Defense helps put Montrezl Harrell over the top
It is really close. Joe Ingles is a much tougher matchup for Harrell but he is not even the one that most people are talking about. Most people are talking about Clarkson because of the overall points per game number and that is not the important thing.
First of all, Clarkson is also the worst defender of the bunch. He is a below-average defender and while defense often gets overlooked, it creates a big gap between him and the other two. Clarkson very well should be third on this list, but instead, many outlets have him as number one.
Harrell and Ingles are once again very close. Harrell got knocked a lot for his defense in the offseason but as expected, he has really picked it up as part of a better defensive team in the Los Angeles Lakers.
Harrell has more defensive win shares but Ingles has a better DBPM. Harrell, again influenced by overall team play, has a better defensive rating.
Ingles has a better overall BPM than Harrell does but Harrell has a far better WS/48 minutes than Ingles does. Harrell is currently sitting at .224, Ingles is sitting at .193. Just for comparison’s sake, the last NBA Sixth Man of the Year to have a WS/48 as high as Harrell this season was James Harden back in 2013. I heard that guy is pretty good now.
In the history of the award, there have only been three winners to have a WS/48 that high. Harden, Manu Ginobili and Toni Kukoc. That is it.
The defense is what helps put Harrell over the edge. Similar offensive efficiency (but more output) and better defensive numbers give Harrell the edge over Ingles and a big edge over Jordan Clarkson.
If you combined Clarkson and Ingles together as one sixth man then they would win the award. Too bad that is not possible and the true sixth man for his team will win the award.
Statistics courtesy of Basketball-Reference.