Sixth Man of the Year Ladder 3.0 still about those LA Clippers

Davis Bertans slid a bit down the NBA Sixth Man of the Year ladder as a bruised quad kept him out of nine straight games from Dec. 23-Jan. 8 and slowed the roll he had been on for the Washington Wizards prior to the injury.

Bertans scored at least 20 points in six of the 11 games he appeared in December, but in seven games since his return from injury, the shots haven’t been falling quite so frequently.

Since he came back on Jan. 10. Bertans has averaged 15.0 points and 3.4 rebounds in 26.0 minutes per game, while shooting just 39.3 percent overall. He’s also at 39.3 percent on 8.7 3-point attempts per game.

His best game during that stretch came in Washington’s overtime loss at Miami on Wednesday, when Bertans scored 24 points on 8-of-18 shooting, also handing out four assists in 32 minutes.

For the season, Bertans is averaging 15.3 points and 4.6 rebounds in 35 games, 31 of them coming off the bench. He’s shooting 43.8 percent overall and has made 42.6 percent on 8.7 3-point tries a night.

His 15.2 points a game strictly off the bench is sixth-best in the NBA.