Dime’s 2009 NBA Defensive P.O.Y.
Chris Paul (photo. Zach Wolfe)
With 82 games in the books and the playoffs getting started this weekend, Dime presents our ’08-09 NBA regular-season awards. These are the consensus picks from our editorial team; not necessarily who we think is going to win, but who we think should win.
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR: CHRIS PAUL
Up to this point, there hasn’t been a tremendous amount of debate here over these awards. Derrick Rose was a lock for R.O.Y., Jason Terry ended the Sixth Man argument in the last two games of the season, Austin and Pat’s man-crushes on Danny Granger made the rest of us scared to vote any other way for Most Improved, and one of our readers even stepped up and made the George Karl argument for us.
But then we got to DPOY, and it got real tough. The problem isn’t just that nobody established consistent defensive dominance over the League like in previous years. But it also hurts the current crop of candidates that relics from DPOY’s past — Dikembe Mutombo, Ben Wallace, even Gary Payton and Alonzo Mourning to an extent — are still visible on the NBA landscape, serving as walking (or in GP’s case, talking) reminders of an era when you could control a game from the defensive end. With today’s scorer-friendly rules making that almost impossible now, it’s an unfair standard to live up to.
So who gets the trophy? Dwight Howard led the League in boards and blocks, but his resume gets less impressive when you consider almost everything he did was off-ball, and whenever he went up against the best offensive player at his position in the League (Yao), he looked far from DPOY-worthy. Ron Artest did his normal Ron Artest stuff, but since he had to carry more of an offensive load given T-Mac‘s injuries, not much attention was paid to his defense. Tim Duncan slipped a bit, and Bruce Bowen fell off the map completely. Marcus Camby‘s body remembered who it belongs to. And then there was LeBron and D-Wade, who turned in more than enough highlights and clutch defensive plays, but are still seen respectively as “When he wants to” defenders.
So in the end, we chose Chris Paul.
The easy part is that CP led the NBA in steals, at 2.77 per game, and along the way set a new record for consecutive games with a steal (108). With Tyson Chandler injured/slowed-down all year, CP was — with respect to James Posey — the lynchpin of a Hornets defense that ranked 5th-best in the League.
Throughout the year, Paul was a one-man trap, one of the NBA’s two or three most annoying on-ball defenders. Twelve times he recorded five or more steals in a game, swiping a season-high eight against Sacramento on March 20 (part of a four-game stretch where he averaged a ridiculous 5.5 thefts per). In general, he made life hellish for some of the League’s best lead guards: D-Wade had six turnovers in one game against N.O., Baron Davis had six in a game, Andre Miller had six, and Devin Harris had six in a March 1 game that Paul won with two key steals in the final minute. And if CP wasn’t turning each of those mistakes into a steal for himself, he was the one forcing a bad pass or guiding his man to dribble into a bad position, creating a steal opportunity for someone else.
There wasn’t a totally dominant defender in the NBA this year, but CP came closer than anyone else, which is why he gets this award.
* DIME’S ALL-DEFENSIVE TEAM *
G – Chris Paul, New Orleans
G – Dwyane Wade, Miami
F – LeBron James, Cleveland
F – Ron Artest, Houston
C – Dwight Howard, Orlando
* DIME’S NO-DEFENSIVE TEAM *
G – Jason Kidd, Dallas
G – Everyone, New York
F – Kyle Korver, Utah
F – Troy Murphy, Indiana
C – Everyone, Golden State
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April 17th, 2009 at 6:26 pm
lifep says:
DIME’S NO-DEFENSIVE TEAM *
G – Jason Kidd, Dallas
G – Everyone, New York
F – Kyle Korver, Utah
F – Troy Murphy, Indiana
C – Everyone, Golden State
LOL!!!!!!
April 17th, 2009 at 6:27 pm
Korver says:
that’s tough for kyle … though not ent entirely wrong. absolutely true for the D12 argument, the man is a beast blocking shots but doesnt mean he’s approached high standards on man to man D and all subtilities … when you’re thinking about the comparison with Garnett, who build a 5man D just being there yelling there’s no debate
April 17th, 2009 at 6:28 pm
FourtyTwo says:
CP3? Are you watching basketball games?
Steals are not the same as defense.
