White Unit vs. Memphis Starters

Take a look at our bench.  It is stacked.  Stacked. In fact, let's take a look at it together.

PG: Jerryd Bayless

SG: Rudy Fernandez

SF: Travis Outlaw

PF: Channing Frye

C: Joel Pryzbilla

Bayless and Rudy are both rookies next year, so a lot of their value is based on their potential.  But they certainly do have plenty of potential.  Joel is a tested veteran who gives good defense and great rebounding in the interior.  Channing has shown that he excels playing the 4 with a big center on the floor, and this gives him that opportunity.  And Outlaw gives the white line a go-to scorer who has proven he can get his own shot.  This line-up doesn't have tons of outside shooting, but has competent scorers and very decent defensive potential [note, since this team will play as a unit, I think they have a chance of being the best defensive bench unit in the NBA.  That cohesiveness matters]

Being the stereotypical Blazers fan that I am, I naturally wanted to brag about this in as effective a way as possible.  So I will be comparing our bench unit to the Memphis Grizzlies starting line-up.  Let's take a look at that line-up below:

PG: Mike Conley Jr.

SG: OJ Mayo

SF: Rudy Gay

PF: Hakim Warrick / Darrel Arthur

C: Darko Milicic

For more on the woes of Memphis, check out their clubhouse page at ESPN.  Yup, it has a big picture of Pau Gasol.  They really update that page well!  Note that I believe Marc Gasol won't be starting, at least not at the beginning of the season.  I also believe Mayo will have trouble proving himself better than either members of the Grizzlies' current backcourt.

So let's do this head-to-head:

Bayless vs. Conley

Bayless is an unproven rookie.  Conley is a somewhat proven sophomore.  Conley distributes the ball well and has above-average handles.  He won't be confused with a great shooter, but you can't leave him wide-open.  Bayless will be in the game as an energetic defender and shooter.  I wouldn't be surprised if he has trouble playing as a true point guard for the white unit, and we won't rely on him to run the offense much.  If Bayless plays to the peak of his potential, then he wins this matchup.  As it is, Conley is the proven commodity [didn't think you'd hear that phrase any time soon, did you?], and has the advantage going into the season.

Fernandez vs. Mayo

Rudy is the MVP of the best basketball league outside of the NBA.  He comes in with an NBA-ready body and a game a bit like Ginobili's.  He was able to score some buckets in Spain based on superior athleticism, but he won't be able to do that in the NBA.  He's not known for his defense, but has the physical tools to be a capable defender. Mayo was the consensus #3 pick in the draft.  Memphis obviously has high hopes for him fitting into their system, since they traded a very capable Mike Miller for his rights.  Mayo is a slasher, with good handles and an eye for distributing.  His game is a bit like Rudy's, but I think Rudy will come into the league at a higher level.

Outlaw vs. Gay

Besides Roy and Aldridge, Gay is the best player to come out of the 2006 draft.  He plays a bit like Outlaw, and both are capable of playing the 4.  They can both score i bunches, and rebound decently for a SF.  The biggest difference is that Gay has proven himself as a starter, and Outlaw has only been successful playing in somewhat limited minutes off the bench.  For now, Gay is the embodiment of what Outlaw could be.  Like Bayless, if Outlaw played to the peak of his potential, he would win this matchup.  Otherwise, you'd have to give Gay the advantage here.

Frye vs. Warrick

Frye is a long, athletic outside-shooting big man.  Last year, he played best when he had a big body to play next to.  In the white unit, he'll have Pryzbilla to do the heavy lifting of rebounding and defense, allowing Channing to focus on taking 18-foot jumpers.  Warrick is a very athletic big man.  A bit like Outlaw, he'll likely be able to drive past Channing on occasion.  Still, I think Frye is a more established professional player and would win this matchup by an inch. Note that rookie Darrel Arthur could get minutes here, but Channing's experience would trump Arthur's potential for now.

Pryzbilla vs. Milicic
Pryzbilla belongs in the NBA.  He would definitely start on a lot of teams.  One of those teams is Memphis.  Milicic struggles mightily against quality defenders and doesn't provide much defense of his own.  With Darko on the inside, Bayless, Rudy, and Outlaw can drive at will without anyone to stop them.  Pryzbilla, conversely, won't allow easy layups.  I think this is the biggest advantage for the Blazers.

Obviously, this is a rather homer-ish opinion.  This isn't something I'd recommend linking to on the Grizzlies blog.  But I think the real lesson here is that we have a chance at having a darn good bench.  The more they play together, the better they'll get, especially defensively.  The Celtics won a championship in large part due to the strength of their bench defense.  Hopefully, we can do the same.