Every year, one of the more entertaining conversations around the NBA surrounds the race for the Sixth Man Award.
While it’s never about the most shimmering and glamorous of superstars, the talk always turns to the most precious of commodities – a guy who can come off the bench and consistently inject life into his team. The award has gone to characters such as J.R Smith and Anthony Mason, stars such as James Harden and Kevin McHale, and champions such as Toni Kukoc and Lamar Odom.
The 2014-15 season has a lot of new and exciting names added into the mix, as we have some established starters surprisingly being asked to come off the bench and lead their teams’ second units. As the leaders and difference-makers off the bench separate themselves from the pack, here are some of the names you’ll be hearing.
OLD AND RELIABLE
Jamal Crawford, Los Angeles Clippers: Last season’s winner has an unofficial position basically named after him as he is the prototype of the “shoot-first, shoot-second” combo guard off the bench. Crawford comes into games with a buzz all his own and channels the energy in the arena to recharge the offense with his creativity and deep shooting range. In addition to being effective, Crawford’s dazzling ballhandling skills as well as his creative repertoire of shots and moves are also extremely entertaining, making him a virtual lock to be at least in the conversation as the best player coming off anyone’s bench.
Manu Ginobili, San Antonio Spurs: The Spurs play the game so radically different from every other team, and Ginobili is a big part of the reason why. Their success does not always translate into postseason awards, and year after year they are not given the proper respect coming into the season. (Colleague Jan Hubbard weighed in on this notion recently on this site.)The 37-year-old Ginobili will get his due (as he should) this season as well and will always be mentioned as one of the greatest players ever to come off the bench for a majority of his career.
NEW AT THE JOB
Andre Iguodala, Golden State Warriors: The best lineups in the NBA are usually not something you mess with, but new coach Steve Kerr is planning on doing just that as he is experimenting with moving the versatile Iguodala to the bench. Even while starting two subpar defenders in Stephen Curry and David Lee, Iguodala helped the team finish third overall in defensive efficiency last season. Kerr is playing with fire, but there’s a real jackpot to win if this gamble actually works. Iguodala was not getting the touches he needed with the starters, and his uneven shooting made him a poor floor-spacer. With the new role, the former All-Star and Olympian will get a larger share of the offensive responsibilities and will be able to showcase his great playmaking skills. After elevating the starting five to the top, Iguodala might be called upon to do the same for the bench unit, which finished 24th in scoring last season.
Isaiah Thomas, Phoenix Suns: It seems like every season, common wisdom fails us as we assume: “This season Thomas is going to be so good coming off the bench, he might win this award.” We know we were wrong last season, as the trade of Greivis Vazquez to Toronto made him a starter, but now we’re sure of it. And so, allow me: This season Thomas is coming off the bench and contending for this award. With Eric Bledsoe and Goran Dragic ahead of him, I’m sure of it. The team that brought us the “two-point backcourt” will surely find the minutes for Thomas, as he is not the third-best point guard on this roster by any means. Once in the game, the 5-9 Thomas will let you know it – he will make plays, jack up threes and basically wreak havoc all over the place. Starting or not, I’ve learned the hard way never to bet against the 2010 draft’s “Mr. Irrelevant.”
Lou Williams, Toronto Raptors: Not quite new as a sixth man, Williams was a strong candidate for this award back in his Philadelphia 76ers days. But he is new to the Raptors, and they hope his extra firepower can help them as they try to get deeper into the playoffs coming off their heartbreaking first-round defeat against Brooklyn. Williams is a talented scorer who was once considered one of the top high school players in the nation. In the preseason, he proved his ACL injury is behind him, along with flashing his familiar clutch-chops when hitting the game-winner against the Celtics.
One honorable mention is Ryan Anderson, who may hold the key to a successful season for the Pelicans, assuming Anthony Davis’ progression to super-stardom is a given. I think Tyreke Evens will not stick as the starting SF (with last year as evidence), and his return to the bench will hurt Anderson’s chances, as they will cancel each other out.
Oren Levi is an amateur scout, a professional writer and a diehard NBA fan. Follow him on Twitter.
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