April 17th, 2009 at 6:33 pm
ianodelaleza says:
get off cp3s ****
April 17th, 2009 at 6:34 pm
ronnation says:
kyle korver is underrated defensive player… boozer and okur are easily the 2 worst defenders on the jazz
April 17th, 2009 at 6:36 pm
c$money says:
“Ron Artest did his normal Ron Artest stuff, but since he had to carry more of an offensive load given T-Mac’s injuries, not much attention was paid to his defense”
So the award is based on the attention paid to defense and not the actual defense itself?
April 17th, 2009 at 6:38 pm
Big Shot BOB says:
What are you serious. Dwight “The Centaur” Howard is the DPOY of the year. How do you lead in Blocks and Boards and not win. LEAD THE ENTIRE LEAGUE IN TWO CATAGORIES. Come on now?
April 17th, 2009 at 6:39 pm
Austin Burton says:
Rebounding isn’t 100% a defensive stat.
April 17th, 2009 at 6:42 pm
Nukky G says:
Kapono deserves to be on the “No-D” list…ditto for Calderon…
P.S: I’m a Raps fan…
April 17th, 2009 at 6:44 pm
Nukky G says:
Also, I didn’t watch that many Magic games this year but in the ones that I did, Howard altered like 3-5 shots a game…that’s gotta count for something…
I personally have Howard as my DPOY but had CP3 as a close runner-up so I’m okay with either…
April 17th, 2009 at 6:49 pm
sans says:
DIME,
I’m getting murdered in school this term, to the point where people are giving me weed to calm the fuck down and stop breaking chairs and threatning the lives of passing honey bees at high volumes. Seriously, thank you for making me laugh with these posts, specifically things lie the NO-DEFENSE Team. It’s much appreciated. Peace.
April 17th, 2009 at 6:51 pm
sans says:
Kyle Korver is on more poster’s than Justin Timberlake–and not because he is an “underated defender”. Korver makes Rashad McCants look like a pure, unadulterated animal.
April 17th, 2009 at 6:53 pm
ticktock6 says:
Just for extra info, here’s a post with some numbers on how CP3′s defense has improved by a huge leap this year over last year: http://www.hornets247.com/blog/2009/04/15/the-defense-of-chris-paul-what-a-difference-a-year-makes
I do buy into the argument that steal > block because it takes away the rest of the opponent’s possession rather than just temporarily stopping it (out of bounds). You know that YOU are getting the steal. Someone on either team can come up with the ball after a block.
April 17th, 2009 at 6:54 pm
AY says:
this is a joke; if the hornets wanted to play championship defense, they’d make everyone play man-to-man defense and paul won’t be allowed to roam the way he does. Every steal he gets by leaving his man to get into the passing lane, there are two bad beats either leading to a basket by his man or his guy draws the defense to leave one other guy open. A guy who just chases the ball is not a good defender.
Dwade had 6 turnovers, chris paul does not defend him. Baron Davis had 6 turnovers in the game coming back from yet another injury. Andre Miller had 6 turnovers, yet he of 16ppg averaged 24 against paul. Devin Harris I give you, paul defended him well since harris isn’t normally asked to pass so paul just stayed on the ball. I don’t think paul should be in the conversation for 3rd team-nba defense, much less DPOY.
April 17th, 2009 at 6:55 pm
Allen says:
This is dumb. Orlando is a top 3 defensive team and it’s not because of Rashard Lewis and Hedo Turkoglu’s Defense. Dwight should be the DPOY.
April 17th, 2009 at 7:19 pm
Big Shot BOB says:
@ticktock…One thing that stats don’t tell about blocking is when you have a shot blocker like Howard holding down the middle it’s intimidating to other teams. Stats don’t show how many times players have missed lay-ups just because Howard is standing there. Everyone knows getting your ish sent into the stands is the most embarrassing thing that can happen to you on the court. After that you mentally are keeping note of where he is everytime you put the ball up and start changing the way you shoot.
April 17th, 2009 at 7:23 pm
Big Shot BOB says:
In my gym when you get your shit sent packing get ready for a BIG AGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH get that shit outta here. Followed by everyone running up and oohing and awe’s and the game being stopped for a few minutes…LOL Funny stuff unless your the one it’s happening to.
April 17th, 2009 at 7:29 pm
ticktock6 says:
@Big Shot Bob: Which is an excellent point. But it’s probably pretty intimidating having the league’s best pickpocket hovering around you too. Or, well, is it less, because he’s small? Maybe what I mean is potential for embarrassment? Sending someone’s shot into the stands is way more dramatic, but getting schooled by someone under 6 feet sucks too.
