Sixth Man of the Year
Spencer Dinwiddie, aged 25, is a player who was a finalist for the Most Improved Player Award last year and has made even greater progress this year, averaging a career-high in scoring while shooting 46% from the field, with 17,2 PPG to go along with 5 APG and 2,5 RPG in 28,6 of minutes played per game. He set his career high in points in a game at 39 earlier this season, in a duel which the Nets won against Philadelphia. He then followed up his night with a 25-point, 6-assist outing against the New York rivals, the Knicks. He’s come a long way since he started to play in the league, when no one knew who he was. Dinwiddie is currently helping his team to get to the playoffs, while on the bench.
Lou Williams, the two-time winner of this award, in the 2014-15 and 2017-18 seasons, is playing yet again at a high standard while coming off the bench for Los Angeles Clippers. He is a scorer by all means and is currently averaging 19,4 PPG, 5,3 APG and 3 RPG in 26,1 minutes-per-game. Lou has proven to be one of the most valuable assets you can have on your bench because not only he can shoot the ball well, but he handles the clutch time very good. He is one of the reasons for the Clippers early success this season, currently sitting at the 8th seed and battling with teams such as Lakers, Kings and Utah Jazz for a playoff spot. Given the fact that all their star players have left in the past 2 seasons, they are doing pretty good trying to earn that spot.
Derrick Rose, the former MVP and one of the most beloved players in the league, due to his injury prone career, is playing at a high level again this season, after going yet again through a lot of injuries last season, when he was traded to his actual team, Minnesota Timberwolves. Rose is averaging 18,3 PPG, 4,7 APG and 2,8 RPG while shooting 47,8% from the field, a pretty good percentage compared to other years, and he is doing all this in 28,7 minutes-per-game, the fewest in his career until now, if we exclude the last season, when he had a lot of problems. Even though his team is now on the 12th place, there is plenty of time left in the season and they can still battle for a playoff spot, given their roster full of talent.
Dennis Schroder joined the Oklahoma City Thunder this season, after playing his first five seasons of his career for Atlanta Hawks and is doing just fine at the moment. During his time with the Hawks, his role within the team was more like a leading one, and the expectancies from him were a lot higher than they are now when he is coming off the bench and the pressure is not on the same level as it was in the past. The Thunder organization made a huge deal when they got him to lead their team’s second unit. Schroder is averaging 15,7 PPG, on 42% FG, 4,2 APG, 3,4 RPG and almost a steal-per-game, in 28,3 of playing time per game, and it can be said that he is playing a solid role for the success of his team, which sits 3rd now in the West.
Domantas Sabonis is the youngest player present in this category, having only 22 years of age, but he is a promising prospect for the future, as he is averaging almost a double-double in his 3rd year in the NBA. The player who was originally drafted by the Thunder and then dealt with Indiana after just one year, in a deal that involved Paul George and Victor Oladipo, is giving his team organization reasons to be happy about picking the right players in that trade, because he is improving season after season and in this one he has 14,3 PPG on 60% field-goal percentage, 9,3 RPG and 2,8 APG in only 24,8 minutes-per-game, the fewest played compared to those mentioned above. Even though he is not necessarily the front-runner for winning this award, he is for sure a promising player for years to come in the league.
Andrei Dilean, info@brainbasketball.net
