These NBA Benches Were Better Than The Starters

Описание: What if I told you some of the most successful NBA teams didn’t lean on their starters, but on the guys coming off the bench?
These weren’t your ordinary, run of the mill second units. These were the guys that helped take over games, thrust playoff runs, and raise banners.
These benches were so good, that they could’ve been starters for another team. But how?
First, let’s rewind back to 2011.

2011 Oklahoma City Thunder
The 2010-2011 Thunder were not expected to have success this year. They were not expected to go far. They were still a work in progress—Kevin Durant was just 22, Russell Westbrook 22 as well, both learning the balance between takeover mode and team basketball. But the secret weapon wasn’t in the starting lineup. It was sitting on the bench, waiting to tilt games in Oklahoma City’s favor.
The Thunder’s reserves weren’t household names, but they had the kind of chemistry that young contenders usually lack. James Harden, Nick Collison, Eric Maynor, and Daequan Cook gave OKC the stability that their explosive stars sometimes struggled to provide. While Durant and Westbrook brought raw talent and volatility, the bench brought order, spacing, and in Harden’s case—something that looked suspiciously like star-level creation.
Harden, in only his second season, averaged 12.2 points, 2.1 assists, and 3.1 rebounds in 26 minutes per game. On paper, those numbers were modest. In reality, he was the glue. When he checked in, the pace slowed down, the ball moved side-to-side, and suddenly Oklahoma City was playing fast, frantic—and more importantly, they were playing smart. Harden ran pick-and-rolls with patience rare for a 21-year-old, manipulating defenders with hesitation dribbles, slick passes, and timely drives. It wasn’t Durant or Westbrook setting up second-unit buckets. It was Harden, orchestrating like a seasoned veteran.
By the postseason, his responsibilities outgrew the “bench guy” label. He began to finish games. Thabo Sefolosha might have been the defensive starter, but Harden was the one Scott Brooks trusted when it was time to score in crunch time. The Western Conference got its first real glimpse of how dangerous he was becoming.
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