QRich3 wrote:Most of those b-ball ref stats such as BPM, DWS, DRtg, etc. are just boxscore stats, so they are mostly different ways of saying his defensive rebounding, and his steal and block % are good. Which is usually good for defense, but far from telling you definitively if he's playing well or not (undisciplined defenders that hurt his team, like Westbrook, tend to lead these). RAPTOR is a stat that uses opponent FG% as its main clutch, and for me saying the guy with the best opponent FG% is the best defender is like saying Rudy Gobert is the best shooter in the league because he leads the league in FG%. But like I said in my previous post, +/- stats and play-by-play stats have Bev near the top as well, and the team's defensive numbers are better when he's on the floor.
So, while I respect Jovan's opinion a lot usually, I have to disagree with him here, I don't think Pat is playing any worse defense than he used to, in fact this might be one of his best years, maybe a bit behind his later Rockets seasons. The fact that he's less disciplined and gambles more is by design, since we have great wing defenders now, he can afford to gamble for steals and still be covered when it goes sideways.
Mostly, I agree that he's overrated by some people that put him in the DPOY race and stuff like that, but he's still a really good defender, if not all-defense worthy, not that far from it. You can like or dislike his demeanor or his antics, but the guy is solid.
Pat Beverley shows well in just about any approach you take in evaluating his Defense.
Beverley over does things at time, sure... gets a foul or two on high-risk plays (if you will)... but that's something you can live with.
Montrezl in his own way (and DeAndre Jordan uses to do this too), over does things too. On Blocked Shots, how often do we see Montrezl (and DJ) swat a shot off into the stands... rather than using better judgement and choose to control the block, gather it or tap it to a teammate (at least be mindful of 'saving' the block/steal for his team).
Matter of fact, Montrezl's proclivities bother me more than Beverley's, in that regard.