There are a lot of reasons why Kevin Garnett should be recognized as the league’s best defensive player this season. Maybe he’ll get the nod and maybe he won’t. The case on why he should isn’t difficult to make, though, as we trace the history of the award and other possible candidates. History tends to dictate the NBA’s Defensive Player of the Year is a shot-blocker first and foremost. Since the award — voted on by the media — began in 1983 with Milwaukee Bucks uber-defender Sidney Moncrief winning the first two years, 16 of the next 23 winners were shot-blockers — including Marcus Camby last year.
That’s not to say the shot-blocker, who's virtually always an exceptional rebounder as well, doesn’t deserve the award. It’s just easier to distinguish the cause and effect, recognizing that it isn’t just that particular stat that makes the difference, but the intimidation factor as well. When you have guys like Camby, four-time winner Dikembe Mutombo and multiple winners such as Hakeem Olajuwon and Alonzo Mourning patrolling the paint, it does allow the rest of the team to play tougher on the ball because he’s back there as a fierce last line of defense.
The same can be said for on-the-ball pressure, with Hornets point guard Chris Paul leading the league in steals, although that rarely predicates the award-winner.
It would make it easy to tab Camby again considering he’s leading the league blocks again and is right up there in rebounds. Young Magic center Dwight Howard will garner a lot of votes, too, since he’s leading everyone in rebounding and is near the top of the league in blocks.
The Lakers’ Kobe Bryant, a fierce one-on-one defender will get his share of votes because he’s so talented and popular overall. Generally speaking, it’s difficult to single out individual defenders. Over the years, other than Moncrief, the awards have gone to great one-on-one defenders such as Michael Jordan, Gary Payton, Dennis Rodman and Ron Artest. There are those who believe the Spurs’ Bruce Bowen has deserved it for years but can’t get the necessary votes because there is a perceived notion of dirty play on his part.
This year, we’re going a different direction, giving the nod to a team-defense guy who is making everyone around him better: the Celtics’ Garnett. That’s not to say Garnett hasn’t been acknowledged as a great defender before. He was voted first-team All-Defense six years in a row by the coaches until slipping to second team the past two seasons. KG has never been voted the top defender by the media and this time around he should.
Ironically, his overall individual defensive statistics — 1.3 blocks, 1.4 steals and 9.4 rebounds — are below average over the breadth of his career. But the spidery arms, great hands, superior defensive knowledge and instincts of the 6-11, 240-pound Garnett have made the Celtics the best defensive team in the league this season. His help defense has given everybody else on the team more confidence and enhanced the team’s overall defensive IQ.
Heck, Celtics center Kendrick Perkins has more blocks than Garnett. But KG’s presence has given the young starter the freedom and confidence to come from the weak side and becoming an increasingly effective shot-blocker.
It’s hard to say how the rest of the voters will go in this instance. Camby will get a lot of votes again, so will Howard considering how much he and the Magic have risen in the NBA consciousness this season. And certainly neither would be the wrong choice.
Nonetheless, the reason Garnett deserves this is the same reason he will attract a lot of votes for Most Valuable Player too – he does so much to make the other players better with his consistent presence – his overall impact is incalculable.
To be sure, coach Doc Rivers and his staff deserve a lot of credit for transforming this team on the defensive end into a powerhouse that is leading the league in field-goal defense and defensive scoring average But none of it would have been possible without the towering president of “The Big Ticket,” in the middle of the fray to control things.
That’s why in my book, Garnett stands alone as the 2008 Defensive Player of the Year.
In this wacky NBA season when as many as 10 teams are legitimate contenders to take the title away from the defending champion Spurs, three major stars have changed teams in the past two weeks. That unprecedented movement has changed the landscape of the already fierce competition in the Western Conference.
When the Mavericks finally acquired point guard Jason Kidd from the Nets along with Malik Allen and Antoine Wright in exchange for Devin Harris, Trenton Hassell, DeSagana Diop, Maurice Ager, retired forward Keith Van Horn, two first-round picks and $3 million, it gave the Mavs the tough leadership they’ve been lacking while on the brink of a title the past three seasons.
But is it bigger than the Suns’ acquisition of Shaquille O’Neal from the Heat for Shawn Marion and Marcus Banks on Feb. 6?
And how do either one of them compare to the Lakers receiving Pau Gasol for Kwame Brown, Javaris Crittenton, Aaron McKie, two first-round draft choices and the rights to Marc Gasol on Feb. 4?
