Season Awards Primer: Sixth Man of the Year

[emplep7]

So I always want to do these articles at the end of the year to help put some context to these awards before they come out, but I thought I would start with the Sixth Man of the Year award. Often overlooked, these players play CRITICAL roles for their teams and you can often times see a correlation between the successful teams and having a solid 6th man who can score at will against 2nd units and contribute a little bit in several areas. With that said, lets take a look around the league at the serious contenders I think should be in the running for the hardware at seasons end.

Criteria for eligibility by seasons end: Minimum 55 games played, no more than 35% of total games played as a starter, and no more than 30 mpg.

Jabari Brown - Philadelphia 76ers
Stat Line - 74 GP, 0 starts, 25.5 mpg, 14.3 ppg, 2.3 apg, 2.7 rpg, 0.5 spg, 45% FG, 90% FT, 33% 3PT, EFF: 10.6

Jabari is an unheralded player in the league, but he has been as steady as a rock and a constant force for the 76ers second unit for years now. The Jabari duo for the 76ers is critical to their success (even if it is limited) as both are efficient scorers who don't hurt you from other areas on the court. Don't get me wrong, Brown doesnt come close to matching Parkers scoring output, but for a second unit hes a great asset to have to put up points in bunches. He also has the skillset that allow you to play him in multiple positions, which add to his immense value. I can't imagine how much better he would be if he didn't have TJ handicapping him - no offense TJ...well, maybe some.

Jamal Murray - Detroit Pistons
Stat Line - 79 GP, 1 starts, 27.3 mpg, 15.1 ppg, 4.0 apg, 2.1 rpg, 1.1 spg, 48% FG, 81% FT, 40% 3PT, EFF: 13.2

I mean there had to be a Piston on here, right? But regardless of my extreme bias towards Murray (anyone who tried to trade for him throughout the year knows how much I value him), he is a young upcoming star in this league. He has the rare skill set where he can score from anywhere at a highly efficient clip, while also possessing great handles and passing ability. His defense isn't star quality, but he fits great into a pressure system and can knock down a three with relative ease. At 21 years old, I'm hoping to see this upward trend continue, but he has been a revelation for our roster and gives us a ton of flexibility with his ability to come off the bench and be one of the best in the league at it.

Kentavious Caldwell-Pope - Chicago Bulls
Stat Line - 78 GP, 1 starts, 27.3 mpg, 16.0 ppg, 2.5 apg, 3.9 rpg, 1.2 spg, 45% FG, 81% FT, 32% 3PT, EFF: 14.2

Well, I have a soft spot for KCP and always will and he is showing why he continues to be a valuable player in the league. KCP was never a top level starter, but once he was moved to the bench he flourished and his shooting percentages blew up. He's continuing that trend with the Bulls, as expected under Marcos, and is putting together another excellent year which has him in consideration for the award. Known for his defense already, KCP can do it all and hes scoring at a good clip with good efficiency. If that 3 point percentage ever finds a way to get closer to that 40% mark, he would likely have this award locked up, but otherwise hes still one of the best in the league coming off the bench.

Joshua Smith - Miami Heat
Stat Line - 70 GP, 18 starts, 28.8 mpg, 18.4 ppg, 0.8 apg, 9.2 rpg, 1.6 bpg, 63% FG, 59% FT, 0% 3PT, EFF: 22.6

The player on this list with the most grind throughout the season, but what he does with those minutes is remarkable. Also the guy with the highest efficiency rating and its not even close. The big chunk literally scores at will and an unbelievably efficient rate and draws fouls will the best of them. His ability to play quality defense (although an 82 year old grandmom in a wheelchair could probably drive past him) adds to his value, but he is a staple in the middle of the Heat lineup. I was actually surprised to see that he started so few games for the Heat as I thought he was an everyday starter, but its amazing what he does with the time he sees on the court. He has to be a front runner for this award as it stands right now with a handful of games to go.

Nikola Jokic - Atlanta Hawks
Stat Line - 75 GP, 23 starts, 27.2 mpg, 14.6 ppg, 1.0 apg, 5.9 rpg, 0.9 spg, 45% FG, 88% FT, 41% 3PT, EFF: 14.5

Nikola is know as a premier stretch four and he has found his role in the CSL. He was a forgotten man for a while who held little value since he doesn't possess the qualities of a big man that typically work in the DDS3 world, but Flaming Homer has gotten the most out of Jokic this season as he is a shooting a career high from beyond the arc, adding to his value. If Jokic could rebound better and player defense, he might be one of the best and hardest to defend players in the entire league.

