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Why Mike Brown Should Bench His Starters On Thursday vs. Kings

By | October 25, 2012|

We’ve all seen (or at least been told, if you don’t get TWC’s SportsNet) how inconsistent and underachieving the bench has looked so far. Benching the starters on Thursday would give the reserves an opportunity to play big minutes and develop a chemistry amongst themselves.

Antawn Jamison, in particular, has been unable to find his rhythm. In seven preseason games, he’s averaged just 4.7 points on 35.9 percent shooting from the field in 23:89 minutes. Last season he averaged 17.2 points per game on 40.3 percent shooting in 33:06 minutes.

Simply put, Jamison needs to get going as soon as possible and being placed on the floor for extended minutes with the Lakers’ second unit may put him right in his comfort zone; as he’s played as a starter alongside similar talent for two seasons in Cleveland. All jokes aside, Jamison may simply need consistent touches in order to get his rhythm going and lead the bench.

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Additionally, Jodie Meeks has shown both promise and inconsistency, while Devin Ebanks had a breakout game on Friday with 20 points on 7-of-10 shooting (4-5 from three-point land). Robert Sacre has shown promise as well, and appears likely to make the final roster.

By not playing any starters, Steve Blake and Chris Duhon would be able to prove what each of them can do for this team as well–as both could be first in line to be traded should the Lakers not perform up to expectations right away. Neither player has played significant minutes thus far, and it would be a solid test to see who’s best suited to play 20-23 minutes behind Steve Nash.

It would also give Mike Brown a final look at his remaining roster, and allow him to evaluate players such as Darius Johnson-Odom, Darius Morris, Andrew Goudelock, and Robert Sacre; while also allowing him to figure out which player(s) to cut and/or send to the D-League for the regular season.

The Final Buzzer

Although I expect the reserves to perform best when mixed in with the starters, giving them an opportunity to play in a real game situation against other players would provide some valuable experience.

They would no longer inherit a points lead and be expected to keep it, but would have to create their own lead. It would also give the starters an opportunity to watch and study their backups from the sidelines, as the backups have been studying them.

Most importantly, it would give the starters a mini-break by avoiding a back-to-back situation in an effort to keep everyone as healthy as possible while not losing much rhythm.

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About the author

Suki Thind

Suki is a a graduate of Cal Poly Pomona and a contributing writer for Lakers Nation. Follow Suki on Twitter @TheRealSuki.

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  • http://twitter.com/WaynesRCworld Fastwayne

    I am split between the need for more playing time together and resting the already injured vets.  I am leaning toward just resting them, it will take more than the pre season to get this team in synch.  I’m thinking Brown will play vets in a limited capacity and give the bench more time.  Looks like the bench may be emerging, they just need more floor time. Another great article! You got me thinking on this one! haha!

    • http://www.facebook.com/suki.thind.1 Suki Thind

       Haha, thanks Wayne! I actually wrote this on Monday before Kobe & Dwight were out (see my above comment). I think they should actually play Dwight tonight, now. Rest the rest of the starters, but let Dwight run with the bench a little bit and give those guys a boost. I just didn’t want to see any starter playing in a back-to-back right now…especially Dwight. Conditioning could still be an issue, and fatigue is the easiest way to catch an injury. But since he sat out yesterday, go ahead and run him for 20-25 minutes.

  • Lakerfreak

    The bench needs time with Gasol/Howard. So I don’t like the idea of benching all the starters because the bench needs to get used to having their normal personnel out there. Which is going to be Blake/Hill/Jamison with Gasol or Howard and Ebanks or Meeks. That’s the plan for the foreseeable future. Last night was the first time that was made possible and *surprise* our bench looked good. I would like to see us start the bench with Pau at Center and rest Kobe/Nash/Howard/Metta. And then the bench could play the minutes the starters get. (Cuts Gasol’s minutes as well) and then the 3rd string guys can play the bench guys minutes. Which lets us decide between Goudelock and DJO or neither. Also gets Morris much needed PT. And allows both Meeks and Ebanks to get a good deal of time. (Side note:I hope Meeks earns the back up spot to Kobe. Way better offensive game, and a great shooter…but Ebanks is a solid defender and I think that is why he has the early nod for the spot. I saw we scientifically combine them into one person but that’s just me)

    • http://www.facebook.com/suki.thind.1 Suki Thind

       I actually wrote this article on Monday before the news of Kobe and Dwight being sidelined was out. Obviously Kobe needs to rest, but I think Dwight needs to get some time in since he got Wednesday off. I just didn’t want him playing in a back-to-back situation…or any starter for that matter. I think they should bench Nash, Kobe (obviously), MWP, and Pau tonight and let Dwight get maybe a good 20-25 minutes out there with the bench. He’ll really give them a defensive boost, and a go-to guy on offense.