They obviously were all major moves with the intent being winning now. Consider for a moment the Suns (37-16) entered the All-Star break with the second-best record in the West – just percentage points behind the 36-15 Hornets, while the Lakers (35-17) have the third-best record, the Spurs (34-17) fourth and the Mavs (35-18) fifth. You want a great stretch run? This promises to be one of the most exciting races of the past 20 years considering nine teams are within 4½ games of the top spot in the West.
But to have players of this magnitude traded in such a short period of time – and some potentially busy days remain before the Feb. 21 trade deadline – it has to make you wonder if anything else is about to happen. Will the Nuggets make a move for Ron Artest or Sam Cassell? Will the Jazz look for help up front with the likes of Artest or Ben Wallace?
Considering the movement of Gasol, O’Neal and Kidd, who can doubt anything at this point?
And yet, there is a difference between the three big deals … and the Lakers win, big time.
Both the Mavs acquiring Kidd and the Suns getting O’Neal are gambles that may pay dividends in the short term, but they will suffer ramifications in the long run.
For the Mavs, giving up Harris and Diop is a questionable decision, if only because Kidd has maybe two more years of effectiveness after this season on legs that will turn 35 next month. At the same time, they will have lost the interior defense of Diop while sticking with Erick Dampier, who is at best good for a couple games in a row before he’s hurt, ineffective or just indifferent. And by the time Kidd is done, Harris has the potential to grow into an effective, lightning-quick point guard comparable to Tony Parker.
Kidd does give them the toughness and leadership that has prevented them from winning it all in recent years. Yes, they’re still near the top of the Western Conference with their record. But that’s because they have more overall talent that nearly every team in the league. They’re 12-14 on the road this season compared to 31-10 a year ago, and just how they would compete with the best of the West in the postseason is highly debatable. This move reeks of desperation, and yet with Kidd hitting the boards, distributing the ball and his relentless defense, they’re better suited for a playoff run this season. Beyond the 2008 playoffs, though, all bets are off.
The same goes for the Suns getting O’Neal. He’ll be 36 in three weeks. He’s played in only 32 games this season, as his 330-pound frame continues to slide down that slippery slope toward retirement. He has been more ineffective than his 14.2 points and 7.8 rebounds would indicate. His knees, hips, feet and quads – essentially his lower extremities, period – have virtually no tread left. Of course, he will be a factor on defense because he has been one of the greatest centers ever, knows the game, and at 7-1, 330, still takes up an enormous amount of space. He can pass the ball on offense and dunk.
But this still flies right in the face of coach Mike D’Antoni’s offense, while ignoring how ineffectual O’Neal is in the pick-and-roll or pick-and-pop, which is the bread and butter of what All-Star point guard Steve Nash does in the half-court offense.
That’s not to say Marion has more value than O’Neal. He had become a constant pain to the organization, whining in the locker room about shots, and wanting a huge extension that was far greater than his value. Nonetheless, he’s the guy who matched up defensively with the other team’s best scorer. He’s the one who made the steal or the block, grabbed the loose ball or the big rebound. Boris Diaw will run the floor, move the ball better and hit some open jumpers. But he doesn’t play at the same speed. Grant Hill has a little left in the tank, but not what Marion brought to the table either. And let’s not forget that Nash has back and shoulder issues at the age of 34.
This move maybe doesn’t have the same long-term ramifications as the Mavs giving up Harris and Diop, plus there’s always the outside shot that O’Neal really can get it together and have some juice left for a playoff run. But this is probably the last gasp for that to happen for the Big Question Mark. It’s not a bad bet, just another short-term gamble.
As for the Lakers, there was no gamble at all. The Grizzlies were tired of losing and paying Gasol so much money, and he was tired of being there. What the Lakers gave up to get an All-Star 7-footer amounted to a few shirts, two pairs of pants and some free airline tickets. The Lakers had already helped their depth in the off-season and the bench was remarkably effective around Kobe Bryant. Their problem isn’t the roster. It’s injuries. Not only did they lose young, blossoming 7-foot center Andrew Bynum to a knee injury that will keep him out another month, it’s impossible to know how the 20-year-old will respond to his first injury and the heat of a playoff run. And now what was considered a minor dislocation to the pinky finger on Bryant’s right hand has manifested into a torn ligament and surgery that would keep him out six weeks has been recommended.