Bruno Cabolco - Denver Nuggets
Stat Line - 80 GP, 5 starts, 26.2 mpg, 16.2 ppg, 1.2 apg, 4.1 rpg, 0.6 spg, 48% FG, 86% FT, 41% 3PT, EFF: 13.8

Well we might finally be two years away from being two years away for this not-so-young man anymore. Bruno had a great years starting for the Heat several season ago, but his percentages were bad for a starter and it seems Myles found his niche where he excels at coming off the bench. Bruno is putting up his best Per36 scoring numbers and is doing it with career highs in FG%, 3PT% and in generating steals for the Nuggets. The team has been surging of late with the addition of Wall and even though they won't vie to the playoffs this year, it seems that Myles finally has put together a team that will definitely be in the playoff hunt for next season. Bruno will and has played a major part of that and will be a contender for this award.

Justin Harper - Minnesota Timberwolves
Stat Line - 54 GP, 6 starts, 25.1 mpg, 14.9 ppg, 0.6 apg, 5.3 rpg, 0.7 bpg, 42% FG, 65% FT, 27% 3PT, EFF: 9.6

Justin Harper is essentially a one trick pony, but he does that trick incredibly well. He was signed by rhoxxy incredibly cheap this summer and its paying off with the returns that he puts up on the score board. Granted, Stauskas is their true 6th man he has been pushed into the starter lineup due to Dion Waiters injury which projects him to be ineligible by seasons end. While Harper can score with ease, he jacks up a lot of shots and needs a lot of work on his efficiency which I'm not sure he's getting. In the end, that will take him out of the race for this award but if he gets worked on he will be a contender for this award every single season.

Tim Quarterman - Golden State Warriors
Stat Line - 78 GP, 10 starts, 27.3 mpg, 16.3 ppg, 1.1 apg, 3.3 rpg, 0.8 spg, 48% FG, 47% FT, 11% 3PT, EFF: 10.1

I love me some Tim Quarterman. This guy can play solid M2M defense and score at a very high clip. If he could his a three pointer, he is the perfect 6th man that any team would kill to have. The Warriors are playing good of late and Tim is playing a major role in that resurgence where everyone on the team has found their specific role. Quarterman comes in and spells Harden and Ross due to his versatility and the team barely misses a beat. He is a key asset to this team and another name I expect to see in the running for this award every year.

James Young - Los Angeles Clippers
Stat Line - 73 GP, 4 starts, 28.1 mpg, 18.3 ppg, 3.4 apg, 3.7 rpg, 1.3 spg, 46% FG, 86% FT, 32% 3PT, EFF: 16.1

James Young has established himself as a Sixth man role model at this point in his career. He is on this list or is winning it every single year and set the mold for what teams look for in a 6th man. Sure he still hasn't learned to shoot the three very efficiently, but he knows how to score as good as anyone else and does so with solid all around defense. The Clippers have some good pieces, but still don't know how to put them all together. Regardless, James will continue pouring it in on opposing team defenses whther hes on the Clippers, Thunder, Knicks, Generals, Prison League...it really won't matter. Oh, and he will still be another front runner for this award.

Honorable Mentions:
Lance Stephenson - Toronto Raptors
Stat Line - 79 GP, 4 starts, 24.9 mpg, 13.1 ppg, 1.2 apg, 2.8 rpg, 0.6 spg, 47% FG, 69% FT, 36% 3PT, EFF: 9.6

Mateusz Ponitka - Los Angeles Lakers
Stat Line - 75 GP, 0 starts, 22.6 mpg, 12.8 ppg, 1.7 apg, 2.1 rpg, 0.6 spg, 51% FG, 69% FT, 41% 3PT, EFF: 9.5

Malik Monk - Houston Rockets
Stat Line - 77 GP, 0 starts, 21.8 mpg, 12.2 ppg, 1.6 apg, 2.8 rpg, 0.3 spg, 43% FG, 91% FT, 46% 3PT, EFF: 10.5

Just missed criteria (or projected to miss criteria by seasons end) - Harrison Barnes due to total games played, Nik Stauskas due to games started, Mitch McGary due to minutes played.

