Milwaukee Bucks: Greg Monroe’s Case For Sixth Man Of The Year
Milwaukee Bucks big man Greg Monroe has evolved from a perceived underachiever into a strong candidate for the 2016-17 Sixth Man of the Year award.
The race for the 2016-17 Sixth Man of the Year award is convoluted, competitive, and flush with deserving candidates. The likes of Eric Gordon, Patty Mills, and Lou Williams are in fierce competition for the award, but there may be an underrated candidate who deserves the honor.
Rising from the ashes of the overpaid burial grounds, Milwaukee Bucks big man Greg Monroe appears to have finally found his niche.
Monroe has become one of the most polarizing players in the NBA. He fell out of favor with the Detroit Pistons and, in the eyes of the masses, has yet to live up to the three-year, $51 million contract that Milwaukee handed him in 2015.
Though some might still argue that he isn’t living up to his $17 million per season price tag, Monroe has become the most viable option for Sixth Man of the Year.
Gordon and Williams are producing gaudy numbers, and Mills has been the ultimate glue guy for the San Antonio Spurs. Monroe can make a compelling case, however, and it isn’t being presented as often as it should be.
The question is: why should embattled Milwaukee Bucks big man Greg Monroe win the 2016-17 Sixth Man of the Year award?
Production
One of the keys to winning Sixth Man of the Year has traditionally been the production of high-quality statistics. Whether fair or foul, the winners of the award traditionally produce at what borders on being a star-caliber level.
Though he isn’t scoring in the same way as the other candidates, Greg Monroe’s numbers may be even more impressive based on the fact that he contributes in multiple phases.
Monroe is currently averaging 12.0 points, 6.7 rebounds, 2.1 offensive rebounds, 2.3 assists, and 1.2 steals in 22.7 minutes per game. He’s doing so on a highly efficient slash line of .535/.000/.752.
If those numbers don’t jump off the page, then the per 36 translations should: 19.0 points, 10.6 rebounds, 3.3 offensive rebounds, 3.7 assists, and 1.8 steals on 53.5 percent shooting.
A low minutes tally may hurt Monroe, but his production has been invaluable. He’s bordering on dominance down low when he’s on the court, which includes his ability to score efficiently, take over on the boards, and facilitate for his teammates.
If you feel as though Monroe is lacking from a production perspective, there’s one area that truly makes his case: his value to his team’s success.
Value
Greg Monroe is shooting 57.1 percent from the field during the Milwaukee Bucks’ 39 wins and 49.0 percent during the 36 losses. That’s an early sign of how the quality of his performances directly coincide with team results.
If that’s too crass or basic of a measurement of one’s value, then the advanced metrics will further support Monroe’s status as the most valuable Sixth Man amongst the top candidates.
Thus far in 2016-17, Milwaukee owns net ratings of +5.7 with Monroe on the court and a team-worst -2.8 without him. In other words: Milwaukee is 8.5 points per 100 possessions better with Monroe on the court, and is at its worst without him.
It scores 6.6 more points per 100 possessions with Monroe on the court and allows 1.9 more points per 100 possessions when he isn’t.
It’s also worth noting that Monroe currently ranks higher than Eric Gordon, Patty Mills, and Lou Williams in Real Plus-Minus. Unlike the other two candidates, Monroe has a positive Defensive RPM to go with his positive Offensive RPM.
For perspective: Spurs are 7.7 points per 100 possessions better with Mills on the court, while the Rockets are 2.6 points per 100 possessions better with Gordon and 9.5 points per 100 possessions worse with Williams.
The History
The unfortunate reality for Greg Monroe is that history isn’t working in his favor. Sixth Man of the Year was once an all-inclusive award that valued players at multiple positions, but it’s become a perimeter-dominated honor.
No interior player has won the Sixth Man of the Year award since Lamar Odom in 2010-11, who played a hybrid style before the revolution of the stretch 4.
Prior to Odom, no interior player had won the award since Antawn Jamison in 2003-04, who spent just 26 percent of his minutes at power forward and 72 percent of his minutes at small forward. Corliss Williamson won it in 2001-02, but he spent just 32 percent of his minutes at power forward.
Monroe, meanwhile, has played 100 percent of his minutes at center in 2016-17—and no true center has won the award since Bill Walton in 1985-86.
Fortunately for Monroe, this has been the year of the unexpected. A player is averaging a triple-double for the first time since 1961-62, while another is leading his team in points, rebounds, assists, blocks, and steals, and a third is producing numbers that haven’t been seen since 1972-73.
Trends are made to be broken, and in 2016-17, Greg Monroe deserves to become the first true center to win Sixth Man of the Year since 1985-86.
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The case is only strengthened by the Milwaukee Bucks going 17-6 over the past 23 games.