When the Portland Trail Blazers were 10-3 and life was good, one of the biggest stories was their revamped bench. Where a team like the Toronto Raptors, who had experienced regular season success and post-season disappointment changed their entire context by trading for Kawhi Leonard, the Blazers opted for subtler changes. Changes that included signing Nik Stauskas and Seth Curry and playing Evan Turner as the full-time backup point guard. They were adjustments around the margins and internally that looked to be paying major dividends earlier this season.
I even wrote a story just drooling over Portland’s excellent depth 12 games in.