The 6^th man of the year voting is now open. Think of me as the form guide. I am going to try and help you pick a winner. 

As there are 20 nominations and quite a few who probably don’t deserve any mention, like Kenrich Williams. No offence Toby. But come on. I am going to give you my top 6, in no particular order. It is then up to you to decide who should win this important award. 

Websters defines 6^th man as “The sixth man in basketball is a player who is not a starter but comes off the bench much more often than other reserves, often being the first player to be substituted in. The sixth man often plays minutes equal to or exceeding some of the starters and posts similar statistics” Urban Dictionary defines it as "Lou Will" So either way, as you can see, it is a very important role. 6^th man can literally shape a team’s fortunes more than a starter. 

Melo

Carmelo was acquired from Indiana, who nabbed him off the waivers when he returned back to the league. A straight swap for Terrance Ferguson. A good trade for the win now hawks and The Pacers will have to wait and see how it plays out for T-Ferg. Meo played 54 games for The Hawks, coming off the bench for 42 of those. He has actually started 3 of the 4 post-season games with The Hawks in trouble and Ben needing some more potency in the starting 5. Melo shot well from 3 all season and pulled down nearly 4 boards to go with his 15ppg 20 minutes. He has been a big part of Atlanta’s playoff push. Hopefully we can lift for them in the next few days with the Hawks being down 3-1 to The Surprise Wiz. 

JC

Minny acquired Clarkson in a deal that some didn’t quiet see the logic in, for a rebuilding side. However, he has been great for them. Played all but 4 games off the bench since coming over. Started 37 of 57 for Detroit before that. His numbers were consistent across both ball clubs. He averaged 13 points a few assists and a couple of rebounds in 25 minutes at Detroit and only 20 at Minny. He is instance offence no matter where he is playing. Still trying to find his spot in the league. But no doubt, a very handy first option off the bench. 

Rudy Gay

The 6^th man on the best team in the league. Rudy was amazing. 16 points 5.5 rebounds and nearly 3 assists. Shot the ball really well too. Flexible. The perfect 6^th man. Came into the starting line up a few weeks with injury. However, spent most of his time coming off the pine, averaging 25mpg. Joel has so many good players, it is hard to get everyone minutes. However 25mpg is a nice spot for the ageing Gay. Rudy is a prime candidate for this award and will get a lot of votes. 

Jrue

Jrue. Baby. Didn’t get a mention all season in any 6^th man write ups. Which obviously was a disgrace. You wouldn’t be able to play him off the bench in the NBA. Egos would get in the way. But on a team that already has Dame, Jrue ended up being the perfect candidate. When he and Dame were starting, The Raps were 7-11 and Nelson and every other pleb had the boots into the raptors. Jrue moving to the bench was the flint that ignited The Raps. He has put up great numbers since coming across form Sac with a 1^stfor CJ. 18 points 4.4 assists. Throw in a few rebounds and a steal and a half a game. Shot the ball pretty well too. An elite defender who took some big scalps along the way. He, like Gay is another prime candidate for the award. 

Thon

Thon is a perfect Pistol Pete player. Big, long, athletic, Raw potential. Pistol has got the best out of him. 10 points 6 rebounds 1 assists a steal and a block to go with 1.5 threes a game. Sooting the ball suer efficiently too. He has given the Heat plenty off the bench. Especially during stretches when they had some big injury concerns. Thon has given Pete everything he could have hoped for this year and continues to outplay his NBA counterpart. Definitely consider him when voting. 

Rozier

Scary Terry split his time between The Suns and The Wiz, but spent almost all of his time off the bench. Similar numbers at both. Didn’t shoot the ball great, which we have come to expect. But got his 13ppg with assists and rebounds. Similar to Clarkson. Will get great scoring off the bench but lacks in other areas. A perfect 6^th man. He will continue to play that role for many a season to come in this league. Well worth consideration in the top 6.

There you have it. Please don’t feel you need to confine your votes to my nominations. These are just the ones I like. Special mentions to Boban, Josh Jackson and Julius Randle who all had great seasons off the bench for their respective teams. There are great candidates, and this should be an awesome vote. So, let’s get them in, so the admin team can keep pumping out awards. Also, so happy Nelson doesn’t have a nominee. Cheers.