NBA Awards Watch: Week 1
By Ben Nadeau
Sixth Man of the Year
1. Ryan Anderson, New Orleans Pelicans
I was terribly tempted to put one of the other two in the No. 1 spot, but, for now, we’ll go with New Orleans’ Ryan Anderson.
The sharp-shooter appears as if he’ll be the first player off the bench as Anthony Davis and Dante Cunningham currently reside in the power forward and center positions. Anderson is just a career 38 percent three-point shooter, but he will get plenty of burn in an already depleted Pelicans’ rotation.
If Davis is going to win MVP and bring New Orleans back to the playoffs, he’s going to need a sidekick.
The best part of Anderson is his lack of shyness, so when he finally checked into the game on Tuesday against the Golden State Warriors, he started letting it fly immediately. Unfortunately, the Pelicans were pretty overmatched against the Warriors, so it’s tough to make any concrete conclusions, especially after just one game.
Anderson’s Line of the Week: 10/27 vs. GS — 9 points, 6 rebounds, 1 assists, 1 steal, 0 blocks, 3 turnovers, 2-7 FG%, 1 3PM, 29 minutes
Week Grade: B-
2. Isaiah Thomas, Boston Celtics
Do people actually believe this Boston Celtics team is capable of winning 50-plus games this year, or do they just desperately want the prestigious franchise to be good again? Undoubtedly, if those fantasies are to come true in 2015-16, they’ll need Isaiah Thomas to go bananas for the entire 82-game spread.
Thomas’ story isn’t a new one and surely you’ve all heard that he averaged 19 points and five assists per game after coming over at the deadline from the Phoenix Suns.
Either way, it’s a bit of crowded backcourt in Boston with Evan Turner, Marcus Smart, Terry Rozier, and R.J. Hunter all likely to factor in at the guard spots as well. But, if anyone can defy the odds again, it’s Isaiah Thomas.
3. Tristan Thompson, Cleveland Cavaliers
Tristan Thompson, who finally got paid last week, will immediately become an important part of the Cleveland Cavaliers puzzle. After sobering injuries to both Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love in the 2015 playoffs, Thompson was thrust into the spotlight and he took the opportunity and ran with it, averaging 9.6 points, 10.8 rebounds, and 1.6 blocks per game.
You can always pencil in Anderson Varejao for some extended time in the trainer’s room and the Cavaliers are likely to create a new chunk of time for their shiny and expensive toy. Thompson played 25 minutes in Tuesday’s season opener against the Bulls and it probably didn’t go as well as he imagined it would.
After missing almost everything this summer while he held out, Thompson looked noticeably rusty. Expect him to shake it out and start putting up great lines again sooner rather than later.
Thompson finally, and deservedly, got paid for his unbelievable NBA Finals, but, now, can he go even higher?
Thompson’s Best Line of the Week: 10/27 vs. CHI — 2 points, 12 rebounds, 0 assists, 1 steal, 0 blocks, 1 turnover, 1-4 FG%, 25 minutes
Week Grade: B-
Honorable Mentions: Joakim Noah, Chicago Bulls; Andre Iguodala, Golden State Warriors; Donatas Motiejunas, Houston Rockets; Ty Lawson, Houston Rockets; Kevin Martin, Minnesota Timberwolves; Paul Pierce, Los Angeles Clippers; Jamal Crawford, Los Angeles Clippers; Lou Williams, Los Angeles Lakers; C.J. McCollum, Portland Trail Blazers.
Next: The Next Russell Westbrook