NBA: Which teams have had the best benches in 2017-18?

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NEW YORK, NY – APRIL 12: Kyle O’Quinn #9 of the New York Knicks celebrates the 114-113 win over the Philadelphia 76ers at Madison Square Garden on April 12, 2017 in New York City. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images) /

4. New York Knicks

Yeah, that’s right.

The Knicks aren’t exactly metric darlings from a bench perspective, but they’ve got just enough firepower to land themselves a spot on this list. Although they’re around the middle of the pack in net rating, the Knicks bench is first (FIRST!) in offensive rebounding percentage, second in total rebounding percentage, eighth in assist percentage, and third in assist ratio.

Those numbers tell a lot of the story, to be honest. Kyle O’Quinn, Lance Thomas and Doug McDermott all fly around around the floor trying to chase down loose balls, wrangle in rebounds, and consistently look to make the extra pass when the ball swings. Frank Ntilikina leads the league in steals per 36 minutes, and Michael Beasley is a walking bucket. I had to double-check the numbers and then check them again, but yep, the Knicks bench is good.

On top of all that, Joakim Noah has been (wisely) getting DNP’s from Hornacek, Willy Hernangomez — seemingly a crown jewel of the franchise just six months ago — struggles to get minutes, and Damyean Dotson, the promising rookie from the University of Houston, keeps his butt parked on the bench most games.

As the season continues, I would expect the bench numbers to waver in some categories, but I do think the New York bench will be a strength of the team for the remainder of the season.

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