6th Man seems like it should about the guys that aren't regular starters but still play an integral role within a regular amount of playing time. 1700 Minutes Played and/or 75 Games played with less than 40 starts would seem to give a good collection of guys that played important roles this year without being starters. But first let's look at the the guys who played a lot of games without playing a lot of minutes.
Under 1700 Minutes Played, under 40 starts, over 80 games played: Nikola Mirotic, Jae Crowder, Luis Scola, Steve Blake, Kosta Koufos, Andre Miller
Under 1700 Minutes Played, under 40 starts, over 75 games played: Joe Ingles, Trevor Booker, Beno Udrih, Cory Joseph, Kevin Seraphin, Caron Butler, Shaun Livingston, Jason Terry, Dennis Schroeder, JJ Barea, Devin Harris, Austin Rivers, Anthony Tolliver, Marreese Speights, Rasual Butler, Brandon Wright, Kent Bazemore, Jonas Jerebko.
Anyone in those pools stand out as possible 6th Man of the Year winners? No. Those dudes all had good years, acquitted themselves admirably, earned their money, deserve to be patted on the back for living the dream of being pro ballers. Some of those guys had upside years, some of those are guys collecting checks and chasing rings. But none of those guys are in the running for this award.
At least 1700 Minutes Played, under 40 starts (33): Mario Chalmers, Josh Smith, Jarrett Jack, Dion Waiters, Tristan Thompson, Rudy Gobert, Patrick Patterson, Corey Brewer, Andre Iguodala, Marcus Morris, Marvin Williams, Lou Williams, Grievus Vasquez, Boris Diaw, Mo Williams, DJ Augustin, Jeremy Lin, Aaron Brooks, Rodney Stuckey, Shane Larkin, Bojan Bogdanovic, Ed Davis, Norris Cole, Marcus Smart, Anthony Morrow, Quincy Pondexter, Jason Smith, Hollis Thompson, Alan Anderson, Isiah Thomas, Jaryd Bayless, Jared Dudley, Jamal Crawford (1703 minutes, 4 starts).
Some just seem improbable right off the bat (16): Waiters (come on, man, Waiters?), Thompson (the Cavs were never livin' and dyin' off what Tristan was up to tonight), Marvin Williams (the fact that he wasn't the most disappointing Hornet acquisition is kinda startling), Vasquez (good player, good year, 3rd best Raptor), Diaw (the Spurs are their own special organism, Diaw is one piece of many pieces), Augustin (nice back up, decent season), Lin (could work in the right system, hasn't been in the right system in a while now), Brooks (his biggest contributions this season came logging minutes as a starter), Larkin (a so-so maturation year on a hideous team), Davis (not a bad player, not a bad season, a terrible terrible team), Thompson (kid is big and can rebound, he'll hang around for a while in this league), Cole (makes the most of his minutes), Morrow (makes the most of his minutes), Jason Smith (gotta admit: I don't know who this guy is, plays for the Knicks?), Bayless (kinda liked his D, I think he fits what they're doing there), Dudley (a nice bounce back year).
The next tier (7): Chalmers (under appreciated bench guy), Brewer (his hustle is indispensable at times but not the most efficient of players), Morris (a mediocre shooter still, though a competent swing forward), Mo Williams (less a difference maker off the bench as a classic journeyman guy just having a good season), Bogdanovic (fine rookie season, off the bench wing scorer), Anderson (that guy does more for the Nets than anyone notices), Smart (good rookie, high energy guy, his FG% dropped off, hopefully he can keep it up next year).
My top ten (6-10): Lou Williams (had a great bounceback year off the bench, brought energy, excitement, but not the most efficient guy, not the best at involving teammates, 2nd best Raptor), Quincy Pondexter (an under appreciated 3p threat off the bench for the Pelicans, who need anything they can get, good player seems to have found a place for himself), Jarrett Jack (biggest contribution was as a starter, old man still getting it done, he's a winner, man, has the intangibles), Josh Smith (played 83 games this year, 83! To paraphrase Raymond Carver: 'He played 83 games...not all of them were good but there were 83 of them.' Dude, got run out of town but kept working before, during and after, something about that is kinda after school special).
My top ten (2-5): Rodney Stuckey (dude pretty much dragged the Pacers to the playoffs all by himself, deserves some kudos), Jamal Crawford (he's always in the running for this because that's what his game is: offense off the bench), Patrick Patterson (man, his numbers are pretty impressive and he's an integral part of the squad, locked down for a coupla years, perfect role player for an up and coming team), Rudy Gobert (thunder off the bench, can't front on that, loved him last summer, good to see him blossom out from under the Kanter shadow).
My pick for 6th Man of the Year: Isiah Thomas (appeared in 67 games, started 1; 348 FTA 86%; 37% 3p%, 284:153 asst:to, gave the Celtics a 4th quarter threat they haven't had since Pierce left town, he was the player they wanted all along now on a reasonable contract, dude can be a Celtic legend if he wants).
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