Denver Nuggets strong bench a key to their playoff success
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Friday 26 April 2019 07:40, UK
The consistently strong play of the Denver Nuggets' bench has been key to their playoff success against the San Antonio Spurs in their first-round series to date.
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Throughout the regular season, the San Antonio Spurs continuously relied on a strong, consistent bench unit to be the difference maker. During San Antonio's 48-34 regular season, the Spurs' bench averaged 38.2 points per game in 19 minutes of action per contest and had an average plus-minus of +1.3.
However, despite finishing the regular season with a higher-scoring bench unit, the Spurs have struggled to maintain leads when their second unit has taken the floor throughout the first round of the Western Conference playoffs.
The Denver Nuggets' second unit has consistently outperformed San Antonio's, which has allowed Denver to make late-game comebacks or extend leads in the second and fourth quarters.
"Their bench has outplayed our bench pretty consistently," Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich said before San Antonio's 108-90 Game 5 loss. [Strong bench play] is something we counted on all year, but we haven't really had that."
The numbers certainly back up Popovich's observation. Throughout the playoffs, the Spurs' bench has only averaged 27 points per game in nearly 18 minutes of playing time per game, which represents a steep decline in productivity despite only a small decrease in opportunities.
San Antonio's bench has also posted an average plus-minus of -1.9 throughout the first-round series. On the other hand, the Nuggets are getting 37.7 points per game from their bench unit, which has an average plus-minus of +0.9 in the series.
Different players have stepped up off the bench for Denver. Malik Beasley has been on fire from beyond the arc, as he has connected on 55 per cent of his three-pointers in the series.
Monte Morris has continued to be a steadying presence, averaging 8.8 points and 4.6 assists per game. Mason Plumlee has provided additional playmaking in the second unit, averaging 2.2 assists per game in less than 17 minutes per game.
In Game 3, Denver's bench showcased all its strengths throughout an 11-0 run that brought the Nuggets back into the game. Active defense, three-point shooting and ball movement were the keys throughout the run, which is exactly how Denver's bench unit operates.
Before he was inserted into the starting line-up, Torrey Craig was providing physical defense and elite three-point shooting on the second unit. With Craig now starting, Will Barton has thrived on the bench unit.
Over the past two games, Barton has scored 29 points on 10-of-21 shooting from the field, including 4-of-7 from three.
"In two games since that line-up change has been made, Will's done a hell of a job for us off the bench," Nuggets head coach Michael Malone said. "I think he has handled it with dignity, I think he has handled it with maturity. How lucky am I to have guys like Will Barton, Mason Plumlee, Monte Morris, Malik Beasley, be your bench unit?"
While the story on the playoffs is that depth plays less of a factor as a result of a team's top players playing more minutes, this first-round series between the Nuggets and Spurs is a good representation of the impact that solid, consistent bench play can have on a series.
As Denver look to close out the series in San Antonio in Game 6, the second unit will likely play a deciding factor, just as they have on a consistent basis throughout the first five games of the series.
