NEW YORK — Well, you can’t exactly call it a landslide. But it certainly was a more decisive vote than many might have anticipated. J.R. Smith, who led all reserves in scoring, received 72 first-place votes to Crawford’s 31 in winning the NBA’s Sixth Man award Monday. Jarrett Jack of Golden State received 14 first-place votes and finished third. My vote went to Smith, who had seven 30-point games in which the Knicks went 5-2. Crawford scored 30 once — one of the deciding
The Golden State Warriors are one of the surprise playoffs teams out of the Western Conference this season. Expected in the preseason to make noise if – and only if – Andrew Bogut stayed healthy, the team appeared destined for a rough start when it was reported that Bogut could miss a big chunk of the season – and he did – due to an unstable ankle that needed more time to heal than expected. Despite his absence, however, the Warriors found
If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. As cliché as that may be, it’s something that NBA coaches tend to live by in terms of player rotations. However, sometimes things break, and it’s the coach’s job to fix the mess. The Utah Jazz and Boston Celtics both have had to deal with adversity of late and have had to make the tough choice to put their most productive sparks off the bench – Gordon Hayward and Jeff Green, respectively – into the
When J.R. Smith joined the New York Knicks back in February 2012, the Knicks were 15-16 and Mike D’Antoni was still trying to figure out how to win with Jeremy Lin. Today, the Knicks are in position to win the franchise’s first division title since 1994 and still have a chance to win 50 games for the first time since 2000. For that, Smith deserves an immense amount of credit, and – despite the recent struggles of the Knicks – deserves serious
A month of the regular season remains. There is still plenty of basketball to be played and still plenty of chances for teams around the league to solidify their playoff positions. On the other hand, there is a handful of teams whose executives may be forced to look at the draft lottery and beyond, even with about 15 games remaining for most teams. The key players off the bench around the NBA are all over the league. They play for teams competing
It’s amazing what an injury to a single player, especially a star player, can do to the entirety of a 15-man roster. Recent injuries to the likes of Lakers superstar Kobe Bryant, Celtics point guard Rajon Rondo and Knicks forwards Carmelo Anthony and Amar’e Stoudemire have raised serious questions about how these teams cope without indespensable players. Some of the NBA’s best sixth men are trying to take full advantage of these very situations. What can be especially amazing about a star-driven
Finally, a chance for some our candidates for the Sixth Man Award to get time in the national spotlight. With TNT airing two extra games Tuesday, the week was filled with national TV showcases. While some candidates were able to step up, others didn’t look quite as prepared. While it’s likely that the televising network didn’t have much to do with their success, or lack thereof, the difference in production for a couple players seemed to change when the likes of
The 2012-13 regular season is heading into the home stretch, and three of California’s four teams are neck deep in postseason intrigue (leaving only Sacramento, a city and franchise dealing with plenty of intrigue even without any playoff hopes). What does the landscape look like with about 20 games to play? [Read more…]