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If Marcus Camby was really the best defensive player in the league, he would be guarding Tim Duncan.
Q.E.D.
Ill take another le over DPOY any day.It looks like Bruce will never get it!
If Marcus Camby was really the best defensive player in the league, he would be guarding Tim Duncan.
Q.E.D.
damn you were so intent on that trying to prove him wrong and throw that witty little nugget joke at the end you didnt even answer the question correctly...hence you look bad.
you need to learn to read more carefully before you get your panties all wadded up.
Thats just idiotic. So basically, the Nuggets are only conceding what everyone else already knows, that Camby is not an exceptional defensive player and can not guard Duncan effictively? The same Tim Duncan who looked pathetic against a guy who hasn't played in two years?
Perhaps the league should take back the award unless Karl changes his matchups, afterall, there is that policy about the best having to guard the best.....
then tim would make that dpoy look silly
Here's an interesting article. http://82games.com/dpoy.htm
#5. BRUCE BOWEN The NBA’s lock-down defender, Bruce Bowen complements Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili to form one of the most feared defensive trios in the league. While Bowen remains an offensive liability if his threes are not falling, the man creates nightmares for opposing teams and their ability to score. Bowen is tall enough, quick enough, and has sufficient reach to frustrate players from point guards to power forwards. His high Block Value demonstrates that, like Artest and Marion, Bowen is regularly assigned guard to the most dangerous offensive weapon on the floor. Despite a poor showing in the big three statistical categories, Bowen’s value is markedly increased by his ridiculously good Defensive Plus/Minus rating. However, this is all that separates Bowen from the compe ion, and since his Plus/Minus rating may be somewhat inflated from frequently sharing the floor with other defensive standouts, it is difficult to justify ranking Bowen any higher than fifth among our candidates. He is a distant eighth-place among our contenders in steals, blocks, and rebounds, and given the rate at which he ac ulates steals and blocks, it should come as no surprise that his Foul Efficiency is poor. Bowen also has a middling OCR, showing that many of his steals come in his own territory, and he has trouble pushing the ball up the floor once he acquires it. He may remain the single-best off-the-ball defender in the league and a first team All-NBA Defense candidate, but his low statistical contributions exclude him from serious consideration for one of the top four spots in the voting.
TIM DUNCAN Some may argue that Duncan is not even the best defensive player on his own team, but his statistical contributions are immense. Duncan is among the league leaders in blocks and defensive rebounds, comfortably within the top ten of both categories. Last season Duncan had the benefit of another 7-footer in the middle in Nazr Mohammed, but he has carried the load admirably in Mohammed’s absence. His Plus/Minus rating among our candidates is second only to Bowen, and despite the possibility that this number is somewhat inflated, his defensive impact is undeniable. Teams learn the hard way that driving a Duncan-filled lane or trying to outrebound TD are weak bets at best. Duncan does have his weak points. His steal total is low considering that the Spurs’ defense regularly funnels players into the lane, and a low OCR highlights that most of his steals come under his own basket and rarely in transition. Also, Duncan’s Block Value shows that many of his stops come against weaker compe ion, or against late game bench players. Still, we cannot fault Duncan too much simply because his enormous defensive contributions come primarily from the low-post. Tim remains one of the best defenders in the league, the anchor for the league’s most highly touted defensive team, and an unquestionable First Team NBA All-Defensive player. Duncan should get serious consideration for the award, and his outstanding D this season qualifies him as our runner-up for the 2006-2007 Defensive Player of the Year award.
SHAWN MARION
Marion is a rarity among NBA players. In addition to his obvious offensive capabilities, Marion makes his presence felt in every imaginable defensive category. Marion has been in the top five in steals for most of the season, and because of his explosive speed it should come as no surprise that Marion’s OCR is among the highest. The fact that Marion is adept at playing the passing lanes is obvious, but Marion shines even more brightly in the big-man categories of blocks and rebounds. The fact that Marion has ranked in the top five in the league in defensive rebounding for most of the season is astounding. The 6’7 Marion starts at the small forward position, yet Marion grabbed more defensive boards per game than 53 of 60 starting centers and power forwards in the league, and did so playing next to an accomplished rebounder in 6’11 Amare Stoudemire. Analyzing Marion’s blocked shots shows similar production. While Marion is not in the same league as players like Camby or Okafor in raw shot-blocking ability, Marion’s 1.5 per-game average is more than half a block more than that of Gerald Wallace, the next best shot blocker of equivalent size. Like Artest and Bowen, Marion is given the toughest defensive assignments a great deal of the time, and sports a fantastic Block Value as a result. Yet Marion’s season block total is nearly triple of that of Artest or Bowen, and unlike Artest or Bowen, Marion maintains a very good Personal Foul Efficiency. Marion’s tougher-than-average defensive assignments put his stats into even greater perspective: while many of the big men on our list have the luxury of consistently playing near the basket on the defensive end, inflating their numbers in blocks and rebounds, Marion is often forced to defend very good perimeter players, making it that much more difficult to secure his position amongst the league-leaders in these categories. Marion, like all of our candidates, has his deficiencies. His Defensive Plus/Minus is less than impressive, and reduced minutes in the final six weeks of the season has caused a decline in his numbers across the board. Still, Marion’s impact in every statistical category and his ability to guard everyone on the floor from 1 to 5 make him our choice for the 2006-2007 Defensive Player of the Year.