April 17th, 2009 at 7:31 pm
ticktock6 says:
Clarification: I am asking more than disagreeing, cause I don’t play. I love laughing at a good blocked shot.
April 17th, 2009 at 7:48 pm
Big Shot BOB says:
Yeah I guess getting raped on the court is pretty embarrassing too. But as far as embarrassment goes I think getting blocked is first, next would be getting dunked on and third would be getting picked. I think it also depends on who the person is too. For instance someone with alot of handles (i.e. Steve Nash)getting the ball stripped adds to the fact or someone who is a highflying dunker getting blocked.
April 17th, 2009 at 8:02 pm
knock knock says:
lmao at bron getting on the all defense team..no offense but besides blocks and some steals what does lebron do on defense? ive seen lebron and he’s definitely one of the worst man-on man defenders in the league..hes horrible.
April 17th, 2009 at 8:30 pm
Biffletoes Swankstien Borskic Illyfritz says:
This feller is a great example of a Hall of Fame point guard right before our eyes. Will finish his career with 13,256 assists. Multiple championships, guaranteed.
April 17th, 2009 at 8:57 pm
craig990 says:
WTF?
CP3 is not the DPOY!.. he can’t be!
when i think of a DPOY.. i think of someone that has the basketball IQ and or skill level to shut you down… or at least make your life extremely miserable on the offensive end.
CP3 is not that guy. Sure he’ll rip my ball if im not careful and he’ll steal lazy passes in the passing lane. But he wont stop me from scoring.
Think of guys like Bowen or Battier or Rodman.. guys that take you out of your game. They might not get the steal or block, but they will be in your grill, they will pressure you, deny the ball, take you our of your sweet spot, and in the case of Rodman, and Artest and Bowen.. take you out of your game by nagging you, taking dirty, poking you with the elbow.. doing things to get you out of your groove. CP3 is not that guy!
He can not be placed with the same company as Rodman, Camby, Payton, Ben Wallace, Mutumbo, Artest etc… he is not that guy! he is not DPOY
April 17th, 2009 at 9:03 pm
the cynic says:
lol, chris paul DPOY!?!?!?!? Its too ridiculous to even debate
April 17th, 2009 at 9:12 pm
DurrtyInjun says:
I’ll give CP3 props for the single fact that every time I watch him play it seems he gets steals off the help D consistently which I haven’t seen anyone else do nearly as well. But to reiterate whats been said, he ain’t a great one on one defender, and def does not intimidate anyone on the other team from scoring. But DOY? -> NO!!
If you just looking at stats, DWade is even better with 2.2 St and 1.3 Blocks from a guard. Of the big names though, Dwight probably deserves it.
April 17th, 2009 at 10:06 pm
Hugo says:
Someone here is not watching mavs games. I don’t think that’s a big deal, anyway, to put Kidd with the Knicks team is crazy. Kidd still plays very good D. If you look into the stats of opposing PG against the mavs, you’ll see a lot of big games. But the problem is that Terry or Barea was guarding them most of the time. All Kidd does, is play D on the other team best offensive player (or hottest) at the end of games. Just take a look at Danny Granger, Artest and so on … Kidd is not as quick as Parker, Paul, Deron or Harris obviously, but he is big and usually is assigned to defend the SG. And in clutch situation, very few players are better on D. Just look at those stats:
http://www.82games.com/0809/CSORT17.HTM …
About Paul, he really plays very good D, he gambles a lot to get his steals, but he is very good still. But if you are putting him here, you should have put Lebron or Rondo too. If he wasn’t injured, the guy would be Camby, he is fantastic on D.
April 17th, 2009 at 10:35 pm
rangerjohn says:
man dime can you take your head out of cp3′s ASS?
i mean sure the yguy can steal the ball, but he is NO DEFENDER! case in point, how many times do opposing PG’s go off? how many big games do guys like TP or williams get him? go number for number or better? hell williams is a better defender then paul! chris paul is barely a step ahead of parker as a defender and we know how much all of you think of parkers defense.
how can ANYONE vote against d howard for DPOY? you guys just lost a ton of credibility with this shit!
April 17th, 2009 at 10:48 pm
rangerjohn says:
just a little research, DIME N.O. is the 5th best defense? they hold teams to the 5th lowest PPG but anyone who knows defense (ask pop) ppg is not an indicater, FG% is the indicator.
orlando was the 6th lowest ppg (.1 ppg lower then N.O.)
and orlando was #3 in opp fg % 2 whole % better then N.O.
