Portland Trail Blazers: Ranking every projected bench in the NBA
By Andy Quach
Good: the top-15 benches in the NBA
11. Miami Heat
Projected Bench:
G – Tyler Herro
G – Victor Oladipo
F – KZ Okpala
F – Markieff Morris
C – Dewayne Dedmon
The Miami Heat pride themselves on depth and their self-admiration can continue for another season. There are a few question marks in this unit, though. Was the KZ Okpala that we saw last season sustainable? Will he actually improve after an impressive Olympics run?
Will Tyler Herro get back on track? Or was his rookie year a fluke? Will Victor Oladipo ever be the same again?
If these three guys can prove themselves, the Heat will have a deeper squad than they did in their 2020 Finals run. Add Kyle Lowry to the starting lineup and this team is a serious dark-horse contender for the 2021-2022 season.
12. Denver Nuggets
Projected Bench:
G – Monte Morris
G – Austin Rivers
F – PJ Dozier
F – Jeff Green
F – JaMychal Green
The Denver Nuggets will essentially be returning the same bench that gave the Blazers reserves — and starters, at times — fits in last year’s playoffs. They did swap out Paul Millsap for Jeff Green and at this point in their careers, Denver might’ve gotten the better end of the stick.
They still have Bol Bol who could breakout and become a serious contributor at any time and flamethrower Markus Howard up their sleeves, as well. Three things can be counted on lately; death, taxes, and extreme depth on the Denver Nuggets.
13. Dallas Mavericks
Projected Bench:
G – Jalen Brunson
G – Frank Ntilikina
F – Reggie Bullock
F – Dwight Powell
C – Willie Cauley-Stein
There’s a pretty steep drop off from the top-12 benches in the NBA to the next few, but Dallas has still crafted a decent support system for Luka Doncic. Reggie Bullock has been an underrated 3-and-D weapon for the last few seasons and should get some shine receiving open looks from Luka Legend himself.
Frank Ntilikina is a huge question mark, of course. If his run in the Olympics is an indicator, though, he could find a much better level of success playing with another international star. He’s actually a perfect fit with Doncic, if he can become an even semi-reliable spot-up shooter.
14. Portland Trail Blazers
Projected Bench:
G – Anfernee Simons
G – Tony Snell
F – Nassir Little
F – Larry Nance Jr.
C – Cody Zeller
The Blazers land here with a bench unit ranking in the upper half of the league. That’s much better than they can say for the last couple of seasons.
This squad does have plenty of room for improvement. If Simons can become a floor-general and a more consistent slasher, Nassir Little can grow into the player he was drafted to be, and Cody Zeller stays healthy, this lineup could experience a stock boom.
A top-14 floor is pretty good compared to the last couple of units we’ve seen come off the pine for Portland, though, and this depth should be a boon for their playoff success.
15. Sacramento Kings
Projected Bench:
G – Tyrese Haliburton
G – Davion Mitchell
F – Terence Davis
F – Maurice Harkless
C – Tristan Thompson
The Kings frontcourt off the bench is extremely solid, albeit a little uninspiring. The two guards, though, could make for one of the best 1-2 punches off the pine in the league.
Davion Mitchell could struggle early with the NBA’s size and physicality, but if he’s anything like what Haliburton was in his rookie year, the Kings could have an extreme surplus of talented guards that could help them make some major moves.