This trade was a steal. But the injuries will make it difficult for the Lakers to win it all this season. Bryant has to make a decision quickly about what to do with his hand, and neither option is good. But even if they hang in there somehow and make a run at it this season, that’s not the point. They will be better next year with Bynum having another season of growth and playing next to Gasol and Lamar Odom, with Bryant and either Derek Fisher or Jordan Farmar at point – plus that swollen bench. So if the Lakers can’t quite get it together this spring, it’s easy to go on the record right now as saying the Lakers are the favorites to win the NBA title in 2009.
So which of the three teams made the best deal?
No contest … now if all those fair weather Lakers fans calling for general manager Mitch Kupchak’s head will please step forward, grab your ankles and take your medicine, we can get this over with. Mitch, will you please take the big paddle with the holes in it? And when we’re finished, the knuckleheads in L.A. will have no alternative but to look at you and respond, “Thank you sir, may I have another.”
We're at mid-season in the NBA, and there are some surprises, disappointments, but nothing extraordinary as we consider what will happen during the final 41 games of the 2007-08 campaign.
As anticipated from their super-deals of the offseason, the Boston Celtics have taken off in the Eastern Conference with Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen joining forces with Paul Pierce, while showing the value of young point guard Rajon Rondo. They've got the best record in the East, ahead of the Detroit Pistons, while the Phoenix Suns are a nose ahead in the West, with the Dallas Mavericks and upstart New Orleans Hornets just a game behind them.
We figured the New York Knicks would be a mess this season too, but nobody believed it could deteriorate this much for Isiah Thomas – with a staged boycott featuring a giant pink slip to be signed by owner Jim Dolan as the featured attraction.
But nobody could have figured the Miami Heat and Chicago Bulls to be the two worst teams in the East, by a considerable amount – with Bulls coach Scott Skiles the first coach fired this season.
Those are just some of the issues that highlight/lowlight 2007-08 thus far as we provide the review:
Most Valuable Player: Kobe Bryant, Lakers
After a nightmarish summer of demands and rebuttals, no trade was made and Bryant led his young team to the best record in the West until young center Andrew Bynum dislocated his knee. Now young swingman Trevor Ariza broke his foot. It's beginning to look like a rerun of last season. Nonetheless, Bryant has been at his spectacular best both individually and in unison with his teammates. Also considered were Kevin Garnett, Dwight Howard and LeBron James.
Least Valuable Player: Stephon Marbury, Knicks
Wherever he's been the team is worse than when he got there. He is so gifted and so overpaid and so strange, it's hard to fathom what he is anymore. The general consensus is one-part point guard, one-part shooting guard, one-part sideshow, which leaves only two other spots on the floor. Nobody else is even close.
Best coach: Nate McMillan, Trail Blazers
McMillan has taken the youngest team in the NBA that won 53 games combined over the last two seasons, lost No. 1 overall pick Greg Oden before the season, has them just a half-game out of first in the Northwest Division. Even so, he's hardly a clear cut-choice over Hornets coach Byron Scott or the Celtics' Doc Rivers, with Washington's Eddie Jordan also a worthy candidate.
Worst combo exec-coach: Pat Riley, Heat
For the second time in this decade, it appears Riley the president has just about killed Riley the coach. With the rapid physical decline of Shaquille O'Neal, off-season surgery for Dwyane Wade and the remaining roster filled with some promising youth, but mostly marginal players, they are stunningly bad. If anything else happens to O'Neal or Wade, they're going to rival the Dolphins, or the Marlins … can't remember which team was worse.
Best rookie: Kevin Durant, Seattle Sonics
With no Oden, the wondrously gifted Durant appeared to be a lock for this, but no longer. Oh, he's still easily the best scoring rookie, but that's only because he's on an awful team and has the green light to shoot and shoot and shoot. The coaching staff has done little to develop him and his skinny frame is tired. Atlanta's Al Horford is gaining ground on him rapidly, though, and Yi Jianlian has come along much faster than many believed. As for the older crowd, I'll give some props for Jamario Moon, for fighting his way from nowhere at the age of 27 to become a significant factor for the Raptors. But I'm not jumping on the Juan Carlos Navarro bandwagon, not only because the Grizzlies are awful, but because he's a 10-year veteran from Barcelona –one of the great leagues in the world.
Disappointing rookie: Corey Brewer, Timberwolves
Joining Horford and Joakim Noah as one of three top 10 picks from the two-time champion Florida Gators, nobody questioned Brewer's athleticism. But his shooting, well, it appears he finally got it above 30 percent – even to 35 percent. But on a bad team like this, they needed a lot more than that from the seventh overall pick. Actually Noah isn't that far behind in the disappointment category, even being voted a two-game suspension by his teammates for mouthing off at assistant coach Ron Adams. But I still expect Noah to have a significant second half.
