The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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and he's showing no signs of slow- ing down after winning the NBA's Sixth Man of the Year award for the third time in six seasons. He was pro- ductive offensively last year, averag- ing 14.2 points per game during the regular season and shooting 90.4 per- cent from the free throw line. He then scored 32 points in a 106-103 play- off loss to the Portland Trail Blazers, proving he could still produce on the biggest stage. "This is his best year, in my opin- ion," Clippers coach Doc Rivers told The Los Angeles Times after Crawford won the Sixth Man award. "He's got that bench group playing great, he changed his game, he's moving without the ball … it's not just iso- Jamal. Just the award in itself … the thought of [former Boston Celtic] Kevin McHale coming off the bench [for example] is crazy. "But sixth man in general doesn't mean you can't be a starter. It means you've accepted a role to help the team, and Jamal epitomizes that." 3. MAX PACIORETTY, LW, MONTREAL CANADIENS (NHL) Pacioretty is one of the top Amer- ican-born players in the NHL and represented his country in the 2014 Olympic Games. He has the honor of being captain of one of the league's most storied franchises and has notched 30 or more goals in three straight seasons, including 30 last year (to go with 34 assists). Only five NHL players have scored more goals that Pacioretty's 106 over the last three seasons — last year he was dubbed "the NHL's best goal scorer nobody talks about" by CBSS- ports.com. "When you consider that he plays for one of the most famous and rec- ognizable franchises in the NHL it's a little stunning he does not get more attention for how productive he is," the website noted. "Part of it might come from the fact that the goals he does score aren't usually the type that show up on highlight reels." 4. DAVID HARRIS, LB, NEW YORK JETS (NFL) A 2009 All-Pro entering his 10th NFL season, the former second-round pick has racked up 992 career tackles and remains one of the AFC's bet- ter linebackers, even at age 32. He's started all 16 regular-season games for the Jets in each of the past seven years and notched 100-plus tackles in 2015 for the fourth straight year (108, including 67 solo) and the sixth time in his career. H a r r i s e a r n e d a t h re e - y e a r, $21.5-million contract with $15 mil- lion guaranteed before last season and, according to head coach Todd Bowles, earned every penny. "I don't think we can function on defense if David wasn't playing right now," Bowles told NJ.com in Decem- ber near the end of the regular season. "David's probably the most under- rated guy over there. He's the glue that keeps everybody together over there. He does everything." New York fans and media have nicknamed him "The Hitman" for his tackling prowess. In addition to his tackles, he added 4.5 sacks and two forced fumbles last season.