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Nobody is really standing out this year. When that happens, they frequently look at the career, and there has been NO better 6th man over the last decade than Manu.
I remember reading an article that a basketball magazine had him at the top amongst the 6th man award race in January. I'd argue he's been playing about the same level or even better.
NBA is all about narratives, after Manu's unstellar play during the Finals do you think he can get it? Stat wise if he did win, it'd prob be the worst numbers a 6th man has ever won before. Who else is in contention? Jamal Crawford?
Nobody is really standing out this year. When that happens, they frequently look at the career, and there has been NO better 6th man over the last decade than Manu.
It will be hard for Manu to stand out as 6MOY candidate playing with the rest of the Foreign Legion, who have also been spectacular on the bench. You could argue that Patty Mills has had a bigger impact off the bench than Manu has...or Marco Belinelli...or Boris Diaw.
The Spurs bench unit is sick.
With the Spurs having played 66, I chose <33 GS as the line dividing starters and bench.
For single seasons; played in the NBA/BAA; in the regular season; in 2013-14; requiring Games Started <= 33; sorted by descending Win Shares.
5.0 Jamal Crawford
4.9 Manu Ginobili, rising with a bullet and only 2 GS.
4.8 Marco Belinelli
4.8 Darren Collison
4.8 Markieff Morris
8thT 4.6 Boris Diaw, Taj Gibson
11thT 4.3 Patty Mills, Martell Webster
62ndT 2.2 Cory Joseph, Steven Adams, Ed Davis, Tyreke Evans, Greivis Vasquez
81stT 1.7 Jeff Ayres, Alan Anderson, Aaron Brooks, Jae Crowder, Andre Miller, Kyle O'Quinn, Cody Zeller, Tyler Zeller
88thT 1.6 Matt Bonner, Francisco Garcia, Sheldon Mack, Tony Snell, Marreese Speights, Mo Williams, Dorell Wright
The Spurs have two of the top five and seven of the top 94 non-starters in the NBA. The Spurs bench is healthy.
Yes, by default, who else is there? Manu is still the leader of the Spurs bench and still looked at as part of San Antonio's Big Three.
The other top two candidates are Taj Gibson and Jamal Crawford, and I think they're a bit more likely than Manu at this point. Both of them have the raw numbers since they play noticeably more minutes than Manu (28 and 30 mpg respectively, while Manu plays 23 mpg), and they also haven't missed as many games as Manu.
I have no doubt that Manu is the best 6th man in the league. Whether he will win the award though is another question.
BTW, let's not use the "ESPN hates the Spurs and still think Manu sucks because of the Finals!" schtick. Before Manu went down with the hamstring injury ESPN voted him as frontrunner to win the award. Unfortunately since then, Jamal Crawford has stepped up big time during Re 's absence (averaging over 20 ppg since 2014) and Taj Gibson is an elite defender whose increased playing load is a big part of why Chicago has stayed afloat after losing Rose/Deng.
Hope so.
What concerns me more is the better he plays, the more turn over prone he gets, and that Manu is rearing its ugly head again coming down the stretch.
Manu is Jeckyl and Hyde to me tbh. Maybe he will or maybe he wont but I expect many turnovers enroute to either result smh
Pop already said that Mills is the Sixth Man off the bench.
He tried forcing the ball inside repeatedly outside of the framework of the offense. The offense is designed to move the ball in and out and side to side but with secure passing lanes. Manu ignored that and the Heat were waiting for him and got deflections galore. He has cleaned it up as evidenced against good defensive clubs like Miami and Chicago.
Off the top of my head I can't think of anyone more deserving. , the second best choice might be Patty Mills.
I'm thinking Taj is probably in the lead right now. Spurs players don't win awards very often because of the system.
Didn't Pop endorse Mills for 6th man or rookie of the year? I remember him saying that in one of his interviews.
Ginobili's hamstring kept him out of the final eight games before the All-Star break. Since coming back, he is averaging 13.9 points and 4.8 assists and shooting a blistering 54.2 percent.
During that span, the Spurs' offense is 22 points better per 100 possessions with Ginobili on the court than off it, a staggering number.
With his body feeling better, Ginobili's mind has been clearer as well. He has been less turnover-prone in March, not yet committing more than two in a game.
http://www.expressnews.com/sports/sp...df4e4660723#/0
If we can stay healthy AND he continues to play like that we're going to be tough to beat in the Playoffs.
If we can stay healthy AND he continues to play like that we're going to be tough to beat in the Playoffs.
Jamal Crawford, reggie jackson, Jeremy lin, the list goes on.
I'd say Jamal Crawford and Taj Gibson are the only two guys who I'd be okay with winning over Manu. They've had great years for their teams and are putting up better raw numbers due to playing 28-30 mpg.
Like I said though...I have no doubts that Manu is the best bench player in the league. He just doesn't play enough minutes (the hamstring injury causing him to miss a month hurt him as well) to really solidify him as the best. Manu definitely has the most impact while on the court.
Found the quote from Pop:
"I think he's either the Most Improved Player in the league or 6th Man of the Year, whatever. He's been important to us. He's kept us above water while so many guys were hurt."
I don't think Manu should win it this year because of his inconsistency before the All-star break, and the fact that he's missed quite a few games. If Patty averaged 30 minutes per game, he'd probably average over 20 points per game.
6MOTY is probably the most worthless award in all of sports
If Manu averaged 30 minutes per game he would also average over 20 points per game.
what interview is that from? got a link? sounds rather interesting
I really hope so. I think Jamal Crawford has horrible defense, I've seen Matt Barnes yelling at him for his defensive lapses before. He frequently is out of position and makes the wrong reads.
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