N.O. was # 7
and AUSTIN, d-howard is second in the league in DEFENSIVE rebounds by .2 per game. sure he leads the league in offensive rebounds too.
you guys should really stop sucking ass on the “big big stars” and star watching the otehr teams a little more. labron, kobe, d-wade and cp3 will still be there tomorrow
April 17th, 2009 at 11:01 pm
Tha Boddy "Agent Zero Still DMV Hero" says:
I know this is a defensive article but I would like to make a comment about CP3′s offensive stat,assists.They are so overrated and CP3 said this last week during a Sunday game vs. the Mavs I think.If he doesn’t have jump shooters making those shots nobody would be riding him the way they do.Sure he makes sum beautiful passes but what other PG in the league (except Beno) doesn’t.The difference is the finisher.And wdf is up with ppl getting all boosted over a alley oop???It’s a simple pass if your standing facing the basket so please get off it.CP3 is a beast but people are tryna make him into something bigger than his current skill set allows.
April 17th, 2009 at 11:22 pm
Ace_One says:
no kobe on all defense team????
April 17th, 2009 at 11:34 pm
Abcde says:
Why is Artest on the all defense team when Shane Battier chases the other team’s best player around all game?
April 18th, 2009 at 12:10 am
that's whats up says:
CP3 could be the Offensive player of the year….
…as in Most Offensive fouls not called….
…most offensive whiny faces made…..
but defense???? I have ex-girlfriends that are tougher than his bitch ass
April 18th, 2009 at 12:13 am
Austin Burton says:
@ranger — Dwight’s not a big big star?
April 18th, 2009 at 12:39 am
TJ says:
How can you say DWade is “when he wants to” defender?!
He’s the only guy in the league with over 100 steals and 100 blocks
2.19 steals AND 1.34 blocks per game compared to chris paul’s 2.77 and .13
i thought is was for the best all around defensive player of the year, not thief of the year
April 18th, 2009 at 12:56 am
doc says:
Not at all.Dwight howard and its not even close.
April 18th, 2009 at 1:09 am
money says:
Turiaf on GoldenState was a defensive wonder this year. Rony for DPOY!
April 18th, 2009 at 1:10 am
doug says:
you guys have to stop confusing steals leader with best defensive player in the league. Dwayne Wade got his blocks this year, CP3 got his steals this year but great defenders never usually lead in any of these categories. Great defenders shut the opposing teams player down. D-Wade got most of his blocks on help side defense rarely on the guy he was gaurding and he rarely accepts the challenge of gaurding the other teams best player. Same with CP3 he got his steals alot of times by playing the passing lane I’ve never seen a game were he shut T.Parker,D-Will even Rajon Rondo down. That’s what a great defensive player is theres no way this guy should make the defensive 1st team over Kobe. Kobe accepts the challenge of gaurding the other teams best player and does on the other end of the court with scoring. Defensive 1st team is Kobe,D-Wade,Lebron James,Ron Artest,Dwight Howard.
April 18th, 2009 at 1:11 am
doug says:
agree with you doc. D-Howard DPOY by far not even close.
April 18th, 2009 at 1:33 am
money says:
oh yeah, and cp3 for dpoy is whack. i don’t need to say anything more, just see everyone else’s comments
April 18th, 2009 at 3:16 am
Bkbouncer says:
I was just wondering how Chris Andersen was not included in the conversation. I must admit, he does fit the Camby mold of blocking a lot of shots without being the best on the ball defender, but heck, if Camby can win it with that type of play two years ago, why can’t Andersen be in the discussion? Especially if Dwight Howard is at the top of the list, even though Andersen is a better defender than Howard is.
April 18th, 2009 at 4:02 am
G says:
One of the arguments against Dwight was that Yao went off on him, but doesnt Deron Williams get the best of Paul every time they play? When its all said and done Artest gets the nod from me. Just because people arent talking about your good defense doesnt mean its not there
April 18th, 2009 at 4:35 am
QQ says:
I think CP3′s the best PG in the game, but…. DAAAAAAAAAMMMMMMMMMMMMMMNNN.
Hey yall at Dime, do all of you hate your jobs so much that yall writing stuff that yall know will be pissed on by your readers? Or yall just desperate that yall write something that will spark debate with no relevant fact surrounding it?
