Written by: John Nguyen - Bio info: John Nguyen is a regular basketball junkie who pays top dollar for NBA League Pass who currently resides in California. John’s goal is to bring some real fan noise and unnecessary PR (...) More
So each of them gets a defensive player of the year consideration?
I’ve also read, “Josh Smith is a better shot blocker than Dwight Howard. He’s the DPOY.”
Wow. It doesn’t take much to impress eh?
Word to the blind.
Josh Smith hasn’t been the defensive beast so far like he did in years past. Yes, I know he had to come back from an ankle sprain earlier in the year yet he had more than enough games to get his game back on track. He’s had a few games where he didn’t register any blocks. As much as I love J-Smoove’s game, he shouldn’t be in any DPoY talks.
Kobe shouldn’t be in any defensive player of the year talks either. He’s not in the top 20 for blocks and steals. I’m killing that noise for good. Kobe had his chances to win it in the past when he was younger. He’s never going to win that award now when he’s entering 30. I’m pretty sure that’s the last thing on his mind. He’s not a bad defender by any stretch of the imagination. He’s actually pretty good, but he was never DPoY material.
Derrick Rose is just an abysmal defender.
Why LeBron is considered a better defender than Wade and D-12 this season? Just because he can send shots to the stands? This doesn’t make any damn sense.
LeBron is currently in the top 5 in steals. That’s great.
LeBron is currently number 27 in blocks. Not so good to be in discussions.
Let’s look at the other two guys, Wade and Howard. Wade is currently ranked 18 in the NBA in blocks leading all guards and ranked 3 in steals. The man child of Orlando leads the league in blocks and rebounding. All casual Cavs fans and LeBron boosters need to shut up. Here’s what I found what they have been talking about. Names have been changed to protect the stupid:
Idiot 1: “LeBron has a shot at DPoY if he has another "shut-down" type game against Kobe and the Lakers. He needs some more signuature defensive performances to create some hype.”
Idiot 2: “I completely agree with this. If LeBron can do what he did a couple more times against the top guards and forwards then he will very much be right beside Dwight for consideration.”
Commentary from me: WOW. Where do I start? It’s not a big deal, but having signature defensive games here and there will not do anything for that hype. A DPoY is someone who does it every game; not something sprinkled here and there. I don’t see it here. I can clearly see that people want LeBron to get every award just because he’s the king of the crab dribble.
Idiot 3 out of nowhere: Rebounds and blocks rule the award criteria...I wish someone would start to look beyond that, too. Because I’m not sold on Dwight Howard being a lock for DPoY. Orlando doesn’t do much worse without him on the court.
Oh what? Idiot 3 just said that boards and blocks rule the criteria. Dwight has the strongest resume to be “that guy.” I’ll look beyond the stats, too. When he’s out of the game, no one is intimidated to drive the lane. Orlando becomes bad defensively without him. No one is scared of Tony Battie, Brian Cook, the politics of Adonal Foyle, and the greatness that is Marcin Gortat. This is what happens when people drink the LeBron Kool-Aid too much.
If they can keep it up, it’s only going to be between Dwyane STD-Wade and Dwight "I just left my baby momma" Howard. [image:http://www.flickr.com/photos/keithallison/2315416709/]
15 Comments: So LeBron is DPoY over Dwight Howard and Dwyane Wade just because (...)
Lebron should get it because Cleveland are the best defensive team, Kevin got it last year for the very same reason .
Posted by i said it on 01.22.2009
i think lebron should win dpoy because yes he has spectacular blocks i don’t care how good of a on ball defender you are or get a lot of steals and blocks lebron sends a lot of shots into the crowd so he should win dpoy hands down .
Posted by Meek Millz on 01.22.2009
yea that one guy everytime, i only watched 5 min of that game and i seen kobe drive to the hoop and lebron just ripped it right out of his hands, altho he got it stolen right back but i didn’t watch anymore it seemed really boring watching those two overratted players .
Posted by that one guy on 01.22.2009
"locked up kobe"... locked up kobe?? i think it was the other way around.. lebron didn’t gaurd kobe half the game, it was pavlovic with help defense the whole time.. anytime elbron was on kobe, kobe got right by him or hit a jumper... and defensivley.. if we aren’t using stats.. then we use our eyes.. AND LEBRON IS AN AVERGE DEFENDER on the perimeter.. he’s being overhyped defensevily simply cuz people WANT to see great defense from him.. his defense is a bit better than last season so now people are acting like it’s a huge improvement.. lebron james is the best player in the league right now... but dpoy?? not even close.. let alone the all-nba defensive team.. i’d rather put shawn marion on that spot over lebron. .
Posted by
on 01.22.2009
if lebron was so good he woulda shut down kobe. lebron is over hyped on defense. .
Posted by LBJ23 on 01.22.2009
u r just hating on lebron. that is all. .
