bench play for contenders

A post by Kevin Arnovitz over at TrueHoop takes a look at the benches of playoff contenders and has some rather nice things to say about the Blazers:

Few teams have a second unit that has sculpted a more distinct personality than Portland's core bench players: The Spanish Armada of Rudy Fernandez and Sergio Rodriguez, the unguardable freakish jump shot of Travis Outlaw, and -- when Greg Oden is healthy -- the militantly efficient Joel Przybilla. It isn't a stretch to suggest that Portland has as many as nine players on its roster that would start for most NBA teams.

This depth affords Nate McMillan not only the opportunity to rest his starters, but a great deal of flexibility. Both Outlaw and starter Nicolas Batum are effective small forwards, but in entirely different ways. The same is true at point guard, where starter Steve Blake's steadiness is complimented by the creativity of Sergio Rodriguez -- to say nothing of rookie Jerryd Bayless' skills as a combo guard.  Both Przybilla and Oden are strong defensive presences, and if the Blazers need to spread the floor, Outlaw has the length to play the 4.  

If the Blazers aren't still playing on Memorial Day, it won't be because there weren't enough tools in the shed.

Now I know there hasn't been great consistency coming off the bench as of late, what with injuries screwing up the rotation and perhaps a bit of fatigue factoring in, but Arnovitz is right on with his analysis of the team.  There is some fantastic talent riding the pine, the trick is just harnessing it and making the players perform.  This means inserting them into the right situations and at the right time (looking at you here Nate).  One thing about the bench (with the exception of Joel who i feel can fill in anywhere) is that they are not great all-around players; they're specialized for various styles of play and need to be managed well to be successful.

One issue not raised in the post is how this bench (which has struggled with confidence issues for a while now) will respond mentally to the challenge of the playoffs.  If it ends up that the Blazers have a "throw away" game here at the end of the season (not likely, I know) where they can't help themselves by winning, I'd love to see some bench players get the start and see what they can do with it. 

Also, this article backs my assumption that the team should be aiming for a first round matchup against New Orleans.  That's probably the best bet of getting through the uncomfortable first playoff series for these guys.  Thoughts?