Sixth Man of the Year is one of my favorite awards in all of sports, I love that it gives non-starters the limelight even for just a moment. The Milwaukee Bucks have only had one person ever win the award, Ricky Pierce in 1987 and 1990. Bobby Portis is putting together a very strong resume to be the second.
Bucks fans in an off-season poll selected Bobby as the Milwaukee Bucks sixth man, he may well be the NBA’s sixth man also. Needless to say it won’t be easy, there will be plenty of strong candidates but let’s check out Bobby’s case.
Making the case for Milwaukee Bucks forward Bobby Portis to win 6th man of the year: The stats
On the season that is 23 games in for the Milwaukee Bucks, backup big man and front runner for tough guy of the year award Bobby Portis is averaging 13.9 points per game, 10.4 rebounds per game, shooting 48.7 percent from the field and 32.2 percent from the 3-point line.
Bobby is tied for third in double-doubles with Domantas Sabonis and Oshkosh’s own Tyrese Haliburton, who is leading the NBA in assists per game, with 14 each. The difference between the Milwaukee Bucks forward and the players he’s tied with is he comes off the bench. which makes his incredible 61 percent of games played resulting in doubles-doubles even more crazy. As mentioned during Monday night’s broadcast against the Orlando Magic, Bobby Portis is averaging the least amount of minutes per game for players who are averaging a double-double.
Making the case for Milwaukee Bucks forward Bobby Portis to win 6th man of the year: Per 36 minutes
With per thirty-six averages of 18.6 points per game, 13.9 rebounds per game and some other intangibles that can be put on a stat sheet, Bobby certainly fits the mold of a 6th man of the year. Bobby never backs down from anybody and is the first person there to stand up for his teammates, he grabs tough contested rebounds, makes some high pressure shots whether driving to the rim, shooting a post fade or catch and shoot threes.
I can guarantee when a play needs to be made, on a team full of All-Stars and 2-way players, when watching the Milwaukee Bucks you will see Bobby’s impact and hear the chants of BOBBY! BOBBY! BOBBY! from a packed Fiserv Forum crowd or even on the road.
While it doesn’t quite fit the narrative of the 6th man technically because he started the game, Bobby Portis also helped carry the Bucks to a victory on Saturday in Charlotte without any of the Bucks big three in action. Bobby stuffed the stat sheet with 20 points, eight rebounds and a career high seven assists.
Making the case for Milwaukee Bucks forward Bobby Portis to win 6th man of the year: The competition
I stated earlier that the competition for the sixth man of the year award was going to be stiff, there are two players I think who stand in Bobby’s way of winning, the first guy the Milwaukee Bucks just saw Russell Westbrook, I personally love this move for Russ and the Lakers as it allows Russ to be himself and have an insane usage rate with LeBron James on the bench. Russ is currently first on Rotowire.com, with the best odds to win the award, he is averaging 16.3 points, 7.7 rebounds and 6.7 assists coming off the bench. Coach Darvin Ham in his first season with the Lakers after spending the last nine seasons with coach Mike Budenholzer is hitting the right buttons so far with Russell Westbrook.
The second player I see in Bobby’s way is former Milwaukee Buck Christian Wood. He is averaging 16.9 points, grabbing 7.8 rebounds and shooting 55.2 percent on field goals and an impressive 41.2 percent behind the 3-point line. Wood has also has scored 20+ points in five of his last ten games. Christian Wood and Luka Doncic have been running the pick and roll together effectively and Wood is benefitting from the extra attention going Luka’s way.
According to Rotowire.com, Bobby Portis (+5000) has the ninth highest odds to win the 6th man award, so a $20 bet could get you a $1,000 payout. I’m not saying he will win the award but I’d be shocked if by the end of the season he is not in the top three in voting, he is getting double doubles at an astounding rate and more importantly helping his team win games. If he continues with this level of play, it will be hard to keep Bobby Portis from walking away with the award.
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