As a side note, we have a lot of good Sixth men on teams around the league.

[KW]

I'd have to go with Joshua Smith. Those are all-star-ish numbers. He is way better than I projected

[Andrewu91]

Good list besides Smith. Can't vote for inflated stats guy. Josh Davis just put up 16-18 with 9/9/1/1

Might be biased but I have Klay as one of the front runners(only started in beginning of year and when I benched some of my other guys).

[Marcos_Beck]

I'll go KCP, Young and Joshua Smith. Not necessarily in this order.

KCP has been our leading scorer until Lauri started actually WANTING to shoot the ball. Still, he's possibly our most underrated yet most important player. It's no secret when he has a nice game we win, contributes everywhere, he's the definition of good at everything, great at nothing, yet he's loved in Chicago and also in Detroit so his contributions goes way beyond what numbers can show. Probably my vote, but might be a little biased, but I love this player so much, his O, his D is fantastic, well..

Young might have the best stats for real but he did so on New York and with the Clippers. Not much success there, but his percentages remains acceptable and his D is on par with his great efficient offensive game (and why not, overall game as well).

Joshua Smith is a different case. I don't buy into those numbers because 9 PACE and 9 ZONE helps his PPG and RPG too much. But nobody expected that player to drop those kinds of numbers anyway, not at ANY set of philosophies. What stands out the most is the absurd 63% FG though, so his scoring while being boosted by high pace and high number of possessions is absurdly efficient. Add the fact that he plays solid D as well (even though that's not needed at Miami) and you have a serious contender for the award.

[Flaming Homer]

Great article and very helpful for the decision later.
I was not following so much who is playing the 6th man role around the league. And it is surprising to me that Joshua Smith is not the starting center, never realized he comes mostly from the bench for this strong Miami team.
He is #1 in my list, just an incredible year. 2 and 3 I would go also with KCP and Young in this order.

Also nice to see that Jokic gets some credit after being know for just as the bust. He did a good job here this year and fits well with Whiteside/Kaba on his side.

[hardenwithnod]

Great read, to me this award will be Joshua Baby Shaq Smith's to lose, as the number he's putting up for a top notch team is ridiculous. There are some very good 6th man candidates for sure, and normally one of these guys would easily win the award by putting up those kinds of numbers, but Smith is something else this year.

[Rizzo]

There are a lot of great choices. I'm against Joshua Smith only because of style of play. Those numbers are certainly inflated. I'd love to see Bruno Caboclo win it as he's had a tough start to his career and it would be great to see him earn some recognition.

[Marcos_Beck]

If you don't agree to the fact that 9 pace and 9 DI inflates stats so much, try running it yourselves.

The only thing that would make me consider Joshua Smith is the 63% FG. This is absurd and would translate to a solid 14/7/2 on normal strats, simple due to the fact that he would shot very few times but would still score very efficiently.

[hardenwithnod]

I tried 9 pace, 9 zone, we scored 90 pts. lmfao!

[Marcos_Beck]

I tried 9 pace, 9 zone, we scored 90 pts. lmfao!

LOL
Try offline over the course of a full season. 1 game doesn't tell the whole story.

[Andrewu91]

If you don't agree to the fact that 9 pace and 9 DI inflates stats so much, try running it yourselves.

The only thing that would make me consider Joshua Smith is the 63% FG. This is absurd and would translate to a solid 14/7/2 on normal strats, simple due to the fact that he would shot very few times but would still score very efficiently.

So I got your Klay vote? Awesome

[Silogical]

I tried 9 pace, 9 zone, we scored 90 pts. lmfao!

LOL
Try offline over the course of a full season. 1 game doesn't tell the whole story.

If you don't agree to the fact that 9 pace and 9 DI inflates stats so much, try running it yourselves.

The only thing that would make me consider Joshua Smith is the 63% FG. This is absurd and would translate to a solid 14/7/2 on normal strats, simple due to the fact that he would shot very few times but would still score very efficiently.

Heat get about 121 offensive possessions and the Bulls get about 117 offensive possessions. If you only care about individual stats 9 pace and 9 zone isnt the way to go because the few extra points and rebounds dont make up for the loss of steals. 14/7/2 with normal strats is also laughable.

[Marcos_Beck]

I tried 9 pace, 9 zone, we scored 90 pts. lmfao!

LOL
Try offline over the course of a full season. 1 game doesn't tell the whole story.

