Lou Williams is the back-to-back winner of the Sixth Man of the Year. His competition may come from his own LA Clippers teammate, Montrezl Harrell.
In a game of superstars, players like Lou Williams probably don’t get the attention they deserve. The three-time NBA Sixth Man of the Year winner is coming off his second straight with the LA Clippers and showed no signs of slowing down at age 32.
However, he may have some stiff competition this season from none other than his own LA Clippers’ teammate, Montrezl Harrell.
For everything great Lou did this season, Harrell was right there with him. There’s a reason he finished third in the Sixth Man voting, albeit nearly 350 points behind Lou. This season was just the beginning.
Let’s look at the facts.
Harrell is entering a contract year. It’s been proven time and time again that players perform better in contract years and we should expect no different from Trezz. The Clippers are also entering a period where they will be true contenders. With Paul George and Kawhi Leonard now on the roster, the ball will obviously be in the hands of Lou less. That shouldn’t take away from Montrezl too badly though, despite their amazing pick-and-roll combo last season.
Harrell has been working hard to expand his game this summer. Right as the offseason was starting, Harrell posted on Instagram everything he planned to work on this summer. Here’s the list he put out in his words:
- Ball handling
- Constantly three ball from main spots
- Constantly free throw
- Agility
- Footwork
- Tone Up
Time to look at the tape.
First thing you’ll notice is that Trezz is looking lean. That tone up goal seems to be going extremely well. Secondly, you’ll notice he has a three point shot already. You can catch more glimpses of that in his Rico Hines runs, which I recommend watching especially as the offseason progresses.
In a Drew League game over this past weekend, Harrell continued to look great, dropping 46 points in a game headlined by Trae Young. You can check out the full 13 minute highlight video below, but I’ll notate some plays for you specifically to watch.
- 3:30 – Trezz hits a three from the top of the key. His shooting motion looks natural.
- 8:41 – He hits another, but this time from a few steps behind the line.
- 9:55 – Gets the ball, shows his handling and hits and insane fadeaway
There’s a ton of other stuff in there, but you get the gist. Trezz has vastly improved his game.
Coming off of a season where he averaged 16.6 points, 6.5 rebounds and 1.3 blocks, it’ll be amazing to see just how high his ceiling goes. Becoming a 20 point per game scorer isn’t out of the question, especially considering he only attempted 0.2 threes per game last season. With that tool in his repertoire, Harrell could be on his way to winning not only Sixth Man of the Year, but possibly the Most Improved Player Award.
It’s good to have competition among teammates. It’ll motivate them to compete harder on the court each night. Lou Williams better be careful though or there may just be a new Sixth Man in Los Angeles.