Best executive: Danny Ainge, Celtics
Considered by many to be gathering players to compete in the Big East as opposed the Atlantic Division, Ainge and his insistence on trying to discover high school superstars were widely thought to be, well, nuts. But the lack of success created this off-season monster with the additions of Garnett and Allen. He's still the easy winner, but the gutted roster has little wiggle room if injuries strike as they have Rondo.
Worst executive: Kevin McHale, Timberwolves
Just as easy as picking Ainge was the selection of his old buddy McHale on the flip side. Handing over one of the great players in the era in Garnett for practically nothing, McHale now has put together such a horrible team, they are serious contenders for the all-time record of just nine wins set by the 1972-73 Sixers.
Best defensive player: Marcus Camby, Nuggets
Not only is Camby leading the league in blocks at 4.0 a game, he's also averaging 14.3 rebounds. Twice this season he has recorded double-figures in blocks this season. Over the past 10 games, he's averaging 14.7 rebounds and 5.0 blocks, including last week's gem of 11 blocks, 24 rebounds and 2 steals in a key win over Utah.
Worst defensive player; Antoine Walker, Timberwolves
It's so sad to see guys with talent like this just float from team to team making so many millions of dollars to underachieve. That's what makes times like these so special – when they can recognized with such dubious distinction.
Best sixth man: Manu Ginobili, Spurs
The value of Ginobili as the sixth man of the Spurs can only be quantified as a left-handed version of what Hall-of-Famer John Havlicek did for so many championship teams in Boston in the 1960s-70s. There is non-stop energy on both ends of the floor and clutch play that helps his team win the biggest of games. Leandro Barbosa is worthy of mention, but he's not really close.
Worst starter: Quentin Richardson, Knicks
Brought in to be a shooter for the Knicks, the 'Q' rating has bottomed out. In 38 starts he's shooting .329 from the field, .293 from 3-point range and .595 from the free throw line. There's no reason for him to be playing with so many interchangeable parts on that roster.
Most improved player: Chris Kaman, Clippers
While it would be easy to take someone more visible and focus on Dwight Howard's leap into superstardom or LaMarcus Aldridge's great year despite Greg Oden's absence, Kaman has moved himself into the upper-echelon of NBA centers. Despite injuries that have crushed the Clippers (Elton Brand and Shaun Livingston) and the breaking down of Sam Cassell, Kaman has gotten better and better. He's averaging 17.4 points, 13.8 rebounds and 3.1 blocks – all three career-highs. He's more than doubled his defensive rebounds per game and he's also a terrific passer.
Most deteriorated player: Jermaine O'Neal, Pacers
Although his numbers of 15.3 points, 7.3. rebounds and 2.2 blocks aren't bad, they do show how rapidly his once 20-point, 10-rebounds, 3-block stats have gone downhill from the 2004-05 season as O'Neal has gone from superstar billing to sometimes All-Star. He is damaged goods – shutting it down for at least the next couple of weeks and perhaps the entire season to rest his left knee. He's missed 89 games before this most recent announcement over the past 3½ seasons. Still only 29, O'Neal will average more than $21 million in salary over the next three seasons. They hung on to him way too long.
Surprise team: Hornets
Despite moving back and forth from Oklahoma City to New Orleans, with the league-low in attendance despite numerous giveaways, this team continues to improve behind the coaching of Byron Scott and the terrific young trio of Chris Paul, Tyson Chandler and David West. They don't have much depth, with Peja Stojakovic still so fragile and Morris Peterson inconsistent from the wings, but they are still battling with Dallas and San Antonio for first place in the toughest division of basketball in the world. Can they hang there? Also the Portland Trail Blazers and Washington Wizards deserve significant recognition.
Disappointing team: Bulls
For 10 years it's been tough for the Bulls, starting off the season with so many road games when the circus would come to town, but this year they became the circus. With contract offers spurned by Ben Gordon and Luol Deng, Scott Skiles' firing and all the pressure on John Paxson to make moves, they are slowly coming around with assistant Jim Boylan as the interim coach. But this never figured to be in the cards.
Best owner: Mark Cuban, Mavericks
Say what you want about him, he does whatever it takes for his team to win and gives them everything they need and much, much more just so they have the opportunity to succeed. He's as competitive as the players are, and mouthy, which makes him unpopular with so many. But so what? He doesn't care and they're winning at breakneck speed again.
