Getty Damian Lillard, Jayson Tatum, Boston Celtics
With the regular season wrapping up and teams finalizing their plans for the playoffs, fans’ attentions have turned toward the end-of-season awards.
For the Boston Celtics, and their fanbase, Malcolm Brogdon is the most likely player to receive some individual recognition, as he’s expected to be among the leaders for the Sixth Man of the Year award following an impressive season coming off Boston’s bench.
However, some believe that New York Knicks guard Immanuel Quickley is more deserving, and it would appear that superstar point guard Damian Lillard agrees with them. On April 7, Lillard quote Re-Tweeted a Tweet that was discussing the potential Sixth Man of the Year candidates, simply stating that Quickley is his choice for the award.
One of the primary arguments in favor of Brogdon is that he hasn’t started a single game for the Celtics this season, as opposed to Quickley, who has appeared in 19 contests as a starter this season.
Furthermore, Brogdon has been an important cog in Boston’s offense, providing his team with 14.9 points, 4.2 rebounds, and 3.7 assists per game while shooting 48.4% from the field and 44.4% from three-point range.
Malcolm Brogdon Receives Backing From Analysts
6MOY this man.
Brogdon can give it to you any way you want. Tie game, 6 minutes to go, Raptors on a 10-1 run? Pull-up 3 right between the eyes.
On April 7, the staff writers at Bleacher Report released an article that detailed their picks for each end-of-season award, with Brogdon slated as winning Sixth Man of the Year.
“After starting every contest the past four years, Brogdon thrived in his new role with 14.9 points, 4.2 rebounds and 3.7 assists in just 26.0 minutes, all while ranking fourth in the NBA with a 44.4 percent mark from three. As good as Quickley was this season, his numbers as a reserve (12.3 points, 3.7 rebounds, 2.9 assists in 25.6 minutes, 35.2 percent from three) were noticeably lower while playing for a worse team,” Bleacher Report’s staff wrote.
The Celtics only have two games remaining on their current schedule, them being set to face the Toronto Raptors on April 7 and the Atlanta Hawks on April 9.
Malcolm Brogdon Discusses Celtics Role
Malcolm Brogdon on how his expectations of being a part of the Celtics has matched up with his experience this season 🗣️
When speaking to the media following Boston’s April 5 victory over the Raptors, Brogdon discussed the challenges that embracing a bench role provides – especially for a player who has been a starter for the majority of their professional career.
“You know, I didn’t know what it would be like,” Brogdon said. “I knew I’d be coming off the bench. The Celtics, Brad [Stevens] they were very upfront about that…and I was all for it, I am all for it and I knew it would be a very fluid situation. For me, it’s about understanding that, embracing it, and continuing to embrace it for 82 games and in the playoffs. I feel that’s what I’ve done.
That’s what I’ve tried to do to the best of my ability. As far as the rest of the team, as far as us being successful, this is exactly what I thought. I thought I’d be coming to a championship team, that’s what we have here. So we got to keep pushing. We’re trending in the right direction and [we’re] exactly where we want to be.”
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Damian Lillard Spurns Celtics’ Guard in Awards Race