Bench Mob vs. Knicks Bench
JUSTIN DEFEO
The Nets bench has consistently been a strength for this team all season with Andray Blatche leading the charge. Blatche is one of the league leaders in PER and can carry the Nets offense at times as its focal point. The Nets can also bring a pair of three-point shooting guards in Keith Bogans and C.J. Watson, but more important than their shooting is the defensive toughness those two provide. The wildcards are Mirza Teletovic and MarShon Brooks. When playing well, either of them are capable of swinging a half, but they both can also see sporadic minutes, depending on the matchups.
The Knicks bench recently got a boost in a major way with the return of Amar’e Stoudemire. Stoudemire gives the bench a major scoring upgrade and allows them to continue running their pick and roll attack with Stoudemire serving as the primary roller and Pablo Prigioni the ball-handler/creator. Keeping the action spread around those two JR Smith and Steve Novak. Novak is as deadly as they come as a spot up shooter and Smith’s explosive scoring is a huge asset to have off the bench. Though he’s the de facto starter, Chris Copeland has also been a major surprise as a mini-Melo, ranking second on the team in points per 36 minutes and hitting 39.2% of his threes.
Despite the scoring punch the Knicks can bring off the bench, I give the slightest of edges to the Nets bench for their mix of defense and offense.
Advantage: Brooklyn
Last: P.J. Carlesimo vs. Mike Woodson
Deron Williams vs. Jason Kidd | Joe Johnson vs. Iman Shumpert | Gerald Wallace vs. Carmelo Anthony | Reggie Evans vs. Amar’e Stoudemire | Brook Lopez vs. Tyson Chandler | Bench Mob vs. Knicks Bench | P.J. Carlesimo vs. Mike Woodson
