Draymond Green and the Defensive Player of the Year Race
Anthony Davis: The freshly turned 22 year old-phenom has missed many games this season, but there’s no taking away his impact on the game.
Davis is the most athletic shot-blocker in the game and is extremely scary around the rim for anyone that tries to attack the basket. He averages 2.8 blocks per game and He is also a good help defender and is quick enough to stay with bigs who like to go out on the perimeter.
The Brow defends exceptionally well. Opponents are shooting only 39.8 percent when he’s defending them. It’s unfortunate that he’s only played in 53 games this season. If he’s healthy for the remainder, watch out.
Serge Ibaka: Westbrook and Kevin Durant may be the talk of Oklahoma City, but Ibaka still has some sort of defensive buzz going for them. Players he plays against shoot nearly 60 percent coming into the game from less than 6 feet; Ibaka is actually holding them to 14 percent less than that resulting in 45.4 shooting within that range.
Ibaka’s rim protection is simply one of the best in the league, but his team being ranked 16th overall in points allowed at 100 is a red flag. The Thunder don’t play great team defense, which hurts the versatile power forward’s chances.
DeAndre Jordan: Jordan is considered by many to be the favorite to win this award. He’s been a huge key to the Los Angeles Clippers remaining relevant even with Blake Griffin missing numerous games due to injury. Jordan’s offensive game isn’t scaring anyone, but he anchors a Clippers team on the defensive end of the ball when they lack several players interested in that end.
He hasn’t been playing alongside a traditional four ever since Griffin has been hurt, but his athleticism combined with massive length can give anyone fits. He has taken strides to become one of the best defensive centers in the game, if not the best.
However, Jordan holds his opponents to only a percent and a half less than their regular shooting percentage when it comes to two-point shots. They shoot 48.4 percent on him. Jordan also can’t stay in games at times because he is a liability on the offensive side of the ball with his horrid free-throw shooting.
Staying on the floor is obviously a huge part of defense. If Jordan isn’t able to, his value goes down and teams can attack the Clippers with him not being able to play his anchor role.
The Warriors’ Case: Green’s versatility separates him from the rest of the candidates. He can guard every position on the floor and make his opposition struggle. He’s usually smaller than any power forward or center he has to defend and bigger than any guard. That doesn’t stop Green from taking the challenge to heart.
He plays with a passion that we haven’t seen defensively in quite some time, resulting in Coach Steve Kerr to compare the generous 6’7 Green to Dennis Rodman. Green’s ability to block shots despite his smaller frame is remarkable.
Green holds anyone he’s defending to just 38.8 percent shooting from the field. He plays well on the perimeter, resulting in only 26.7 percent of three-pointers going in when he’s on his man.
The Heartbeat of the Warriors has as much will to play defense as anyone in the league, if not the most. He keeps offensive players in check when he’s assigned to them and hardly anyone ever shoots their regular shooting percentage against Green.
His vocal leadership along with his lead-by-example approach has been one of the main factors in the Warriors’ number one ranked defense.
Fuck this dumb ass