How The Milwaukee Bucks Factor Into NBA Award Season
Sixth Man Of The Year
Last season Greg Monroe struggled to fit into what the Milwaukee Bucks were seeking to accomplish. He was supposed to step in as the franchise’s first major free agency signing in decades and spark an offensive leap without sacrificing on defense.
Instead the Bucks as a whole, and Monroe specifically, cratered and the team dropped out of the playoff race completely. The team eventually moved Monroe to the bench in an effort to get him and the team going.
That has been a season-long setup for the Bucks this season, and Monroe has responded well. While his total stats are down, he is playing well while on the court, serving as the offensive center of bench units. Milwaukee is planting Monroe in the high post and letting him work, finding open cutters or breaking down a hapless defender.
Milwaukee Bucks
There are two ways to evaluate this type of an award. The first is simply the bench player who scored the most – last season’s award went in this direction with Jamal Crawford. The second way is to look at which player coming off the bench is the best – who would opposing coaches select for their team if given the choice?
The second way is a more accurate way to recognize the best sixth man, if it’s not the way the award usually goes. Therefore the front-runner should be Andre Iguodala, who does not put up the scoring numbers of a microwave bench guard but instead provides playmaking and defense. In Kevin Durant’s absence Iguodala has stepped up and is a key part of Golden State’s current 14-game win streak and overall 66 wins.
Behind Iguodala is Eric Gordon, who has been a dynamic scorer for Mike D’Antoni and the Houston Rockets. Gordon has put together a mostly healthy season and has been perfect for that system, hitting 241 three-pointers on the year. While fellow sixth man candidate Lou Williams has struggled since coming to Houston, Gordon has stayed consistent.
Williams is in the mix for the third and final spot on the ballot, on the back of a strong first half of the season for the Los Angeles Lakers. But he is the seventh-man on the Rockets now, and in high-leverage games that he never saw in Los Angeles, he’s gone cold.
That’s enough to drop him off the ballot into honorable mentions, along with James Johnson of the Miami Heat, Zach Randolph of the Memphis Grizzlies and Joe Ingles of the Utah Jazz.
That leaves the third spot open for Monroe, who has been the team’s most reliable option at center all season and kept the offense afloat in the absence of Antetokounmpo. He has provided energy and hustle on defense as well, something most candidates for this award can’t claim.
Verdict: Greg Monroe is 3rd on the ballot