Comparing the Miami Heat and the Golden State Warriors

Bench

May 30, 2013; Miami, FL, USA; Miami Heat small forward Shane Battier (31) blocks a shot by Indiana Pacers small forward Paul George (24) during the first half in game five of the Eastern Conference finals of the 2013 NBA Playoffs at American Airlines Arena. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports

The Heat bench boasts Norris Cole, Shane Battier and Chris Anderson. The Warriors bench boasts Kent Bazemore, Richard Jefferson and Andris Biedrins. Yes, this is unfair to Carl Landry, Draymond Green and Festus Ezeli, but the Warriors aren’t paying them millions of dollars to warm the bench.

The bench is all about getting a lot for a little, players on small contracts coming on the court in big ways. Anderson demonstrates this the best, an 11-year veteran player who has not escaped his fair share of controversy plays on a $500,000 thousand contract. He has averaged five points, four rebounds and one block in his 15 minutes of action off the bench.

Andris Biedrins is two years younger, being paid nearly $8 million. He averaged more than half a point a game, three rebounds and nearly one block with ten minutes played.

Although his defensive numbers aren’t bad, Biedrins is still massively inferior to “Birdman” on both sides of the floor and is indicative of the “bang-for-buck” that the Heat are getting. I’m giving this edge to the Heat.

Edge: Heat