AB finishes 6th for DPOY award

[Drucci]

Per Chris Forsberg :

"Avery Bradley finished sixth in Defensive Player of the Year Award. He got one second-place and 11 third-place votes."

Kawhi Leonard wins it for the 2nd straight year. Well deserved.

[TheSundanceKid]

First amongst guards! Well done Avery!

[gamehead36]

First amongst guards! Well done Avery!

Might get first team All-NBA!

Edit: All-Defense

[bdm860]

Here's the voting, with numbers representing votes for 1st (5pts), 2nd (3 pts), 3rd (1 pt), Total:

1. Kawhi Leonard, SA 84, 41, 4, 547
2. Draymond Green, GSW 44, 62, 15, 421
3. Hassan Whiteside, MIA 2, 12, 37, 83
4. DeAndre Jordan, LAC 0, 7, 29, 50
5. Paul Millsap, ATL 0, 3, 12, 21
6. Avery Bradley, BOS 0, 1, 11, 14
7. Rudy Gobert, UTA 0, 1, 10, 13
8. Tony Allen, MEM 0, 1, 2, 5
9. Anthony Davis, NO 0, 1, 1, 4
10. Andre Drummond, DET 0, 1, 0, 3
T-11. Jimmy Butler, CHI 0, 0, 2, 2
T-11. LeBron James, CLE 0, 0, 2 ,2
T-13. Trevor Ariza, HOU 0, 0, 1, 1
T-13. Jae Crowder, BOS 0, 0, 1, 1
T-13. Al Horford, ATL 0, 0, 1, 1
T-13. Kyle Lowry, TOR 0, 0, 1, 1
T-13. Chris Paul, LAC 0, 0, 1, 1


While All-Defensive team voting doesn't mirror DPOY voting (and sometimes you even have the DPOY not even make the All-Defensive 1st team),if it did, this is what the All-Defensive teams would look like:

1st:
G: Bradley, Allen
F: Leonard, Green
C: Whiteside

2nd:
G: Butler, Lowry
F: Millsap, Davis
C: Jordan

With at least 1 and possibly 2 more forwards ahead of Jae Crowder.  But DPOY never translates over to All-Defense (just thought it would be an interesting look), so there's still hope for Crowder and Smart!

[manl_lui]

so does it also mean he will make all defensive team?

[kozlodoev]

so does it also mean he will make all defensive team?

I think it's the same voting panel. It's funny that he's the top-voted guard in the DPOY, but I'll bet you he probably won't make first-team all-defense.

[hwangjini_1]

so does it also mean he will make all defensive team?

I think it's the same voting panel. It's funny that he's the top-voted guard in the DPOY, but I'll bet you he probably won't make first-team all-defense.

and why is that? this is a real question since i dont know much about the mechanics of the selection process.

thanks.

[chambers]

Just amazes me that Smart doesn't get at least one vote.

To me he's our best defender.

[kozlodoev]

so does it also mean he will make all defensive team?

I think it's the same voting panel. It's funny that he's the top-voted guard in the DPOY, but I'll bet you he probably won't make first-team all-defense.

and why is that? this is a real question since i dont know much about the mechanics of the selection process.

thanks.

I'm pretty sure that these are two separate votes. Thus, I expect to see a lot of voters who didn't think Bradley was a top 3 selection for DPOY that would also have 4 other guards ranked higher than him. Personally, I expect to see Allen, Butler, Lowry and Paul on the list, but maybe the voters will surprise me.

I'm also surprised Bradley got more votes than Crowder. Crowder is the better defensive player of the two.

[Big333223]

Bradley certainly deserves first team all defense. It's a shame Crowder is looking like a long shot to get on a defensive team this seaosn. I guess the Celtics faltered in their team defense down the stretch a little. If they had held a top 3 position, maybe Crowder would've been up there a little farther.

Nice to see Bradley getting some consideration, though, and Leonard deserved the win.

[Ed Hollison]

This is an honest question, not rhetorical: How good is Bradley's defense, really? I sometimes feel he's the beneficiary of the reputation he earned early in his career pickpocketing opposing guards. Sometimes watching him I don't feel he's positioned well. Other times I think he's tremendous. I remember hearing that the advanced stats for defense are very favorable towards him. But I was curious to hear what others think.

[Snakehead]

Avery deserves a lot of credit but personally I think Smart is better.  Both deserve to be 1st or 2nd team All Defense.  I think Crowder is just behind, with credit to his versatility.  Yeah, I'm a Celtic fan so biased but I think the perimeter defense is the strength of our team.  It's special to have Smart, Bradley, and Crowder all playing together and we have a bunch of solid defenders throughout the roster.

I like how Smart can guard bigger players, I think he has outstanding positioning and physicality, and is simply relentless.  Both are great so I could see arguments either way but I think Smart has been so impressive his first two years.

This is an honest question, not rhetorical: How good is Bradley's defense, really? I sometimes feel he's the beneficiary of the reputation he earned early in his career pickpocketing opposing guards. Sometimes watching him I don't feel he's positioned well. Other times I think he's tremendous. I remember hearing that the advanced stats for defense are very favorable towards him. But I was curious to hear what others think.

I think very good.  Defensive stats are still hard and I think the eye test still matters, as well as what other players and coaches think.    And they put Avery on that level.  In particular, you can see the Trailblazers really credit Avery for defense and those are guys that see Tony Allen regularly.

Also perimeter defense is tough because a lot of times you say "wow he played a great game" but you still see his cover go for 20+ points.  It's so though to stop many of these top level guards from getting around that many points.   Especially since they removed hand checking from the game.  You have to disrupt them in other ways and just try to make them work.  I think that's a big reason why guards almost never win this award.

What sets Avery apart to me is his attack on defense.  He makes offensive players react to him, instead of the other way around, which is pretty special in the NBA.

 Smart, by contrast, more often seems to really pounce on openings or mistakes in a very special way.  He is also a great rebounder.  In your post you questioned Avery's positioning and I do think you are right to sometimes, he gambles in positing (but sometimes can get some great steals because of his reach).  Smart by comparison I think is almost always positioned well and many times can still get rip steals on guards anyways which is what makes him so special and I think better than Bradley.

[Denis998]

I dont agree with Whiteside being so high. Dude chases blocks rather than playing actual team defense.

[kozlodoev]

I dont agree with Whiteside being so high. Dude chases blocks rather than playing actual team defense.

You could say the same about Bradley and steals/ball pressure in the back court.

Then again, this won't be the first (or the last) time a player got on the all-defensive team for being flashy rather than fundamentally sound.

[gift]

I dont agree with Whiteside being so high. Dude chases blocks rather than playing actual team defense.

You could say the same about Bradley and steals/ball pressure in the back court.

Then again, this won't be the first (or the last) time a player got on the all-defensive team for being flashy rather than fundamentally sound.

I think he's done a good job of picking his spots this year though. He's really balanced the pressure and team defense which is why I think it was sort of a break out year for him.