But my counter points would be this:

1) Players don't develop when they don't play. The lack of development of the bench is not just a matchup problem. Those guys aren't playing significant minutes against anyone with a pulse. That's a problem. Are they busts? Are they not picking up the system? You can run down a laundry list of possibilities, but at the end of the day, sometimes you need to take one on the chin so that you can get guys an opportunity to develop. If we were winning, you could lean on a good argument in favor of a short bench. But we're not winning, so why aren't they playing more? It couldn't hurt this year and it could pay dividends next year.

2) Some teams are bad matchups and so you might really need to lean on a smaller set of players in a particular game. The problem is, it isn't a particular game. The same 6 guys are logging the same huge minutes game in and game out. It has and is having an adverse affect on the guys who are playing.