5 players who should've won Sixth Man of the Year over Jamal Crawford
Los Angeles Clippers guard Jamal Crawford won his third Sixth Man of the Year award on Tuesday, an NBA record. The 36-year-old averaged 14.2 points and 2.3 assists per game. He shot 40.4 percent from the floor, 34 percent behind the 3-point line and had the third-highest usage percentage on a 53-win team.
Good for him. Crawford is one of the NBA’s genuine good guys, an insightful interview and pleasant personality. But he didn’t deserve this year’s Sixth Man of the Year trophy, and, even in a season when there was no clear-cut obvious choice, a vote for him is a lazy cast of the ballot.
Top ten of the Sixth Man vote.
— KL Chouinard (@KLChouinard) April 19, 2016
Give me the bottom five against the top five in a pickup game. pic.twitter.com/lshl82gW0d
The Clippers allowed 4.6 fewer points per 100 possessions with Crawford on the sidelines. Their offense was better without him, too. He’s inefficient, doesn’t make those around him better and might be the worst defensive player in the league who played at least 2,000 minutes this season.
Here are five bench players (though this list could go even longer) who were better.
5. Boris Diaw, San Antonio Spurs
At least one member of the Spurs had to be on here, and had it not been for Manu Ginobili missing one month after New Orleans Pelicans forward Ryan Anderson kneed him in the groin, he’d be the guy. Instead, we’ll have to “settle” with the perpetually elegant Boris Diaw.
The 34-year-old’s box score statistics aren’t very showy, but his impact is undeniable. Diaw is a load down low who sets monster screens on and off the ball, shoots threes, always makes the right decision and is consistently at least one step ahead of the defense.
He always has the last laugh.
4. Ed Davis, Portland Trail Blazers
Give Ed Davis a little more playing time, and he’s an efficient walking double-double who cleans the offensive glass and protects the rim. Playing in 81 games, he finished with a true shooting percentage of .616 (that's really good) and the fourth-highest offensive rebound rate in the league.
Portland’s defense was better with Davis on the court, and it couldn’t have shocked the NBA if general manager Neil Olshey didn’t sign him over the summer.
3. Enes Kanter, Oklahoma City Thunder
If you’re going to vote for a designated hitter, here’s your man. The Thunder was atrocious on defense with Kanter on the court this season, but he’s an undeniable bucket-getter who's impossible to box out.
Kanter played in all 82 games and averaged 21.7 points and 13.9 rebounds per 36 minutes. He was the best offensive rebounder in basketball and finished with the 10th best PER in the league. In no universe did Crawford have a better year than Kanter, but, somehow, he still finished third in the official tally.
2. Evan Turner, Boston Celtics
Stop laughing. Evan Turner had a magnificent season off the bench for the Boston Celtics. He created his own shot and great looks for others, and defended multiple positions. Turner not only fit his role like a glove, he excelled in it, impacting every game in myriad positive ways with his ability to hit tough, contested jump shots, draw double teams and switch up or down a slot on the other end.
The Celtics would’ve been in serious trouble if Turner suffered a long-term injury at any point during the season. He was their second-best ball-handler (behind Isaiah Thomas) and, more times than should be possible, their best decision maker.
Boston’s bench is an ensemble cast, but Turner’s value really stood out.
1. Andre Iguodala/Shaun Livingston, Golden State Warriors
The Warriors won 73 games, meaning they automatically had two players off their bench who had better years than Crawford. Since it’s so hard/not worth figuring out who is the superior option, let’s just call this a tie.
Livingston and Iguodala were incredible contributors on both ends all season long. The Warriors were brilliant with them on and off the court, but the duo's ability to pass, defend, exude intelligence and serve as exclamation points on countless possessions made them invaluable members of a historic team. Iguodala drains corner threes while Livingston is roughly 10000/10000 in post-up situations.
In a perfect world, they’d each get their own trophy for all the awesome stuff they did this year. And given larger roles on just about any other team in the league, they almost definitely would.
With apologies to Will Barton, Patrick Patterson, Tristan Thompson and a handful of others who have a solid case to make ahead of Crawford, these five (well, technically six) players were the NBA's most deserving for Sixth Man of the Year this season.
