NBA Awards Watch: The All-Star Break ballot
By Brad Rowland
Defensive Player of the Year
Draymond Green, Golden State Warriors – Green is a trendy pick for Defensive Player of the Year, but that doesn’t mean that everyone is wrong. He has been the best perimeter defender in the NBA this season, and Green leads the league in both defensive win shares and individual defensive rating. The 24-year-old is putting up 1.6 steals and 1.4 blocks, which should satisfy skeptics of the more advanced metrics, and with Andrew Bogut reduced to virtually a part-time role because of injury and maintenance, Green is the biggest reason for Golden State’s elite-level defensive performance.
Tim Duncan, San Antonio Spurs – Duncan rates in the top-4 of the NBA in both individual defensive rating and defensive win shares, and his play backs up those advanced metrics. The future Hall of Famer is one of the best in the game at positioning and communicating defensively, and he is the anchor of the third-best defense in the league. Duncan is even blocking shots (1.9 per game) and, frankly, it is jarring how effective he has been at the age of 38.
Anthony Davis, New Orleans Pelicans – Much has been made of Davis and a lack of team success on the defensive end. New Orleans is a bottom-10 defense in the league (allowing 105.8 points per 100) this season, but those numbers are heavily influenced by the disaster that occurs when Davis heads to the bench. The 21-year-old leads the NBA in blocks (2.7 per game) while flying around with length and athleticism unmatched in today’s NBA, and when the pieces fit better around him, the team success will undoubtedly follow.
Next: Rookie of the Year