Marc Gasol Wins Defensive Player of the Year

[Charlie_S]

Great news. Hopefully this will help more fans realize that good defense is not necessarily about stats.

[shmeakone]

I don't get how Gasol is a defensive player of the year..

Makes no sense to me at all. They might as well have a defensive team of the year award if they gave it to Gasol for a team effort.

[TheChosen618]

I

I don't know why people thought Hibbert was more deserving of DPOY than George.

Hmm, could it be because he is the centerpiece of the best defensive team in the league?

George is on the same team and he is a better defender and plays 10 minutes more than him.

Whatever, at least George is likely to win MIP.

[Nuntius]

I don't know why people thought Hibbert was more deserving of DPOY than George.

George is a better individual defender but Hibbert is the one that makes our defensive system work. But since Indiana's D is based on teamwork it's a moot point to argue who is better among the two.

[commadoor 64]

Yea.

Now go prove it on the court tonite against the Clippers.
Then I'll give you your props.

A Grizz fan.

[CoachKobe]

This helps: "Last night showed a glimpse of that too"

yet those glimpses are completely irrelevant in terms of DPOY.
so why even mention them?

[King d]

I

I don't know why people thought Hibbert was more deserving of DPOY than George.

Hmm, could it be because he is the centerpiece of the best defensive team in the league?

George is on the same team and he is a better defender and plays 10 minutes more than him.

Whatever, at least George is likely to win MIP.

He is a better defender than hibbert based on what?

A defensive center usually has way more defensive impact than a guard unless your name is Avery Bradley. Hibbert is way more important for the Pacers defense than George

[sisibilio]

I wonder what the All-D team is gonna be.

Marc
?
Lebron
T.Allen
?

I'm pretty sure those 3 are gonna make it. The other 2, I'm not sure about. Is Duncan considered a forward? Is George considered a guard?

Paul
Allen
George
LeBron
Gasol

[Charlie_S]

Hibbert is a deserving candidate but he played 28.7 minutes per game as opposed to Gasol's 35. That obviously makes a difference.

I don't get how Gasol is a defensive player of the year..

Makes no sense to me at all. They might as well have a defensive team of the year award if they gave it to Gasol for a team effort.

You ever watch the Grizzlies play? Gasol is the heart of their defense.

[Dr Pepper]

This helps: "Last night showed a glimpse of that too"

yet those glimpses are completely irrelevant in terms of DPOY.
so why even mention them?

Sure but the point was that those glimpses were examples of the bigger picture, and that's Duncan being the better defensive player. Gasol only wins because of minutes and media politicking

[sisibilio]

I don't get how Gasol is a defensive player of the year..

Makes no sense to me at all. They might as well have a defensive team of the year award if they gave it to Gasol for a team effort.

http://www.sbnation.com/2013/3/15/41084 ... f-the-year

[TheChosen618]

He is a better defender than hibbert based on what?

A defensive center usually has way more defensive impact than a guard unless your name is Avery Bradley. Hibbert is way more important for the Pacers defense than George

So pretty much because Hibbert is a Center, he is automatically a better defender? I guess Chris Bosh is a better defender than Lebron James and Dwyane Wade.

Hibbert is not good defensively especially his pathetic pick and roll defense. In fact, he defends the pick and roll worse than Shaq and Yao did which leads me to believe that those two could win a DPOY easily if they were playing in today's league.

Then factor in how Hibbert plays 10 less minutes than George. George is better defensively and your basis is nothing other than Hibbert is a big while George is a perimeter player. It is a perimeter player's league, Hibbert's a good shot blocker, but he is a pathetic pick and roll defender which is more important in today's league than shot blocking.

[CoachKobe]

media politicking

hairy spaniard on boring memphis team wins DPOY because of media politicking?
ehh... no.

[NYK_89]

Not an awful pick, Gasol is a very good defender but i guess its hard to argue that he was the best defender this year... There just isn't any obvious guys this year that should have gotten it.

Anyways on a side note with Howard healthy i expect this voting to return to normalcy next year and for him to win at least 1-2 more before some young guy takes it from him.

[Heat fan06]

Congrats to Marc.

[Nuntius]

Hibbert is not good defensively especially his pathetic pick and roll defense. In fact, he defends the pick and roll worse than Shaq and Yao did which leads me to believe that those two could win a DPOY easily if they were playing in today's league.

Then factor in how Hibbert plays 10 less minutes than George. George is better defensively and your basis is nothing other than Hibbert is a big while George is a perimeter player. It is a perimeter player's league, Hibbert's a good shot blocker, but he is a pathetic pick and roll defender which is more important in today's league than shot blocking.

You seem a tad confused about Hibbert's defense.

It is true that Hibbert is not a good pick and roll defender. He struggles with it because he is 7'2 tall. His height is not known for the nimbleness and agility that is needed to defend the PnR. Mark Eaton was a bad PnR defender but that didn't stop him from earning DPOY awards in the late 80s.

Of course, this is a different era, I'll give you that.

But Hibbert is much more than a shot blocker. He is a rim protector. Any shot that comes inside 5 feet he alters it. He controls the paint defensively. His presence force opposing teams to shoot jumpers. His presence discourages the opposing players from penetrating. This is the proof of Hibbert's defensive impact.

[TheChosen618]

You seem a tad confused about Hibbert's defense.

It is true that Hibbert is not a good pick and roll defender. He struggles with it because he is 7'2 tall. His height is not known for the nimbleness and agility that is needed to defend the PnR. Mark Eaton was a bad PnR defender but that didn't stop him from earning DPOY awards in the late 80s.

Of course, this is a different era, I'll give you that.

But Hibbert is much more than a shot blocker. He is a rim protector. Any shot that comes inside 5 feet he alters it. He controls the paint defensively. His presence force opposing teams to shoot jumpers. His presence discourages the opposing players from penetrating. This is the proof of Hibbert's defensive impact.

I'm not saying he is a bad defender at all. He is a good defender with some flaws especially the pick and roll. My point was that I don't think he is a better defender than George and he wasn't more worthy than George as the DPOY. He is obviously an positive defender though but there are some instances where they could be better without him such as a dominant pick and roll team.

I'm not really sure if Hibbert is any better of a defender than Ibaka truthfully. Both are great shot blockers but lack other skills, but I do think Ibaka gets underrated defensively.

[youngthegiant]

Should have went to iguodala.

[shmeakone]

Jason Kidd should've won it.

[Goldtop]

There's always next year, Charlie V....Keep ya head up