If you don't agree to the fact that 9 pace and 9 DI inflates stats so much, try running it yourselves.

The only thing that would make me consider Joshua Smith is the 63% FG. This is absurd and would translate to a solid 14/7/2 on normal strats, simple due to the fact that he would shot very few times but would still score very efficiently.

Heat get about 121 offensive possessions and the Bulls get about 117 offensive possessions. If you only care about individual stats 9 pace and 9 zone isnt the way to go because the few extra points and rebounds dont make up for the loss of steals. 14/7/2 with normal strats is also laughable.

Try normal stats next season. Heck, try all 5s. I stand by what I said.
This is a freaking good player but he’s very similar to Tavares, same scoring, a bit more efficient, a bit worse on FT efficiency. If playing next to Simmons and Lillard every game (you regularly sit both) he would average something very close to tavares with better D and worse rebounding.

[Silogical]

LOL
Try offline over the course of a full season. 1 game doesn't tell the whole story.

If you don't agree to the fact that 9 pace and 9 DI inflates stats so much, try running it yourselves.

The only thing that would make me consider Joshua Smith is the 63% FG. This is absurd and would translate to a solid 14/7/2 on normal strats, simple due to the fact that he would shot very few times but would still score very efficiently.

Heat get about 121 offensive possessions and the Bulls get about 117 offensive possessions. If you only care about individual stats 9 pace and 9 zone isnt the way to go because the few extra points and rebounds dont make up for the loss of steals. 14/7/2 with normal strats is also laughable.

Try normal stats next season. Heck, try all 5s. I stand by what I said.
This is a freaking good player but he’s very similar to Tavares, same scoring, a bit more efficient, a bit worse on FT efficiency. If playing next to Simmons and Lillard every game (you regularly sit both) he would average something very close to tavares with better D and worse rebounding.

Better idea would be you playing 9 9 pace/zone. We;ll get to see what your team does with 4 extra possessions.

Do all my players turn to trash with normal strats? if not which ones turn to trash and which ones hold their stats?

[bt]

Even if I played McGary 1 minute the next two games he wouldn't fit under the mark but still, there's too many great candidates ahead of him I reckon.

Our strats are not great for bigs either as we're like second last in rebounding despite their good rebounding ratings.

[Marcos_Beck]

Nope, Silo. Not all your players turn into trash with normal stats. Heck, 15/7/2 with 63% FG is a fantastic stat line for a projected role player in his 2nd year in the league, picked #16, it's a better Tavares and we all know he's a very good player.
The thing here isn't even the 9 pace, as you said, increases very few possessions per game. Although 4 possessions per game means 328 possessions per regular season and I would say that's like your player playing 3 games more than any one on offense. But that isn't the case.

Case here is the 9 zone which allows you to turn the game into a shooting contest, rest your players on D, prevent fouls, and greatly increases defensive rebounding. Of course, Smith is a player which could average at least 1.5 steals and 2 blocks as a backup big and that could lead him into a 6th man of the year award with that kind of stat line (I would vote for him if that was the case), but he would be more affected to fatigue on both ends.
Don't think for a second I think every player on your team is trash, though. Dame would be much better in a more traditional setup, Simmons could lose rebounding but would keep all other numbers and improve his defensive stats... You gain some, lose some. At the end of the day I think rebounding and scoring numbers are specially inflated and it helps Smith a lot as it's his main weaknesses (def rebounding and scoring).

[Silogical]

You are so wrong when it comes to his scoring. Playing DI/FCP instead of zone is not going to cause Smith to take 5 fewer shots per game. Fatigue for a 28 min/game player is minimal. His scoring will come down based on those 4 possessions. We are talking 4-4.5 points/game for my entire team.

I dont even know why anyone even looks at total rebounds when we have rebound %. Smiths Reb % > Lauris reb %. Lauri is averaging 7.7 rebounds per game so that will give you an idea of where Smith would be.

Smith with normal strats
17.5/7.5/1.5 stls/1.7 blks/1 TO

[Ocons]

What are "normal" strats?

[Stockton12]

James Young is my pick and would be a shoe in had he stayed in New York ..dude was averaging over 20 ppg

[Myles]

Great primer, really helped with my 6MOY voting. I would love to see Caboclo win the award but I'm not sure he earned it. Definitely a good candidate but man, there are a ton of good candidates.