We begin our look at Sixth Man candidates by looking at last season’s best sub, Jamal Crawford of the Atlanta Hawks. Last season, the Hawks traded for Crawford in hopes that he would provide the scoring punch they needed off of the bench. Needless to say, Crawford didn’t disappoint.
In his first campaign with the Hawks, Crawford was lethal off of the bench, averaging 18 points per game and 3 assists. In fact Crawford’s play caused some to believe that Atlanta was a member of the East’s elite. Crawford was often the Hawks’ primary scoring option en route to his first Sixth Man of The Year award.
This season, Crawford’s Hawks have become somewhat of an afterthought in the East, but not because of their sixth man. Crawford’s numbers have tailed off a bit as his scoring has fallen to 14.1 points per game. Crawford still gives the Hawks the 3.2 assists per game he did last year, and is always a threat to score 40-plus points off of the bench.
Despite not equaling his output from last year and a drop off in his team’s success, Crawford remains one of the most potent scorers in the game and a legitimate threat to defend his Sixth Man of the Year award. Unfortunately for Crawford, heading into the twilight of the season, he seems to be the third horse in the race.
Next: JET takes off in Dallas