what was their defensive rank last year? not sure how adding hill (+), jj (--), and diaw (--) net them a big enough positive in defense to make jump to #1 this year
Depends on what metric, but nylon calculus "defensive rating" has them just outside the top 5. I think the simple addition of Hill is enough to make a huge difference for them. PG was their biggest weakness last year. Then you get another year of improvement from Hood/Gobert who are both really young, and it's all there for an elite defense. But yeah Spurs were a cut above the rest last year, so maybe not best.
