StatsCube: Look beyond scoring for Sixth Man candidates

In this NBA.com StatsCube study, StatsCube takes a look at candidates for the Kia Sixth Man Award.

It's getting to be that time. There's been MVP talk (and an MVP column) all season long. But there are five other major awards to be handed out at the end of the season. So, over the next few weeks, NBA.com StatsCube will take a close look at the candidates for each.

Recent history tells us that scoring is the key to the Sixth Man Award. Of the last nine Kia Sixth Man Award winners, seven of them went to the leading scorer among eligible players.

To be eligible for the Sixth Man Award, a player has to come off the bench more than he starts.

Jamal Crawford, with his 18.0 points per game was a landslide winner a year ago, receiving 110 of a possible 122 first-place votes, despite the better overall numbers of several other bench players, including a few on other teams with 50-plus wins.

Manu Ginobili, Paul Millsap, Lamar Odom and Anderson Varejao each had better efficiency numbers for playoff teams than Crawford did last season. In addition, each contributed to better defenses than the one that Crawford was a part of in Atlanta. But the voters clearly paid most attention to the scoring column.

This season, among players eligible for the Sixth Man Award, Jason Terry is the leading scorer at 16.3 points per game. And he's been the third- or fourth-most important player on a team that's currently tied for second place in the Western Conference. So if voting goes the way it has in the past, Terry will likely win his second Sixth Man Award in three years.

But when it comes to overall numbers, there are better candidates than Terry.

Playing for bad teams, neither Sessions nor Davis can really be considered a candidate. Individual statistics don't matter much if you're not helping your team win games.

The most important number in basketball is the number on the scoreboard. And when it comes to making an impact on the final score, some Sixth Man Award candidates distinguish themselves more than others.

Asik obviously doesn't play enough minutes to make a huge impact on the game, but he's still an integral part of the league's No. 1 defense. In fact, while benches from other teams may boast higher scoring totals, the Bulls' bench is the best in the NBA, because it consistently shuts down its opponent's second unit.

The Bulls' lineup of Watson, Brewer, Luol Deng, Taj Gibson and Asik has been the best defensive five-man unit in the league (minimum of 100 minutes), allowing a ridiculously low 75.9 points per 100 possessions in 103 minutes together. Substitute Derrick Rose for Watson and you have the league's second-best defensive unit (83.5 points allowed per 100 possessions in 118 minutes).

A true "sixth man" is the first guy off the bench. And one of the most important traits of a good bench player is his ability to make an impact as soon as he steps on the floor. It's not easy to sit on the bench for several minutes, come into the game cold, and quickly get into a rhythm.

If you look at which players are most productive in their first five minutes of action, you get some interesting results ...

Notice that Terry isn't on either of the two lists above. He ranks sixth in the league in fourth-quarter scoring, but hasn't made much of an impact in his first five minutes on the floor. In fact, the Mavs have been outscored by 3.7 points per 100 possessions in Terry's first five minutes over the course of the season.

Odom, on the other hand, consistently affects the scoreboard in a positive manner for the Lakers. And while Terry has the edge when it comes to putting the ball in the basket, Odom, with superior overall numbers and a bigger defensive impact, should be the clear choice for the Sixth Man Award this season.

John Schuhmann is a staff writer for NBA.com. You can e-mail him here and follow him on twitter. The views on this page do not necessarily reflect the views of the NBA, its clubs or Turner Broadcasting.