Milwaukee Bucks: Considering George Hill’s Sixth Man of the Year challengers
Lou Williams
As the league’s resident Sixth Man of the Year, especially with Jamal Crawford all but retired at this point, Lou Williams is looking to defend the award after winning the last two seasons.
A three-time Sixth Man of the Year award winner, Williams hasn’t reached the highs of his career year when he first arrived to the Clippers before the start of the 2017-18 season and subsequently helped tide over their rebuild. And that steady decline, as well as trying to navigate with the many injuries and absences players like Paul George and Kawhi Leonard have endured throughout the year, has led to some of the aforementioned growing pains they have experienced at times.
Even still, Williams has remained very productive for head coach Doc Rivers as he’s posting 19.5 points on a .412/.350/.863 slash line, a career-high 5.9 assists and 3.1 rebounds through his 52 appearances, eight of those coming as starts.
One mark to hold against Williams is the fact that the Clippers have performed better with Williams off the floor. L.A. is outscoring opponents by +8.5 points per 100 possessions in the 1,093 minutes without Williams, versus the +3.2 points per 100 possessions they’re averaging in the 1,562 minutes the Georgia native is on the floor.
Next. Midseason grades for every player on the roster. dark
But as the league’s career leader for most points scored off the bench, Williams’ pedigree will likely lead to him garnering some buzz in an award category that has been tailor-made for him throughout his career.