Zach Lowe votes for Bam for DPOY
"...Adebayo and Jackson can do much of what Smart does on the perimeter while still providing shot-blocking and center-level rebounding. Jackson is a so-so rebounder, but Adebayo posted the best defensive rebounding rate of his career -- impressive considering he switched almost 100 more ball screens than anyone, per Second Spectrum. That meant defending tons of isolations, and Adebayo held opposing scorers to a laughable 0.793 points when they tried him one-on-one, per Second Spectrum.
Gobert is the league's best rim protector, and way more comfortable than he gets credit for containing guards on switches. He is a one-man defensive architecture. (Embiid is too; he had an underrated defensive season, and was a contender for a ballot spot here.) Utah's defense melted away without Gobert.
We hear incessantly how five-out alignments "take Gobert out of the game," but that applies in varying degrees to every big man. The best argument against Adebayo is that switching often leaves him guarding some non-threatening wing far from the basket; he challenged only 3.5 shots at the rim, half Gobert's average and about five fewer than Embiid.
But the benefits of Adebayo's versatility far outweigh that one drawback considering how ferocious he is rushing back into the fray around the rim. It just felt like time to honor a different sort of player. The Heat -- No. 4 in overall defense -- went all-in on switching, and you can't do that unless your centerpiece big man is airtight at it. Switching is a form of rim protection in that it constructs a forcefield around the arc; you don't need to protect the rim if no one encroaches there.
Smart's backers would point out Boston is all-in on switching too, and could not have gone that route without a jumbo point guard who defends way above his size. (One of the league's great pleasures is watching Smart's burrowing box-outs against 7-footers.) Smart is 10th in charges taken -- another form of paint protection.
All fair. With Jimmy Butler and Kyle Lowry missing so much time, Adebayo felt more irreplaceable. The Heat were way stingier with Adebayo on the floor; Boston defended at about the same level with Smart playing or resting. (Phoenix was better with Bridges on the bench, but no one should hold that against him. The Suns were awesome regardless, and Bridges spent more time against opposing starters.)
Advanced metrics love Adebayo. (They adore Jackson too, but foul trouble short-circuits too many of his stints.) Adebayo covers for one or two glaring weak spots. Boston's top seven players all deserve All-Defensive consideration.
At some point you shrug and vote what feels right to you."
