div align = "center" MASON REDD VAN EXEL KIRILENKO WILLIAMSON PPG - SEASON 13.8 14.9 11.9 12.3 11.9 RPG 6.6 4.4 2.8 5.6 4.4 APG 1.5 1.5 4.3 2.2 1.3 MPG 33.7 29.3 27.0 27.2 25.1 FG % .438 .480 .399 .528 .444 PPG - WEEK 13.0 16.5 13.3 6.8 15.0 RPG 8.3 4.5 2.5 5.0 5.0 APG 3.3 1.5 4.0 2.5 0.7

Corliss Williamson continues to improve his scoring average. Bill Baptist/NBAE

THE SKINNY
Desmond Mason may be a leading candidate for the Sixth Man Award, but lately he’s been starting with Sonics guard Brent Barry ailing. Mason started three of four games last week and, though he struggled at times on offense, did an excellent job of contributing in other ways. Mason’s 8.3 rebounds were second on the team as the Sonics improved their team rebounding dramatically, and he tied his career high with five assists on Saturday.

Also hot last week was Milwaukee’s Michael Redd, who has had a fantastic month of January as the Bucks have moved over .500 and made themselves very much a part of the playoff picture. Redd scored 22 points against New Orleans and made six three-pointers. He’s making 46% of his threes for the season and 48% from the field overall, a remarkable percentage for an outside shooter. Redd also grabbed six rebounds in that game, but generally hasn’t contributed much besides scoring. Corliss Williamson of Detroit is also on the upswing, netting at least 12 points in each of his games. Williamson’s poor November is increasingly just a bad memory as he puts himself in position to possibly defend last year’s Sixth Man Award.

The past week was not so kind to Andrei Kirilenko. The young Russian forward failed to score double-figures in any of his four games, dropping his scoring average dramatically. His shooting percentage also declined by 10 points. Down in Dallas, Nick Van Exel broke out of his month-long slump. He was particularly hot against New York last Friday, scoring 17 points and making five three-pointers.

ABOUT THE SIXTH MAN AWARD
Most recent winner: Corliss Williamson, Detroit (complete list of winners)

No Sonic has ever won the Sixth Man Award, though several honorees have played for the Sonics (Eddie Johnson, Ricky Pierce, and Detlef Schrempf). The best Sonic finish was by current Coach Nate McMillan, who placed second during the 1993-94 season to Charlotte’s Dell Curry.

Eligibility: In order to be eligible for Sixth Man voting, a player must come off the bench for more games than he starts in.

PAST SIXTH MAN CENTRALS