Better Defender: Bobby Jones or Scottie Pippen?

[TMU]

Here are two of the best defenders of all-time.

Bobby Jones: 11 All-Defensive selections
Scottie Pippen: 10 All-Defensive selections

Who do you think was the better defender? From what I saw, my answer is leaning towards Jones because of his ability to guard bigger players. However, I would like to hear your opinions.

[TMU]

Anyone wanna answer this question?
TrueLAfan, TSherkin, writerman, or anybody???

Is the answer to the question that obvious?

[kooldude]

Bobby Jones was 6'9, by bigger, did he guard centers or something?

[tsherkin]

Bobby Jones was pretty nasty on defense... Huge hustle, not big on hand-checking or being physical, just hustle and good hands. Deflections, footwork, going for loose balls... I mean, he was EVERYWHERE. Long arms, great athleticism... Great package who defended all kinds of players.

He was supremely disruptive.

Technically speaking, Jones was a better defender because he'd translate to the current era flawlessly; he didn't handcheck the way guys like Pippen and Payton did, those guys wouldn't be nearly so effective unless they were allowed to cheat ala Bruce Bowen. Of course, Bowen isn't the only guy allowed to do that, so if they established their defensive rep early, it might have continued.

But just like Walt Frazier, quickness and good hands shadowing the ball and protecting the lane, that sort of thing served him defensively.

In terms of efficacy, it's a tough call but I'd go Jones.

Pippen was outstanding, an absolutely disgustingly talented defender for many of the same reasons as Jones but Bobby wasn't the "Secretary of Defense" for no reason.

That said, he was a low-scoring player who played a large chunk of his career as a sixth man for Philly after starting in Denver, so you could make the argument that Pippen had to score, lead the Chicago offense as the most prolific passer (and the key passer as the 3 in the triangle), rebound like a demon, score 18+ ppg AND defend some of the best scorers in the league on a nightly basis for 33-40 minutes a night.

[penbeast0]

Yes, he did guard centers. In fact, he was the starting center for Denver one year getting a 1st team All-Def nomination before they got Dan Issel. He was also 1st team All-D as a starting PF, a starting SF, and a 6th man where he played about half of him minutes at SG so the Sixers could play a front line of Moses, Barkley, and Erving (arguably Erving played SG, depended on the defensive matchup). He also is one of the few players to average 2 blocks and 2 steals per game for a season.

Jones's versatility gives him the defensive edge. Offensively he was good for 12+ ppg on great FG% (led the league 3 times) but can't compare to Pippen's explosiveness, ballhandling, or shooting range.

[Doctor MJ]

Got to go with Jones. Excelling both in a variety of different positions both in man & team defense puts him above basically anyone who's not a dominant defensive big for me.

[TrueLAfan]

Yeah, I go with Jones too. I actually think Pippen is just about as versatile, but I'd rather have the versatility guarding bigger players.

Bobby Jones was NOT a low scoring player. He played 27-33 minutes per season most seasons...in his first eight years, he scored a point in every 2.1 minutes of court time. That's about 9% less than Pippen scored in his best eight years; a pretty small difference. Jones' rebound rate is about 12-15% higher too. In terms of scoring and rebounding, Jones first eight years are almost a dead heat for LaMarcus Aldridge this season (Aldridge scored a point every 1.96 minutes and had a rebound rate of 12.8; Jones first eight seasons work out to 2.11 and 12.5). That's pretty good on both counts, IMO. Except, of course, Bobby Jones shot around 55-56% from the field.

[shawngoat23]

I've never seen Jones play, but his accomplishments, his accolades, and the high regard to which he is held by his peers are quite impressive.