This may not be a popular belief among the NBA community but I would love to see Taj Gibson awarded the Sixth Man of the Year at the end of the season.

He may not be averaging 18 points a night like Jamal Crawford, knocking down around 50 percent of his shots on the fun-loving Suns like Markieff Morris, or trying to keep the offence clicking in OKC like Reggie Jackson, but Gibson is making a huge impact on this Bulls team.

Consider this, the Bulls lost Derrick Rose to injury and sent Luol Deng to the Cavaliers in what essentially was a salary dump.

The team lost their two best scorers in a matter of months and had to adjust to some new pieces in Tom Thibodeau’s system.

Fast forward to the end of March and the Bulls have a 40-32 record and sit in fourth place in the Eastern Conference with the opportunity to win a playoff series.

Clearly, Joakim Noah has been integral to the Bulls’ rise but it is the improvement and added responsibility that Gibson has received that has seen him enter the race for the award.

Generally, it’s explosive offensive scorers who receive this award so you’d expect Crawford to be the favourite but I’d LOVE a two-way big man who impacts his team on both ends to change the landscape.

The defensive aspects of his game have always been sound, however, this season he has improved his offensive game out of sight.

Gibson spoke to reporters about the potential of him winning the award and how his team is now looking for him on offence.

"It would mean a lot," Gibson said. "I've been a part of the Bench Mob my entire career since we got Carlos (Boozer). We've had so many different guys coming and going. Coming off the bench on this team is just tough. You come in, play defence, go from a guy who is just focused on defence and now my team is looking for me on offence. It's just great. It would be a dream come true."

The Bulls are scoring 105.1 points per 100 possessions when he’s on the floor compared to 101.4 when he’s out of the game.

Chicago's offence clicks when he's out there, as expressed by their effective field-goal percentage which increases when he takes the floor.

In terms of pure numbers, he’s having his best scoring season by a mile in 2013-14.

So far, he’s increased his minutes to 28.8 per contest and is averaging 13.4 points on 48.3 percent from the floor.

He’s also averaging 14.6 points and 7.4 rebounds since the All-Star break.

Not only is he finishing at the rim at a high rate (64.1 percent) he has also extended his jump shot to beyond 16-feet.

Last season, he attempted 103 shots from beyond 16-feet and made just 33 percent of those looks.

He’s attempted 152 already this season and has nailed 40.8 percent.

Here’s a look at his 2013-14 shot chart:

What I also like about Gibson’s game is that he is now being used in the fourth quarter for offensive purposes and not just to get stops.

Already this season he has attempted 248 field goals in the fourth quarter and has hit 52 percent of those, compared to last season where he attempted just 147.

While this is an award for the best players off the bench, it is interesting to point out that Gibson also has played well in his eight starts, averaging 19.3 points and 9.8 rebounds.

Gibson’s defensive abilities have been known for some time but they may have been more noticeable this season because of his increased minutes.

The Bulls have the second best defensive rating since the start of the New Year, narrowly behind the first-ranked Pacers.

Incredibly, opponents are finishing off just 44.6 percent of their attempts at the rim when he’s there protecting it.

That number is better than Anthony Davis, DeAndre Jordan, Tim Duncan and Dwight Howard, just to name a few.

The crazy thing about Gibson’s rise is that he could also be considered a candidate for Most Improved.

Either way, it’s been great to see him elevate his game during a topsy-turvy Bulls season.