1. Dante Exum wins Sixth Man of the Year
In order to win Sixth Man of the Year, normally (at least) three things have to happen:
- The player has to play in 70-75 games (Dante Exum has done that only once in his career, his rookie season).
- The player has to average a “starter’s” scoring average in the 15-20 points per game range (Exum is a career 5.7 points per game scorer).
- The player has to stay healthy (Exum appeared in just 14 games last season).
It’s that last one that most would look at this prediction with skepticism, but here’s something to consider: No player tries to get injured.
Dante Exum has gone through a host of maladies in his young career, but for the first time in his career, he’s 100 percent. He just received a big contract extension; not just in terms of money, but in terms of the belief the front office has in him.
Exum is motivated. Motivation doesn’t always equal success on the court, but he doesn’t have to start. He may be a former lottery selection, but he has a clear role now: be a spark plug and run the second unit. No more, no less.
Recent winners like Lou Williams and Eric Gordon now have a little more competition on their team for minutes. Jamal Crawford is still a free agent. Exum is way younger than all of those guys and will likely be playing with some of Utah’s starters when he’s on the court.
Expect a jump in production from the Australian.