Ben Gordon - Starter or Bench Player? [J. Mark English]

There has been a raging debate as to whether Ben Gordon should be considered a Sixth Man of the Year Candidate for the first half of the season, or whether that idea is silly since he may be a starter.

Here is an example of the debate:

Ben Gordon is a starting SG. He will not win 6th man of the year. I guess that is not the second easiest award to pick.

Anonymous | 02.22.07 - 5:12 pm | #

Before the All-Star break Ben Gordon was coming off the bench for the Chicago Bulls. He started for a very brief time in the beginning of the season. If they put him back into the starting rotation this past week there is no telling how long he will remain there: The following was taken from ESPN's Midseason Award Handouts

Jeff Dengate:

Hard to argue with Ben Gordon here. Bulls coach Scott Skiles tried Gordon in the starting lineup earlier in the season, but wasn’t entirely pleased with the results – 16.4 ppg on 43.4 percent shooting. Back to the bench for Ben. In a reserve role, Gordon’s getting as many minutes as he did as a starter, but turning in a team-high 21.0 points per game. Only one Sixth Man in NBA history, Milwaukee’s Ricky Pierce in 1989-90, led his team in scoring.

If he is there starting guard, why would he win his sixth man of the year. The link is

http://www.nba.com/features/ mids...7_sixthman.html

David | Homepage | 02.24.07 - 5:17 pm | #

http://scores.espn.go.com/nba/ bo...ameId=270226004

Fact. Ben Gordon started again yesterday.

Anonymous | 02.27.07 - 10:08 am | #

"Ben Gordon is NOT a starting guard.

He WAS a starting guard for a little while to fill in for injuries but when the roster got healthy he went back to the bench, thus making him a 6th man.

Thus making that the second easiest award to pick."

This claim was just flat out wrong.
Anonymous | 02.27.07 - 10:14 am | #

Anonymous -

No one is disagreeing with you that Ben Gordon may NOW be starting. But the FACT is that earlier in the year he was NOT STARTING. He was coming off the bench. HENCE, for the FIRST HALF of the year he would be a sixth man award candidate.

This is from the NBA's website from December 26: "Gordon, who played only 27 minutes, came off the bench firing, hitting eight of his 16 field goal attempts, while attempting and hitting all 10 of his free-throws. Ben had a very good night, but Thabo Sefolosha played 28 minutes, definitely keeping Ben from a much bigger night. Sefolosha's minutes and how they affect Gordon bear watching, as Ben will not score at a point-per-minute clip every night."

Notice where it says

"CAME OFF THE BENCH"...

So FACT...he was not starting.

J. Mark English | Homepage | 02.27.07 - 11:31 am | #

Further more...here is another FACT:

The Bulls have played 59 games this year, and Ben Gordon has started 28 games. Would this qualify him as their starter??

Please, argue those facts.

http://www.nba.com/playerfile/be...ile/ben_gordon/

J. Mark English | Homepage | 02.27.07 - 11:33 am | #

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So there you have it...

Now its your turn to jump into the debate. I setup a survey through SurveyMonkey.com. Please vote as to which you think Ben Gordon is for the first half of the season. A starter or a bench player?

Click here to take survey