The role you were born to play

As NBA teams gear up for the playoffs, they'll look to these four types of role-players.

In the latest issue of The Mag, we take a look at four role-players () whose contributions to their squads come playoff time could make or break a title run. But it also got us thinking about the various types of role-players teams look for. These guys won't hang any triple-doubles on you, but they will make pretty good careers out of one specific contributing role.*

*This by no means is to suggest that Renaldo Balkman is a Defensive Player of the Year candidate or that Joel Przybilla is the best center in the league. Nor does it ignore that Bruce Bowen also developed into a reliable three-point shooter, as well as a defender. The point is simply that these are the players who, in the past, present and future, either were, are or will be in the league thanks to their prowess at one particular aspect of the game.

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