3 players who could steal the Sixth Man of the Year award from LA Clippers star

1. Malik Monk

Let's be honest - this is Monk's award to lose. He's blending volume (15.9 points per game) with reasonable efficiency (57.4 TS%) for the Sacramento Kings. That's not all that Monk is doing, either. 

His 5.3 assists per game represent a turning point for Monk. He was a quintessential "black hole" on offense for some time. Not anymore. Monk has grown into a strong distributor. 

At the moment, he's the odds on favorite for the award. That doesn't mean that Powell can't catch him. He's had a great season in his own right, averaging 13.9 points per game on a scorching 62.9 TS%. One could make the case that Powell is a better defender than Monk as well. 

Still, Powell has some ground to make up. If he can get back from his current injury as the best version of himself, and help the LA Clippers win some games, he'll garner some consideration for the award. Otherwise, the award may go to a player on another California team: 

For once.