Pro Blue: Who’s the Sixth Man of the Year?

Injuries continued to be an unfortunate part of the narrative for our contingent of former Michigan Wolverines in the NBA. However amongst those that are healthy, it was a solid week. Here’s how they all performed as the season starts winding down.

Note: All stats are as of March 22nd.

Caris LeVert, Cleveland Cavaliers

LeVert continued his hot streak this week by posting 15 points on 6-for-9 shooting against the Wizards on Friday and 18 points on 5-of-9 shooting against Brooklyn on Tuesday. He has now scored 15 or more points in six consecutive games for the first time this season, all while coming off the bench. LeVert may be entering his name into the Sixth Man of the Year conversation.

Tim Hardaway Jr., Dallas Mavericks

Fortunately for Hardaway, his calf injury only ended up holding him out of one contest. He returned by scoring 12 points against the Lakers and a lowly two points in Memphis over 25 minutes. Unfortunately, he was then ruled out for last night’s game due to an undisclosed illness that was likely bothering him on Monday. Hopefully, that won’t keep him out for long, as Dallas needs his productivity.

Franz Wagner, Orlando Magic

Wagner heated up in a hurry this week. He tallied a double-double on Thursday with 16 points and 10 rebounds in Phoenix. He followed that up with 20, 21, and 20-point performances against the Clippers, Lakers, and Wizards. Franz has now scored 20+ points in six of Orlando’s last nine contests and the rest of the league is taking notice.

The Magic may not be contenders just yet but they are certainly not the cellar-dwellers that they used to be in the East.

Jordan Poole, Golden State Warriors

Golden State played in four road games this week with Poole having varying results. He scored in double-digits in three of the four but had a dreadful performance in Houston on Monday (5 points on 1-for-8 from the field and 1-for-6 from three). This was his first game in single-digit scoring since February 4th. Poole continues to be a relatively inefficient, but high-volume scorer who, similar to Caris LeVert, will look to snag the Sixth Man of the Year Award.

Moritz Wagner, Orlando Magic

Moe’s minutes were surprisingly slashed this week as he was a DNP in back-to-back games. When given an opportunity again on Tuesday, he made the most of it — Wagner scored 15 points with three rebounds in just 14 minutes of action. At this point in the season, Wagner has proven to be a capable bench big for the Magic so it’s surprising to his the coaching staff limiting his minutes.

Isaiah Livers, Detroit Pistons

Livers has missed four consecutive games due to hip soreness. As we’ve mentioned extensively, now is the time for Livers to show what he’s got. With the best ability being availability, Isaiah’s future in Detroit is growing murkier and murkier by the day.

Duncan Robinson, Miami Heat

Duncan played just two minutes this week and went 0-for-2 from three. I’m curious to see what will become of Robinson and, more importantly, his contract this offseason.

Caleb Houstan, Orlando Magic

Caleb appeared in three games this week and actually got decent minutes, averaging 14.7 minutes per game. Unfortunately, he was ice cold as he didn’t register a single point on the week and had more fouls than assists and rebounds combined.

Bonus: Derrick Walton Jr., Sydney Kings

While not in the NBA, Derrick Walton Jr. made headlines this week by earning the MVP Award of the championship series in the NBL for the Sydney Kings. In a winner-take-all game five of the series, Walton scored 21 points while chipping in six assists and three rebounds.

It’s safe to say he was excited about the award: