Sixth Man of the Year
Zack Padmore – Tyreke Evans (Indiana)
Tyreke Evans is set to play a crucial role for Indiana coming off the bench. He’ll take some pressure off of Victor Oladipo with his ability to handle the ball and create for himself and others. He’s always been an attacker, his jumper is much-improved and he could easily close games with the starting unit.
I think he’ll work very well with Domantas Sabonis off the bench, and has a chance to make a major impact on an upper-echelon team in the Eastern Conference.
Hayden Van de Maat – Lou Williams (LAC)
Sweet Lou is coming off the best year of his career aged 31, where he averaged just shy of 23 points per game and remains one of the best pure scorers in the NBA. If Lou does indeed come off the bench for the Clippers again, which may not be the case given all their roster changes and injuries, he should be the hot favorite to win his third Sixth Man of the Year award.
Josh Padmore – Carmelo Anthony (Houston)
I like Melo’s fit in Houston. If he’s fine with coming off the bench, and doesn’t cause any problems, he’s a prime Sixth Man candidate. He can play both forward spots and I can see him averaging 15-16 points per game. Honorable mention to Lou Williams of the Los Angeles Clippers.
Ryan Aston – Lou Williams (LAC)
Say what you will about his defensive prowess (or lack thereof), few people can get buckets like Williams. If not for his efforts, the Clips probably win 15 less games than they did last season. I still maintain that he was worthy of an All-Star nod last February.
It could be tough sledding for the team in the year ahead, but Sweet Lou will keep on scoring in bunches in the No. 2 media market in the NBA. That alone will get him consideration here.
Jared Woodcox – Tyreke Evans (Indiana)
A sixth man has to be a good player, but he also has to be willing to buy into the role of coming off the bench. It appears that when Tyreke Evans signed with the Indiana Pacers, he accepted just that. As such, if he can build off his incredible year in Memphis where he put up over 19 points per game, he could revolutionize this Pacers team that desperately needed additional scoring off the bench.
He can create his own shot and effectively set up others, and I think he’ll be a seamless fit with Indiana’s second unit while also garnering plenty of playing time finishing games with the starters. The situation he’s in has him perfectly set up to be a promising sixth man candidate so long as he can match or exceed last year’s performance.