Dunking With Wolves Sixth Man Of The Year
The Dunking With Wolves Sixth Man of the Year award goes to Shabazz Muhammad.
That’s Right Shabazz Muhammad
Muhammad posted 9.9 points and 2.8 rebounds per games this season for the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Muhammad was the Timberwolves spark off the bench as he had eight games with 20 or more points and 32 games with ten or more points.
Yes, 9.9 points were a big deal to the Minnesota Timberwolves this year, as they searched for the production from the bench when the starters were off the court. The Timberwolves’ bench has been an area the Timberwolves struggled and this year the bench didn’t break the trend.
Muhammad’s 9.9 points per game finished as the sixth-highest scorer on the team behind Karl Anthony-Town’s 25.1, Andrew Wiggin’s 23.6, Zach LaVine’s 18.9, Ricky Rubio’s 11.1, and Gorgui Dieng‘s 10.
Minnesota’s next highest scorers were Nemanja Bjelica‘s 6.2 points per game and Brandon Rush‘s 4.2.
Shabazz’s output alone pretty much equals their totals combined.
Shabazz’s 9.9 actually doesn’t do him justice.
Go back and check some of his highlights and you would agree. Shabazz chipped in some amazing games for Minnesota this year.
Muhammad’s best game came when he helped lead Minnesota to a victory over the Houston Rockets.
His stats for the night were 20 points on 7/11 shooting from the field and 2/3 from the three-point line.
To add on, he also went a perfect 4/4 from the charity stripe while adding seven rebounds and one assist to his résumé.
What is so important about that assist is that Muhammad’s one negative came from his willingness to pass. Sadly he averaged 0.4 assists as he never dished out anything over two assists. For Shabazz Muhammad to be the first man off the bench that isn’t a number to be happy about.
Although Bazz struggled on the assist side of the game he excelled in the fast break game. Many times when Minnesota caused a turnover Shabazz could be found ready to throw down a monster jam on the rim or any defender in his way.
Another area Muhammad improved on this year was his three-point shot. He shot up from shooting 28.9 percent last year up to 33.6 percent this year.
He went from making 44/152 shots in 2015-16 to knocking down 49/146 shots in 2016-17.
Muhammad’s percentage would have been higher if he didn’t fall off at the end of the year.
In March, he ended the month shooting 12 percent on 3/25 shooting. He followed that by shooting 18.8 percent in the month of April, making 3/16 shots.
Shabazz Muhammad will be a restricted free agent this year. This doesn’t mean that he won’t be wearing a wolves jersey come next season. Seems like
Seems like Tom Thibodeau has made it known that he does have the desire to retain the left-handed small forward.
Bazz brings hustle and points off the bench. He may struggle with his passing game but he more than makes up for it with his smooth jumper and rim-rocking dunks.
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As Muhammad grows he will be a name to remember, whether he’s in a Minnesota jersey or not, you will be seeing Shabazz dropping the hammer on someone’s rim.