April 18th, 2009 at 5:14 am
AB_40 says:
hahahahaha seriously? he’s what 5-10? he can’t lock up your opposing go to scorer inside or outside yeah he gets steals but well that’s it so did gilbert and larry hughes back in washington are they top notch defenders… I think not
April 18th, 2009 at 9:43 am
rangerjohn says:
austin
d howard is a BIG star but he is not at the kobe/labron/dwade/cp level. he is a second level star who doesnt get his dues and this is another one over looking him
April 18th, 2009 at 1:56 pm
johnsacrimoni says:
CP3 is not the defensive player of the year. Jason Kidd is still an excellent defender. You guys have to start actually watching the games. This is the most asinie article I’ve seen here in quite a while.
April 19th, 2009 at 7:29 pm
Raj S says:
This is seriously a flawed article. Chris Paul gets a lot of his steals off the ball too. He gets into a lot of passing lanes, and he is good at stealing the ball via help defense from people going to the hoop on his team.
That said, help defense and off-the-ball defense are still considered defense. Ben Wallace was a great off-the-ball shot blocker and a great rebounder with the Pistons, and he won the award three times. If the standard was on-the-ball defense, then people like Bruce Bowen, Raja Bell, Ron Artest (more than once), Shane Battier, and even Kobe Bryant would have won the award in years past.
Dwight Howard is the clear Defensive Player of the Year. He leads the league in blocks and rebounds, and his presence in the paint alters shots and deters drivers from even going to the hoop. This is an easy decision. Sure, Yao got the best of him when their teams played, but that’s a testament to Yao, not a knock on Dwight Howard.
April 19th, 2009 at 9:58 pm
bola says:
dwight’s impact on the defensive end of the game is not always reflected on stat sheet.. ever heard of the word intimidation? also having dwight on your back means perimeter guys like nelson and others has some sense of security that someone behind them is ready to pounce if they got beat.
i like CP3 but not a chance for DPOY award..
Steals are not the only figures we’re looking at for this award..
what about Nash or Phoenix for non-defensive?
April 20th, 2009 at 7:24 am
Sweet English says:
@ big shot BOB
Your gym sounds like it is full of dicks who downloaded the AND1 mixtapes off of limewire last week and forgot instantly how to play basketball.
April 20th, 2009 at 12:38 pm
Big Shot BOB says:
Woah Sweet English what;s up with the shots at my gym? Your welcome to come play anytime your in the bay area.
April 20th, 2009 at 12:58 pm
Mrbball says:
Wow dime. No words
April 21st, 2009 at 1:07 am
Dave says:
DIME, you can’t be serious, cp3 dpoy? That’s got to be a joke because there are 3 players on his own team better than he is. Chauncy is laughing all the way to the hole and from downtown at this one. I hate to bash DIME, I read it almost daily, but this is a perfect example of DIME buying into everyone else’s hype. Stockton never got a DPOY and he lead the league in steals many times….it takes more than cheating the passing lanes picking off passes while risking your guy getting to the basket.
Please print a retraction to this, someone must feel foolish.
April 21st, 2009 at 1:17 am
Dave says:
Kyle Korver gets a bad rap, he’s posterized because he at least tries to play defense and sometimes gets beat which is better than his worthless gutless heartless teammate Carla Boozer who just ducks hard to get out of the lens whenever it looks like an opposing player may have a chance to get to the rim.
April 21st, 2009 at 3:08 pm
Detroit Dave says:
Dime has hit an all time low with this article.
April 22nd, 2009 at 11:46 am
Sweet English says:
Dime You Fucktards.
Yeah pat, CGF, Andrew. ALL O’ YALL.
Why do you have you own opinion on anything?
When i go churn through all the 346000 basketball and NBA sites, i want to read the same article every time, over and over and over. Jesus you should have just copied and pasted from NBA.COM.
Whats your fucking problem DIME? eh? you think you can just go around editing your own site and saying what you want freely about a form of entertainment????? DO YOU???? You think your well rounded and unbiased opinions are aloud to differ from that of my own????
i came here EXPECTING to see an article about dwight howard grabbing boards and swatting shots but instead i find original content and independent journalism? sickening.
you fucking discust me DIME magazine. This is the interent and all that is said on the internet is truth and fact so you better watch it sonny jim.
Yours sincerely,
Sarcasm.