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

2. Houston Rockets

Arguably the best team in the NBA at the moment, and certainly the hottest, the Rockets have always owed a lot of their playing style and depth to the progressive willingness of general manager Daryl Morey. Morey did his damn thing this offseason in acquiring Chris Paul, P.J. Tucker and Luc Mbah a Moute.

Mbah a Moute and Tucker, both of whom got starts last season with playoff teams, have embraced the bench and been instrumental in turning the Rockets bench into one of the best in the NBA.

First in net rating, second in offensive rating and fifth in defensive rating, the Rockets bench thrives on both sides of the ball. With both Harden and Paul healthy, Mike D’Antoni commonly staggers the rest of his two star point guards to ensure that one is on the floor at any given time. One huge area where Houston has improved its bench is on the defensive glass. Last season, the Rockets were 26th in defensive rebounding percentage; this season, the Rockets are third in that category.

Eric Gordon played so damn well when Chris Paul went out that you would have to consider starting him if he were replacing almost anyone else. After averaging 22 points per game over his 13-game starting stint, Gordon is now just another cog in the machine that is the Houston Rockets bench rotation.

They even have Zhou Qi, the subject of fans’ patronizing cheers as he heaves shots in pursuit of a garbage time bucket, much like the role Boban Marjanovic had to Spurs fans some years ago.

As great as Houston’s bench has been, they’ve played only 448 minutes, which ranks 26th in the league. Considering Houston is leading the league in point differential (+11.2), their bench should be playing a lot more and their starters should be getting much more rest. For this reason, they take the second slot on my list.