David Blatt Makes His Move In The NBA Awards Watch

Sixth Man of the Year

1. Ryan Anderson, New Orleans Pelicans (Last Week: 1, –)
The three-point shooting power forward struggled to pour it in for New Orleans as they try to reverse their early season woes.

Believe it or not, Ryan Anderson actually makes a pretty compelling case as New Orleans’ most important player — without him shooting well and dragging his defender out to the three-point line, opposing teams are able to camp in the paint and collapse on Anthony Davis over and over.

With Omer Asik and Dante Cunningham as the Pelicans’ only other healthy big men, Anderson’s resurgence has been massively key. Although they went just 1-2 this week thanks to some pretty tough games and Anderson’s poor shooting percentages, the Pelicans have proved that they have the tools to save their season yet.

However, it’s more clear than ever that they need Anderson to do well in order to win — which makes him worthy of this top spot despite a difficult week.

Godspeed, Ryno.

Anderson’s Line of the Week: 11/25 vs. PHX — 20 points, 6 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 TO
Week Grade: B-

2. Alec Burks, Utah Jazz (Last Week: 2, –)
Speaking of incredibly important sharpshooters that have to carry the bench scoring for their team each and every night, look no further than one of New Orlean’s opponents last week: Alec Burks and the Utah Jazz. With just Trey Lyles and Trey Burke as potential remaining scorers, it’s up to Burks to shoot early and often with the second unit.

But make no mistake either, Trevor Booker, Raul Neto, and Rudy Gobert aren’t natural scorers either, so the Jazz have desperately needed Burks’ punch off the bench to help Derrick Favors and Gordon Hayward keep the offense afloat.

In Monday’s loss against the Golden State Warriors, Burks went 8-for-15 for 19 points — but the rest of the bench? A combined 6-of-14, which has been a constant theme for the Jazz this year: get Burks the ball and let him go to work. And for a team looking for consistency after a rocky start, Burks is giving them exactly what they need.

Burks’ Line of the Week: 11/28 vs. NOP — 21 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 TOs, 9-14 FG%
Week Grade: B+

3. Andre Iguodala, Golden State Warriors (Last Week: 3, –)
It was a tough stretch of games for the Finals MVP this week as he scored just 18 points in total, but with Harrison Barnes shelved with an ankle injury, they’ve depended on Andre Iguodala for his cagey defense and effort.

Honestly, I’m open to suggestions here — if not Iguodala, then who? Ty Lawson and his DNP-CDs? Or Lou Williams for a Los Angeles Lakers team that just lost to Philadelphia?

As of now, Iguodala keeps this last spot on merit alone — and, hey, did you know that the Warriors are 19-0? So long as Golden State keeps the streak alive and Iguodala keeps his defensive flame burning, it’ll be tough to drop him from this race for now.

Iguodala’s Line of the Week: 11/27 vs. PHX — 9 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 TOs, 4-6 FG%
Week Grade: C+

Honorable Mentions: Joakim Noah, Chicago Bulls; Tristan Thompson, Cleveland Cavaliers; Ty Lawson, Houston Rockets; Paul Pierce, Los Angeles Clippers; Jamal Crawford, Los Angeles Clippers; Lou Williams, Los Angeles Lakers; Kevin Martin, Minnesota Timberwolves

Week 1: Ryan Anderson, New Orleans Pelicans
Week 2: Isaiah Thomas, Boston Celtics
Week 3: Isaiah Thomas, Boston Celtics
Week 4: Alec Burks, Utah Jazz
Week 5: Ryan Anderson, New Orleans Pelicans
Week 6: Ryan Anderson, New Orleans Pelicans

Next: The Takeover Continues