Posted by
on 01.22.2009
sup young fella i think the people are considering lebron james for the DPoY award because Cleveland has the best defense in the league, an LeBron has been the so-called ’anchor’ of that defense. They also say that he has a ’newfound commitment’ to defense, meaning to say that he didn’t play a lot of defense before but is now learning to play good defense, so it’s being hyped all over the blogosphere.kobe won’t be a DPoY, but he is a good defender and will most probably make it to the all-defensive team at the end of the year.dwyane wade defensive stats are sick - i can understand the steals, but to get that amount of blocks per game, for a guy generously listed at 6’4, is amazing. at the same time, wade is also still somewhat undisciplined as a defender, as he takes a lot of risks when it comes to defense.dwight howard IS the DPoY frontrunner right now. players don’t even want to get into the lane because howard is such an imposing presence. the scary part is that he can become an even better defender. if dwight howard can become even more committed to playing defense than he already is, the paint will become an even more unfriendly place for magic opponents. at the same time, dude, don’t just use stats to back up your claims. lots of previous DPoY’s didn’t have great stats, but were shut-down defenders who really kept their man in check. case in point, Michael Cooper of the Los Angeles Lakers, who was a DPoY winner. He was the player who was most successful when it came to shutting down Larry Bird. Bruce Bowen, although he is criticized as dirty, can also be considered as an example. Gary Payton was an all-world defender who gave Michael Jordan fits during the Sonics-Bulls series, although he didn’t have gaudy statistics. So basically, what I’m saying is that your arguments, using stats to back you up, are good, but you can use other aspects of the game to support your claims as well.thanks. .
Posted by Jacob (from Australia) on 01.21.2009
first of all, kobe travelled after that block haha, but about the article - u just went on about stats the whole flipping time... who cares if lebron is only 27th in the L. thats still pretty darn good. actually that means hes better than nearly all the starting centres in the NBA at blocking shots then u look at how he has locked up granger, kobe, rudy gay, paul pierce, gerald wallace & caron butler over the last month or so. im not saying hes DPOY, and probz wont even be in consideration for another couple of years but hes certainly improved. hes also gonna benefit now that delonte is out for a while. d wade should be up there coz dwight is just doing what he should without a good PF or any big man help. wade is amazing for his height. and plz someone agree that josh smith was robbed last season... .
Posted by lebronzebronzedsneakers on 01.21.2009
There are 3 people that should be considered for the DPOY award and LeBron ain’t one of them. I don’t know why everybody is afraid to say it, but he’s not a good defender. He is average at best. He just happens to benefit from being the big name star on a great defensive team. Here is how the DPOY should be ranked: 1. Dwight Howard 2. KG 3. Wade (4. Tim Duncan) Period. And I only put KG in front of Wade because he is the anchor on a much better defensive team. As far as who changes the game the most with his defense its Dwight Howard easily. As far as who is having the most amazing defensive season considering his circumstances its D-Wade hands down point blank period don’t even debate it. I never seen a guard since MJ take over the game and in clutch situations on the defensive end like D-Wade. Every time I’ve watched a close Heat game Wade has had a crazy steal or block or forced a TO that put his team over the top. Never seen a guy his size do amazing things like he does. If Wade’s team was ranked higher defensively this year I’d actually give him the nod over Dwight Howard no lie, because its one thing to make clutch blocks and altered shots when you’re a 7 foot center, its another thing when you’re doing it as a 6’3 guard. .
Posted by that one guy on 01.21.2009
yung hova, A LOT of people have been saying it.. espn is all over the bullshit.. he’s not even commited to the defensive end.. he’s an averge defender.. espn is simply hyping him up more and more so that in the future they can use jordan’s name to sell lebron james tickets.. that’s how haters build.. same s---happened to kobe.. it’s gonna happen to lebron.. .
Posted by
on 01.21.2009
Wow...finally a good writeup from u. N no more swearing... Good stuff. Totally agree on the LeBron hype. hes good defensively but not great. .
Posted by Yung Hova on 01.21.2009
This is stupid. Nobody ever said he was DPOY because of blocks. They said he was DPOY because of his commitment to defensive end. I’m not saying he should be DPOY but he has stepped his defense up and the only thing I see Dwight Howard do is block shots. .
Posted by BiGOz on 01.21.2009
absolutely agree with you.. sayin’ that lebron is the DPOYjust because he is blocking shots? wtfKobe has done that is entire career plus great on ball defender.. Youtube dat shit.. Superman as well.. Wade.. great ball defender so its really between SupermanKBDWadeLebronze but to say.. that lebron already is.. the best DPOY is rediculous .
Posted by that one guy on 01.21.2009
finally somebody did sometin bout this bullshit...lebron went from being an underrated defender to IN MY OPINION the most overrated defender in the league .
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haha, but about the article - u just went on about stats the whole flipping time... who cares if lebron is only 27th in the L. thats still pretty darn good. actually that means hes better than nearly all the starting centres in the NBA at blocking shots 
then u look at how he has locked up granger, kobe, rudy gay, paul pierce, gerald wallace & caron butler over the last month or so. im not saying hes DPOY, and probz wont even be in consideration for another couple of years but hes certainly improved. hes also gonna benefit now that delonte is out for a while. d wade should be up there coz dwight is just doing what he should without a good PF or any big man help. wade is amazing for his height. and plz someone agree that josh smith was robbed last season... .
