"Maybe the rotations happen a little bit earlier and rests (for the starters) are a bit longer, but it's not going to be dramatic," Raptors coach Jay Triano said yesterday.

Instead of asking the young end-of-the-benchers to do something they're not likely to ever be asked to do consistently, Triano - and general manager Bryan Colangelo - will be watching closely to see how they handle what could be their future assignments.

Are they willing to play limited roles?

Do they try to fit into the flow of the game when they get in or do they try to dominate in a failed plan to impress the bosses?

Can they handle short stints and make an impact?

"The two big question marks are Quincy Douby and Patrick O'Bryant," Triano said of the guard and centre, respectively.

"Obviously, teams around the league thought enough of them to draft them high (O'Bryant at No. 9 by Golden State in 2006; Douby at No. 19 the same year) and Bryan thought enough of them to bring them in.

"We've got to look to see if we concur with teams that have had them before or if they can help us."

The need for bench depth was never more glaring than in the game that finally ended Toronto's playoff aspirations once and for all. Except for a good eight minutes in the fourth quarter from Roko Ukic when the Raptors made a belated run at getting back in a game against the Knicks, no one off the bench did anything.

The Knicks, hardly the deepest team in the league either, had a 41-14 advantage in bench scoring, just the kind of bad production from the backups that's killed the Raptors repeatedly this season.

But the final six games of the regular season probably aren't going to give a good enough baseline to see whether Douby or O'Bryant, neither of whom have fully guaranteed contracts anywhere next season. Mensah-Bonsu, who has come plummeting back to earth in the last three games after a meteoric start with Toronto, is also a free agent in the summer.