NBA Award Watch: Russell Westbrook is on fire
By John Buhler
Sixth Man of the Year: Oklahoma City Thunder C Enes Kanter
It isn’t all Westbrook that has made the Thunder a respectable Western Conference Playoff-caliber team in the wake of Kevin Durant’s highly publicized exodus. Oklahoma City might have themselves a serious Sixth Man of the Year candidate in the frontcourt.
Backup center Enes Kanter gives the Thunder serious bite off the bench both on the glass and offensively. He and fellow ‘Stache Brother center Steven Adams ensure that Oklahoma City is going to have a strong, low-post presence when either is on the floor.
Kanter is averaging 12.8 points and 5.9 rebounds per game coming off the Thunder bench. He is making 56.8 percent of his field goals and has the best PER of any non-starter in the league at 24.5.
Westbrook might garner most of the hype from the Oklahoma City and national media for his nightly triple-doubles, but the Thunder aren’t as solid in the early part of the season without Kanter coming off the bench. He has flourished under an outstanding former college coach in Billy Donovan. Expect other Thunder rotational players to pop under Donovan’s tutelage.