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No bench production costs Portland Trail Blazers’ chance against Warriors

PORTLAND, OR - DECEMBER 29: Zach Collins #33 of the Portland Trail Blazers shoots the ball against the Golden State Warriors on December 29, 2018 at the Moda Center Arena in Portland, Oregon. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Sam Forencich/NBAE via Getty Images)
PORTLAND, OR - DECEMBER 29: Zach Collins #33 of the Portland Trail Blazers shoots the ball against the Golden State Warriors on December 29, 2018 at the Moda Center Arena in Portland, Oregon. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Sam Forencich/NBAE via Getty Images)

Benches matter in the NBA. On Saturday night, the second-unit let down the Portland Trail Blazers in a tough home loss.

Last night, the Portland Trail Blazers lost 115-105 against the Warriors. Rip City’s reserves combined for just 14 points, with none of the eight players scoring in double figures.

Meyers Leonard led the second unit with four points and six rebounds with a -17 plus−minus in 14 minutes. Seth Curry scored just three points on 1 of 5 shooting in 16 minutes for a -11 plus−minus, after having 11 points while going 3-for-5 from beyond the arc in Thursday’s 110-109 overtime win in Oakland.

The rest of the bench played worse.

Nik Stauskas had three points in 11 minutes, Wade Baldwin IV hit two free-throws in two minutes, and Evan Turner added just two points in 18 minutes, shooting 1-for-5 from the field and turning the ball over three times for a -17 plus−minus.

Turner had been stepping up in recent games but he really struggled in the home-and-home series with the Warriors, scoring just four points on 2 of 9 shooting with five rebounds, three assists and five turnovers in 36 minutes over the two games. This is not even close to the production he’s capable of achieving and definitely not what the Trail Blazers need from their sixth man.

Starters can take a team far in the NBA, Damian Lillard played out of his mind, scoring a game-high 40 points with five assists and he was 6-for-13 from 3-point range, Jusuf Nurkic delivered a solid all-around performance with 21 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists, doing exactly what the Trail Blazers needed him to do in order to have a chance to win and CJ McCollum added 14 points and five rebounds, but they can’t do everything.

Strong bench play is an undeniable trait in most championship contending teams, having a good rotation allows star players to rest while their team keeps them in the game. Seeing how poorly the Portland second-unit played last night, it’s actually remarkable that they lost by just 10 points against Golden State.

I said this before and I’ll say it again, this is a different team when the bench isn’t clicking. Eight players saw minutes against the Warriors last night, just five of them scored and they combined for 14 points. It was a pathetic display, they had no confidence and energy and it’s very concerning ahead of tonight’s game against the 76ers.

Last night, Lillard, McCollum and Nurkic played 39, 35 and 32 minutes respectively, so the reserves have to bounce back and help them tonight or it will be a long night for the Trail Blazers.