Cleveland Cavaliers: 5 goals for Derrick Rose in 2017-18
By Ryan Piers
2. Win Sixth Man of the Year
Time for a trivia question. Who was the last NBA player to win both the NBA MVP and Sixth Man Of The Year awards in their career? Ten points for Gryffindor if you answered Bill Walton. The big man turned broadcaster accomplished the feat in 1986, more than 30 years ago.
Rose has a serious shot at being the next, assuming he returns to the bench when Thomas heals. In order to be eligible for the award, a player has to play off the bench more often than he starts in a single season. Rose will likely start about 30 games this year in Thomas’s absence, and come off the pine the other 50 or so.
The early returns are positive. In his second preseason game, Rose scored 10 points while sharing the floor with backups. In this clip, he hardly exerts any effort to make the Pacers reserves look foolish.
It’s silly to get randy over a preseason game, but the Rose-Wade-Jae Crowder combo connected on 21-of-31 shots in the game. If that’s what to expect from the Cavs bench in the regular season, watch out. And as their ring leader, Rose may add another trophy to his career case.