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Kevork Djansezian/ AP via Getty Images
Lou WIlliams, current king of the Sixth Man of the Year award will be dethroned by his explosive teammate, Montrezl Harrell, this coming season. It’s finally going to be Harrell’s time to shine! He did so well last season with countless impressive performances off the bench, which rewarded him with the 3rd spot, posting up career high averages across the board with 16.6 points, 6.5 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game. The most impressive thing about Harrell’s game is his energy and aggression to compete for every ball.
Every offseason, Harrell has consistently put in a tremendous amount of hard work and effort to improve his game, and this offseason is no different. You only have to click on his social media or read Jovan Buha’s recent interview, to know that this is still the case. At the end of the season, Doc Rivers and his coaching staff gave Harrell some objectives to work on certain skills. The two main focuses being his playmaking and 3-point shooting. On top of that, Harrell has been working with well respected NBA assistant coach Rico Hines, who also identified skills that needed some fine tuning. Hines set out a training plan and has been putting him through his paces ever since. From an observational standpoint, it’s very noticeable he has already made progress in those areas, over the summer. If you add all of that to his current resume, along with his pick-and-roll partnership with Williams, then the sky's the limit.
Most of Harrell’s minutes will be played on the second unit, alongside Landry Shamet and Williams, who will occupy defenders to no end with their movement and 3-point prowess. This will create more space and openings for Harrell to drive to the rim, scoring with that thunderous finish he is known for. Not only will this give him the space to score, he will have the opportunity to use those fine tuned playmaking skills to find Shamet, Williams or JaMychal Green on the perimeter for the three… BINGO! This is without taking into account any minutes he plays with Kawhi Leonard and Paul George, surely only improving his chances to score and assist.
It’s obvious that Rivers will manage the playing time for his roster, reserving health and preventing any injuries to key players. As a result, Harrell will be one of his ‘go-to’ guys, especially at the start of the season, whilst waiting for George to recover and the team to gel. There may be a case where Harrell averages more minutes than last season.
This is a contract year for Harrell and he is due a big pay rise from his current six million a year deal. And although he doesn’t need any more motivation, this is just another factor that will push him to have his own record breaking season.
The Clippers are touted as favourites to become the NBA champions, providing Harrell with the platform he needs to win the Sixth Man of the Year accolade.
2019/20 Sixth Man of the Year:
1st - Montrezl Harrell
2nd - Lou Williams
3rd - Do we need to pick?