NBA / Mar 6, 2008 / 8:06 am

Sixth Man(u) of the Year

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It’s become clear by now that the MVP race is a two-man deal: Kobe and LeBron. And even if the Hawks make the playoffs, the prospect of Al Horford unseating Kevin Durant as Rookie of the Year seems highly unlikely.

Add the Sixth Man of the Year to the list of NBA regular-season awards that don’t require a very diverse debate. But before naming the guy I think has to run away with the hardware, I’ve always held the belief that the Sixth Man trophy has to go to someone on a playoff (or at least above-.500) team. Anyone can put up numbers coming off the bench for a bad team: not only are you getting lots of garbage-time minutes, you’re also getting lots of opportunities to put up a lot of shots in games where your team is getting beat and your green light is brightened. If you’re going to be rewarded for what you do coming off the bench, it should be for a good team, where you’re getting valuable buckets (or boards or assists or steals or whatever it is you do) in meaningful games. History backs me up. The Sixth Man winners of his decade have all been on playoff teams: Leandro Barbosa (’07 Suns), Mike Miller (’06 Grizzlies), Ben Gordon (’05 Bulls), Antawn Jamison (’04 Mavs), Bobby Jackson (’03 Kings), Corliss Williamson (’02 Pistons), Aaron McKie (’01 Sixers) and Rodney Rogers (’00 Suns).

So who’s the man this year? Looking at the ’08 field, I’d take out anyone who’s not in position to be playing beyond mid-April. That includes Ben Gordon, who despite dropping 19 points a game and leading his team in scoring, plays on a borderline-awful Bulls team.

Looking at the League’s quality teams, there are a few notable Sixth Man candidates: Barbosa (16.5 ppg), Jason Maxiell in Detroit (7.7 ppg, 5.4 rpg), Kyle Korver in Utah (10.1 ppg), Luis Scola in Houston (9.1 ppg, 5.5 rpg), Jordan Farmar in L.A. (9.5 ppg), Linas Kleiza and J.R. Smith in Denver (11.3 ppg; 10.7 ppg), Jerry Stackhouse in Dallas (10 ppg) and Louis Williams in Philly (11.2 ppg), and if the Blazers can get back into the postseason picture, you have to include Travis Outlaw (13.7 ppg, 4.7 rpg).

As it stands now, though, the obvious Sixth Man of the Year winner is Manu Ginobili. True, Manu might as well be a starter. And the San Antonio haters probably think Pop just brings him off the bench to pad the team’s trophy collection, because once Manu checks in during the first quarter of a Spurs game, he spends the rest of the night on the floor with the other starters and he’s never not on the court in crunch-time. But since he qualifies as a backup, Manu’s 20.5 points (tops on the Spurs), 5.0 rebounds, 4.6 assists (second to Tony Parker) and 1.6 steals per game (first on the team) makes him the top dog in the Sixth Man field. He’s the go-to guy when the Spurs need a bucket and he delivers, and even on his off shooting nights, he can dominate a game with his gambling defense and just by generally wreaking havoc.

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  • srb

    James Posey please thanks

  • http://www.werner.com.ar Andy W

    I think he got shafted last year and agree with ESPN: he’s the best Sixth Man EVER. How many other candidates were legitimate (snubbed) Finals MVPs and All-Stars (snubbed again)?

  • Celts Fan

    none, he should be a starter. he’s not a real 6th man even though he qualifies. he’ll win the award and deserves it, but let’s be real, he’s not a real 6th man as much as just being put in that role early.

    the best “real” 6th man has to be Korver thanks to the HUGE impact he’s made on the Jazz (jumping them a level from “punchy playoff team” to legit title contender)

    having said that, it doesn’t matter, Manu’s the best 6th man this year even if he shouldn’t be a 6th man…

  • fallinup

    For some reason, Manu has always been more effective coming off the bench. Pop messes with him every year. He’ll start him to begin with, then when it’s time to pick up the pace, Manu expects to be demoted to the bench. In all, it’s not how you start games, it’s how you finish games. Manu deserves the 6th man Award hands down.

  • http://www.alltexasforums.com rangerjohn

    i dont get this, why is it that no one (fans of other teams)thing manu is a “real” sixth man? because he plays 31 minutes? well looking back at the last few years the average is about 30 minutes, so does 1 minute take that away from him? is it that manu is just that good the other “sixth men” cant hang with him? is it that he is in during the crunch time (so was ben gordon, so was mike miller so is barbosa) that is what makes them the best 6th men. korver has helped hi team but look at the numbers, is he better then manu? i mean he is scoring half as many points, he has not even 1/4 of manus rebounds or assists. he is a good addition but i see him as more of a 7th man.
    james posey LMAO what ever celtics fan. i mena other thne more rebounds, korver is a much better pick then posey. (i would go with big baby before posey)

    bottom line all the spurs haters are gonna try to take anything they can away from a spur so they talk trash about manu, MANU IS THE MAN!
    SIXTH MAN THAT IS!!!!

  • penske1

    Is there a max number of minutes a player can play to qualify for the 6th man award?

  • http://nerditry.com evan

    If you don’t think that a playoff appearance could make the difference in the Rookie of the Year, go back to 2002/03.

    Most everyone agreed that the difference between Amare winning ROY over Yao was the Suns getting into the playoffs. On that team, KD hasn’t even been their best player overall this year, though I can’t see them as having a best player at all.

  • Myrie

    6th man started out as a good race into December (Jason Terry was killing off the bench in Dallas, Leandro Barbaosa picked up where he left off last yr for Phoenix and Manu Ginobli in SanAn).

