmaz – Furk is struggling, and I am not sure how much longer he will stay in rotation unless he gets hot, but he might start losing his opportunities.
Deandre Jordan, Paul Millsap, Paul Reed, Charles Bassey – Deandre Jordan could not get on the court for the struggling Lakers and Paul Millsap could not get on the court for the Nets. Paul Reed and Charles Bassey are young and not sure if can be trusted in key playoff moments yet. The hope is one of either Dandre Jordan or Paul Millsap can revive their season and give you 10 solid minutes as a back up center.
Between Shake, Green and Niang I believe either one of them will shine on the bench. If one of them has a good night and you can get good minutes from either a Paul Millsap or Deandre Jordan I believe this team has enough to contend with their starting 5. But like always time will tell.