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NBA: Top 10 candidates for 2017-18 Sixth Man of the Year Award

By Gerald Bourguet

Photo by Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE via Getty Images
Photo by Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE via Getty Images /
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8. James Johnson

This pick could easily be thrown out the window if the Miami Heat opt to start James Johnson at either small forward or power forward, especially since he put up a whopping 18.2 points, 7.0 rebounds and 5.6 assists per game in five starts at the end of last season.

However, with Kelly Olynyk brought aboard and Johnson being such a stellar point forward with the second unit, he’s got to be somewhere in the top 10. Johnson just earned a lucrative deal over the summer coming off a career year in which he averaged 12.8 points, 4.9 rebounds, 3.6 assists, 1.1 blocks and 1.0 steals per game on 47.9 percent shooting.

If the Heat can be more like the second-half team that went 30-11 as opposed to the one that started the year 11-30, James Johnson’s Swiss army knife act coming off the bench could put him in serious consideration for Sixth Man of the Year.