Sixth Man Rankings: Where does Deron Williams fit in the equation?

RANK	Player	RUNDOWN	RECENT
1		MARKIEFF MORRIS, F, PHOENIX: Phoenix has won five of their last six. Morris logged perhaps the most impressive night of his short NBA career last Sunday, exploding for 27 points and 15 rebounds against the lowly Cleveland Cavaliers.	1
2		DERON WILLIAMS, G, BROOKLYN: Williams currently has 22 starts and five games off the bench under his belt. If the Nets continue to thrive, he should be content to remain his the sixth man role — and thereby qualify for the award. If so, expect the race to come down to three players — Morris, Williams and Reggie Jackson (should Russell Westbrook return in time from injury to allow Jackson to quaify).	–
3		ALEC BURKS, G, UTAH: He only played twice last week and wasn’t particularly spectacular in either performance. Still, due to the Jazz going 2-0, Burks moves up by default. He’s averaging nearly 15-4-3 over his past 10 games. Once we have a better picture of whether Jackson will qualify, it still looks like the three-man race referenced above.	4
4		MO WILLIAMS, G, PORTLAND: The Blazers had a particularly bad week, dropping two important games to Western Conference foes by 15+ points. Williams’ week was even worse. He’s averaged 4.5 points on 25% from the field with a 1:1 A/TO ratio over his last two games. He needs a big month of February to rejoin the discussion.	3
5		TYREKE EVANS, G, NEW ORLEANS: The Pelicans dropped nine straight before going on a mini run. Now, they’ve won three of their last four. Evans has been nicked by injuries and illness in 2014 but put up 23-7-7 last Sunday to guide his team past Orlando.	–

DROPOUTS: Manu Ginobili (2): Unfortunately for Ginobili, a hamstring injury that is expected to sideline him for 3-4 weeks will probably put the nail in the coffin for his Sixth Man candidacy. Conservatively speaking, he’ll miss at least 10 games. That’s simply too many to overcome for a player who didn’t necessarily have a lead to begin with.

Nick Young (5).

FIVE TO WATCH: Rodney Stuckey, G, Detroit; Vince Carter, F,  Dallas; Luis Scola, F, Indiana; Nate Robinson, G, Denver; Taj Gibson, F, Chicago.

OTHER RANKINGS: Rookie| Most Improved | MVP| Power Rankings

Jacob Eisenberg is a student at Emory University, spending the spring semester abroad, and covers the NBA for SheridanHoops.com. Check out his website and click here to follow him on Twitter.