CONCLUSION (ARE YOU SURPRISED?)
“Wait. So what you’re telling us is that the Defensive Player of the Year award this year should go to a gifted offensive player that is a 6’7 small forward? And worst of all, you want to give the award to a member of the no-defense Phoenix Suns?”
Since Marion has actually gotten some nods for the award of late, this may be a bit less surprising than at midseason, when we concluded that Marion was the clear choice for the award. Still, Marion’s D has many detractors, often fueled by one of the most popular misconceptions expressed by the general public (and by most TV and radio analysts): that the Suns are a horrible defensive team. Yes, looking at PPG allowed there are not many worse, but Defensive Efficiency is a far more accurate representation of team defense. Looking at points allowed per-possession, not only is Marion a fantastic defender, he is also a fantastic defender for a better than average defensive ballclub. While Marion is our choice for the award, a strong case could be made for any one of our finalists. The factor that caused us to choose Marion over the others is his overall versatility. Marion is the next-gen defender. Long, strong and athletic, Marion can keep up with the fastest point guards, and is disciplined enough to defend the best low-post scorers. His ability to play the passing lanes and pick up steals or deflections is even more valuable because of his ability to run the floor or make the outlet pass. Combine this with the fact that he holds his own against any big man in the league when it comes to blocks and defensive rebounds, and you can understand why Shawn Marion gets our nod for Defensive Player of the Year. Traditionally, Marion has been viewed as a player without a position, but smart coaches and GMs can tell you that this is not a bad thing, and with the NBA game opening up more each season, players with Marion’s defensive skill set will be more coveted than ever.
I think Tim Duncan, being as professional and good as he is, is probably more concerned about himself not looking silly, like he did the other night. If he can do that, than of course he can look good against anybody, even the Defensive play of the year Marcus Camby.
I was very disappointed in that article. It's unusual for an analysis from 82games.com to rely so heavily on stats like blocks and steals. Typically they have much more progressive metrics.
No bias here. Camby is a good defender. But I would personally take Duncan or Rasheed/Ben Wallace over Camby if I needed a one-on-one defender.
It's hard to quantify what Bruce Bowen does. There simply are no defensive stats for perimeter defenders. They simply don't get the quantifiable stat, blocks, like big men do.
Hence, my weak-side blocker statement.
Nobody's saying it's better strategy for the Nuggets to put Camby on Duncan and let Nene patrol the paint... but essentially, Camby's role is a help defender. To me, this is like giving the Cy Young award to a closer. Only in rare cases should this be done, and only when there's no obvious man-on-man-defender for the award to go to.
Because all things equal, it's better to have an elite starter than an elite closer, and it's better to have someone who can man up and neutralize the opponent's best player than someone who's good at collecting blocks and rebounds while guarding the weaker of the two post players.
bowen did not deserve it, he has lost a step, and even adam morrison made him his ............
It's for the reasons I'm stating that many Spurs fans would have told you earlier this decade that David Robinson was the better defensive player of the two centers. Duncan collected the numbers, and therefore the All-Defensive Team selections, but Robinson did all of the work.
We'll have to agree to disagree on Camby vs. Duncan defensively (of course not complete game). But I totally agree the league should find a way to recognize man-to-man defensive skills. Perhaps some sort of a point differential stat, where the player they guard scores less than / more than average, or maybe points per minute averages while being guarded. Permiter defenders may not get awards, but they are coveted and recognized just the same. I think my Nuggets may have one in Yakhouba Diawara. I would like to see him get some PT, been very impressed at what I've seen.
You do realize that for years Tim Duncan has not guarded the best big man on the opponent and has tallied his blocks coming from the weak side.
Pippen is my favorite defensive specialist
Yes I realize this. I'm not arguing in favor of Duncan.You do realize that for years Tim Duncan has not guarded the best big man on the opponent and has tallied his blocks coming from the weak side.
I will go one further-- 2 seasons ago Rasho played better defensively than Duncan did. Fire away!
Should have been Zo.
I live in Montreal, and I've watched lots of Raps games.
Get off Rashos nuts already. He is a good help defender and rebounder, but at no point did he ever play better d than Tim
Point taken, Camby is definitely allowed to 'roam' more. It's not every game, however, that he guards the lessor of two evils. Sure, we'll see it in this series, because it makes sense, but thats not always the case. He does possess man-to-man skills in the paint, low post, and even when guarding the oppenents 'best player', he is still able to help out. There is nothing new about collapsing defenses, every team plays it. , I see Duncan do it all of the time. Obviously, he is not the prototypical center or power forward, but rebounds are rebounds (good positioning and awaremenss), steals are steals (good quickness), blocks are blocks (great timing and anticipation) and being the anchor of a fast breaking, defense optional team that relies on your presense day in and day out, that still takes plenty of skill, and whos to say that type of defense doesn't win more games.
Abosolute crap.
But expected.
You do realize that the best defense in the NBA over the last four years was built completely around what Tim Duncan can do.
shocking, ploto with the Rasho in her mouth.
Get the out of here already with that bull .
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