    As the season has gone forward, its clear the winner should/will be Manu Ginobli.

    Just give it to him and tell him to take care of his bald spot.

  • http://GeeC2.com GEE… Imma turn this mutha OUT!

    Manu got this hands down

    Rookie of the Year should got to Al “The Tyrant” Horford.
    KD has had a great year considering all he has been through in regards to changes with that team.
    Still consistent wise, playoff wise, and giving you the dub dubs, Al should get it.

    MVP is LeBron’s. Print it!

  • Gmoney

    why shouldn’t horford win ROY?! please submit a good case for Durant. he’s ONE dimensional. He’s in there to chuck shots, bottom line. He doesn’t play D, he doesn’t pass, he’s had absolutely no impact on the Sonics. Horford is a beast. He can run the break, rebound, and score. Durant is nowhere on my radar for best rook.

  • dagwaller

    Yea, I’m with you on this one Dime, except for when you said that KD should/would win rookie of the year. Obviously, from the other posters, I’m not the only one. In fact, I don’t even hear all that much about him on TV (ESPN/TNT/ABC). I hear more about Horford. Hopefully the voters have been paying attention, too. KD’s ceiling may be higher, but for this year, I’d give it to Horford.

  • YallAllReadyKnow

    emmanuelle ginobli is a lil punk bitch. no one should ever give him any awards. they should call him for the 4-step travel he be taking every once in a while too.

    this rookie class sucks. and greg oden would not have made any difference. kevin durant is on a heat check every game and jeff green was a wasted top pick. al horford is aight, but luis scola has had an equal impact.

    the nba should scrap the award this year and hold it off til next season. these rooks suck.

  • http://GeeC2.com GEE… Oh LORD I done found my swaaag

    lol you suck!

  • Celts Fan

    agree that Horford should be considered for ROY. Durant’s shooting percentage is way too low (not his fault, no rookie should have to be the best player on his team before he’s ever played a minute in the NBA) and Horford is LEGIT. I’m being swayed more and more each day…

    Our problem w/ Manu as the 6th man is just that he should be a starter. No one’s saying he shouldn’t win it, he should and will. Just that everyone knows he’s the best 2 guard on that team (and 2nd best player) and as such, should CLEARLY be starting and only isn’t to give extra punch to the 2nd unit. I think that’s a fair point.

    SRB, Posey’s been great for us this year with what we’ve asked him to do, but he’s not the 6th man of the league (though he would be our candidate for that over Big Baby RangerJohn, and by the way, it wasn’t me that said that retarded crap, so don’t be throwing me under the bus)

  • control

    Myrie, Manu only has a bald spot because even his hair has trouble covering him!

    Manu is a fucking idiot, and his play style is probably the worse thing to hit the NBA ever, but according to the guidelines for the award, he is the obvious winner.

    Krover would be the TRUE 6th man, but with that picture of him curling up in the fetal position, with tears in his eyes and shouting like a baby going around the internet, it would be hard for him to get his props (or even an ounce of respect).

  • http://www.dimemag.com Austin Burton

    Rookie of the Year was Durant’s award to lose from Opening Night, just like LeBron in 03-04. I agree he hasn’t had a spectacular year, but he hasn’t done enough to lose the award. He’s still averaging 19 points and has some game-winners on his resume. Plus, he’s more valuable to his team than Horford.

  • http://GeeC2.com GEE… Oh LORD I done found my swaaag

    Agreed it was his to lose.

    I think he has lost it.

    Game winners because he has to shoot them. Who else they gone trust for real?

    We all know he has way more of a green light than Al, so that is unfair in some respects. It’s a lot of rookies that wish they got half KD attempts.

    More Valuable to his team…yea that is true but look who his team is. If he was on Atl. he would probably be more a points contributer and that’s it. Al is bringing way more to the table and consistently.

  • Sheedfan87

    Austin, do you think someone like Williams who may be on a sub .500 playoff team is more deserving than an Outlaw whos team could finish over .500 but has very little chance at making the playoffS?

  • word

    it’s 100% Manu, Ben Gordon is prime example of anyone can score off the bench for a shitty team. Bulls are horrible. Although Gooden was a good acquisition.

  • Celts Fan

    very true Austin, just think that Horford is gaining and gaining quickly. If he puts up a lot of double doubles and the Hawks can jump into the Playoffs at the 6 seed (thereby avoiding the Pistons and Celtics) you have to at least consider it.

  • http://www.dimemag.com Austin Burton

    I’m tempted to put Outlaw ahead of someone like Lou Williams because Outlaw’s team is better even if they miss the playoffs, but getting in is getting in; if the Sixers get in, Williams has more clout with me. At the end of the day, people will remember whether you were a playoff or a Lottery team, not what your record was.

  • SAS Sizzle

    I love all the Manu hate, just downright funny sometimes. One day he is clearly a starter coming off the bench and the next day he is a “role player” that is nowhere good enough to be on the floor with someone like Kobe. Make up your damn mind haters, ya LA SACK RIDERS ya!

    And if Ginobili’s aggressive style of play is the worst thing to have ever hit the NBA, well okay if you say so bud. I know you are referring to the flopping but my point is that you still must acknowledge the all-out effort to be fair. Unless you’re a punk bitch that is! Really we know it is obviously jealousy that he is not on your favorite team. Now shhh…

    Whomever said POSEY, wow man, think before you type/talk. I wouldn’t even have him on a fantasy squad! Unless you were joking, in which case: good one!

    Horford probably deserves ROY but we all know how media votes work. Durant is probably still a “shoe-in” realistically speaking.

  • SAS Sizzle

    whomever has the bigger nike contract will win roy

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