One of the more interesting individual award competitions this season in the NBA is the one for Sixth Man of the Year.
Right now, it appears guard Immanuel Quickley of the New York Knicks is the big favorite to win the award, but of course, there are some who would disagree and vouch for the Boston Celtics‘ Malcolm Brogdon.
One of those is Keith Smith.
I love Immanuel Quickley, but Malcolm Brogdon is the 6MOY.
— Keith Smith (@KeithSmithNBA) April 6, 2023
Quickley has played a key role in the Knicks surpassing the expectations of just about everyone and zooming to the fifth-best record in the Eastern Conference while clinching a playoff spot for the second time in the last three seasons.
He is averaging 14.3 points and 3.3 assists a game while shooting a career-high 44.5 percent from the field this season.
But many feel Brogdon has had an even bigger impact on the Celtics, who are in second place in the East.
The 6-foot-5 guard is putting up 14.7 points a game while shooting a hot 48.2 percent overall and 44.0 percent from 3-point range.
He has transformed a Celtics bench that was downright anemic last season to one that is fairly potent and respectable.
During last June’s NBA Finals, that bench was one of the reasons Boston blew a 2-1 series lead and lost the world championship in six games to the Golden State Warriors.
But this time around, it has someone in Brogdon who can single-handedly change the complexion of a game off the bench.
If the Celtics return to the championship series, he could very well be the difference this time around.
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