Worst owner: Clay Bennett, SuperSonics
A tough situation was made worse when he bought the team prior to last season, and now they are in the throes of the worst two years in franchise history. He bought the team to move it Oklahoma City and he's torturing the fans and the city with horrible basketball so they'll let him go. The league should be ashamed of itself. He doesn't care about the team. He doesn't care about the fans. He just wants to take his ball and go home.
First team All-NBA
F-LeBron James, Cleveland Cavaliers F-Kevin Garnett, Boston Celtics C-Dwight Howard, Orlando Magic G-Kobe Bryant, Los Angeles Lakers G-Steve Nash, Phoenix Suns
Last team All-NBA
F-Antoine Walker, Minnesota Timberwolves F-Quentin Richardson, New York Knicks C-Kwame Brown, Los Angeles Lakers G-Charlie Bell, Milwaukee Bucks G-Sebastian Telfair, Minnesota Timberwolves
Bynum went down hard after stepping on teammate Lamar Odom’s foot and was helped off the floor during the third quarter of the Lakers' one-point win over the Memphis Grizzlies Sunday night. It was their sixth win in a row – their longest win streak since the 2003-04 season – and raised their record to 25-11, a half-game out in the race for the best record in the Western Conference.
So what does this mean to the Lakers? Well, they lose their 20-year-old center, who has been improving seemingly every week to the adult stats of 13.1 points, 10.2 rebounds and 2.1 blocks. Now they turn to the notorious bust that was the first pick overall in the 2001 draft, Kwame Brown.
Physically, there’s not that much difference on paper – Bynum at 7-foot, 280, Brown at 6-11, 270. The difference is the way they play, as Bynum is seemingly growing every game, while Brown has consistently underachieved akin to a shrinking violet.
It would be easy to compare this to last season when the Lakers got off to a great start, only to have injury after injury pile up – leaving the bulk of mid-season almost solely to Bryant as the aircraft carrier from the opening tipoff to the final buzzer. By the time everyone returned, they were already done.
This year has been different. They are deeper and more experienced with the additions of Derek Fisher and Trevor Ariza. That’s shooting from Fisher and defense from both, with Bynum growing into more of a force daily.
Consequently, they’ve progressed (both individually and as a team) during this process – Bryant included – so the short-run isn’t really the issue. They’ll be OK, and weren’t likely to win the West anyway. This is about the big picture. They have an overgrown kid in Bynum who is full of life and love for the game – and has become a protégé for no less than legendary center Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
The concern is how this will affect the growth and confidence he has developed this season as he has begun to dominate the interior at both ends of the floor. Hopefully, this is just a minor derailment. And maybe, just maybe, Bryant, who was so willing to part with Bynum for anybody this summer, will appreciate his young center for what he is instead of bemoaning what he isn’t.
We’re about a third through the NBA regular season, and the perspective of most valuable player continues to waffle in unison with the irregularity of the officiating we watch nearly every night.
When the season began, it just seemed to be logical that LeBron James would my first pick for the season to build a team around. Now we’re not talking about fantasy basketball, or the future, or even attendance. I’m just talking about the one player to start with that would give you the best shot at winning the title this season. It was logical considering he had taken a very mediocre Cavaliers team to the Finals in 2007, and his Eastern Conference sidekick Dwyane Wade in superstardom was battling his way back from shoulder and knee surgery.
But once everything got going, it was hard not to notice what the presence of Kevin Garnett had done handling a coupled of gunners in Boston. Without him, it would likely be a shooting contest every night between Paul Pierce and Ray Allen. With KG, they’ve got the best record in the league and have blossomed defensively.
Of course, you could say the same thing every game and every year about what Tim Duncan does for Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili with the Spurs.
But two weeks into the season, the monster growing outside of Disneyworld in his own kingdom of Magic was Dwight Howard and their intense 14-3 start. At that point, he appeared to be the guy. Then the Magic lost eight of 12 and the allure of the kid lost its luster.
These days, the Los Angeles Lakers have become the vogue again knocking on the door in the Pacific Division, and raising his level of play – along with everybody else – has been the NBA king of notoriety, Kobe Bryant.
And then there are the playmakers – led by Steve Nash, Baron Davis, Chauncey Billups youngsters Chris Paul and Deron Williams, and very quietly establishing himself in the Pacific Northwest Brandon Roy. But would you even consider starting your team with any of them for one shot at a title when Billups is the only one to win a title … or actually even play in the Finals?
Consequently, I’m right back to where I started. I’m thoroughly confused at this point because it’s such a tough call. So I repeat, if you have the first pick of any active player to win the 2008 NBA title, where do you start?
