The Los Angeles Clippers are led by Kawhi Leonard, Paul George, and James Harden. Despite how bright those start shine, a teammate of theirs has emerged as a leading contender in the race for 6th Man of the Year. Norman Powell, the 9-year veteran out of UCLA, is rising up the odds board.
6th Man of the Year
Malik Monk, Sacramento Kings -130
Norman Powell, Los Angeles Clippers +400
Tim Hardaway Jr., Dallas Mavericks +500
Caris Levert, Cleveland Cavaliers +1400
Bogdan Bogdanovic, Atlanta Hawks +2000
Naz Reid, Minnesota Timberwolves +2000
The boys from Bet the EDGE believe Powell’s candidacy is real. Drew Dinsick (@whale_capper) sees the Clipper small forward continuing to build his case as the season heads into the home stretch.
“Still at this point, I am stuck on Powell Island. I am excited that his price is moving towards the top tier. But I still think that the top two on this board are hot, hot fades. I don’t think that the Kings or the Mavericks are going to get into the Top 5 in the Western Conference. I think one of them will be in the play-in and one of them will be the sixth seed. Ultimately, if you’re that far down, if you’re on the fringes of the playoffs, it’s going to be tough if you don’t have a huge case statistically over Powell. Right now, they don’t. I think it’s a pretty narrow margin in terms of just counting stats. I think Powell’s role is going to continue to be pressed into mattering because they’re going to try to continue to get Paul George rest and get Kawhi rest down the stretch.”
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Jay Croucher (@croucherJD) offered his gameplan for attacking this market.
“My strategy in this market is to go to war with guys who have a chance to be a Top 2 seed because you want that contrast with Malik Monk where voters are sitting down and thinking, ‘Am I really going to reward someone who plays for an 8 seed and whose stats are OK? Or am I going to reward someone on the Minnesota Timberwolves or the Cleveland Cavaliers or the Los Angeles Clippers who are going to be 55+ wins and potentially Top 2 seeds.”
With those criteria in mind, Croucher is backing three candidates: Norman Powell, Naz Reid, and Caris Levert.
“Norm Powell was fantastic in that game against Oklahoma City his last time out and if he is able to play 27-28 minutes per game and he averages 15-16 points per game the rest of the way, gets up to 14 points per game on the season on like 64% true shooting and the Clippers are a 2-seed, then I think he can beat Monk. Naz Reid? If the Wolves are the 1-seed and Naz is a hyper-efficient 12 and 5 (points and rebounds)…He’s been much better defensively this year. His advanced numbers are better than Monk. If he’s on a 1-seed and does that, I think he has a path to win. The weirdest one is Caris Levert who I bet earlier this season. Its been the most uninspiring bet…the issue is he just kind of feels irrelevant and inessential. But if he’s going to get 28 minutes and close the game and the Cavs are a 2-seed then if that can continue…then I think there is definitely a path for him too.”
The race for the 6th Man of the Year Award is still very live with multiple realistic candidates to claim the honor.
Enjoy the race and enjoy the sweat. It is a good one.
