Good news, everyone: It’s too early to be a downer about the Sixth Man race. While the candidates look admittedly boring today, we’re not even at the All-Star break yet. There are events coming in the not-so-distant future that will make this race exciting. For now, the candidates just seem disappointing because we’re still spoiled from last year’s perfect storm. In 2012-2013, we had J.R. Smith, Jamal Crawford and Jarrett Jack dueling it out for the top spot on a weekly basis. They
When Deron Williams returned to the court on January 20th to face the Knicks after a five-game absence, coach Jason Kidd decided to take an unexpected gamble. Instead of reinserting the three-time All Star into the starting lineup, Kidd told Williams he would ease back into the rotation by coming off the bench. [Read more…]
After starting off the season atop the Sixth Man Rankings and quickly dropping out, Phoenix Suns forward Markieff Morris has climbed his way back into the top spot following consecutive weeks of efficient scoring. Despite playing the entire month of January without star point guard Eric Bledsoe – out indefinitely due to knee surgery – Phoenix still surprisingly stands seven games above .500. They are currently the seventh seed in a loaded Western Conference. Coach Jeff Hornacek is in his first year
Last month, while I was working on my Nick Young feature, I asked Wizards guard John Wall what he thought about two of his former teammates’ divergent yet equally successful paths to relevance in the NBA. At the time, of course, Young was enjoying the hottest and most efficient scoring tear of his professional career. Meanwhile, Jordan Crawford, who had essentially replaced Young as Washington’s volume scorer in 2012, had reinvented himself as a facilitating point guard with the Boston Celtics.
To no one’s surprise, Mo Williams says he plans to opt out of his contract for next season and test free agency over the summer. Williams signed a two-year deal last summer worth $5.6 million, with 2014-2015 a player option. He was scheduled to make $2.7 million next season if he chose to opt into that deal. Portland, of course, has been the NBA’s most pleasant surprise this season and is tied for the third-best record in the league at 27-9. Williams has been a
Just as Reggie Jackson looked to be solidifying himself as the NBA’s best sixth man, Russell Westbrook got injured again. Now, with Westbrook sidelined until at least the All-Star break, it’s unclear whether Jackson will remain eligible to win the award. After all, to even be considered for the Sixth Man Award, a player must start in no more than half of his appearances. Jackson has seven starts in comparison to 25 games off the bench. As of now, his eligibility isn’t
Reggie Jackson is really, really good. Still, not that many people realize it. He’s the kind of player whose impact on his team is completely understated because his per-game numbers fail to tell the whole story. When people think of the Oklahoma City Thunder, they think of Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook putting up big numbers and carrying the team to wins. As it turns out, Jackson’s impact on the Thunder’s success is not too far behind. For the season, Jackson is averaging
It’s time for people to start taking notice of the rejuvenated Manu Ginobili and his impressive start to the season. San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich had good reason to rest Ginobili on Thursday night in Golden State. After all, through eight December games, Ginobili has averaged 14 points, 5.4 assists and 4.0 rebounds. Those numbers are impressive for any bench player. When you consider that Ginobili has put them up in just 22.6 minutes per game, it ranks him among the