Funny u say that... in all those 700 extra mins of playing time gasol got he still got 64 less rebounds than duncan and 44 less blocks. So who impacts more? He also contested wayyy more shots than him. I think players should vote for defensive player of the year, in the end they know way better than the press who are the great defenders in this league.
ok defense is not about contesting shots... ok. Hibbert is a good defender also, and he should be taken into acount, but i think that when u take all into account ( rebounds, blocks, steals, man to man defense, help defense, contesting shots, opponent fg% , comunication, etc ) you get the feeling that duncan did way more than hibbert will ever do, and the same can be said about marc gasol.
Hibbert-Duncan is debatable, they are in a similar boat. But Gasol's case is exactly this well roundedness, combined with health/big minutes.
Players and even head coaches and GMs are just as susceptible to buying into hype as anyone. Just look at Kobe disgracing All-Defensive teams year after year (voted by head coaches) and being the "guy you want to take the last shot" in the GM surveys despite shooting a miserable percentage in "clutch time". I second this post.
Michael Jordan, Gary Payton, and MWP disagree. None of them provided rim protection. That being said, DPOY is normally reserved for centers. It's hard to give it to wing player. However, with LeBron's performance, you can give ANY award to him this year, without being really wrong, maybe except for COY, ROY, and sixth man of year.
Not a big LBJ fan, in fact not a fan. However, I like to hear this kind of mentality. I'm happy to respect the game of a player I don't like much. Good for him. He's finally growing up.
Why is LeBron even caring about these individual awards? If your defense is so good, and your team is good, then go win the 'ship again. No need to cry about losing an award, when his team is set for this season and probably the next.
In all fairness, most players care about that stuff. Remember what Dream said to Mario when the Admiral won the MVP?
By now, fans and players should have already realized that these awards are more akin to beauty contest than sport competition. I don't know why they are still so gungho about it.
He wants to pass up Jordan, Jordan won one of these so he wants to win two. Also he's right that it is rare for someone to defend 5 guys...but the NBA is so different. He couldn't defend the bigs in the 90s, no way. Of course he can defend nowaday centers because they are shooting outside shots and not banging down low.
Like a man, yes. The guy is gifted beyond reason and known all over the world and he's whining about recognition? just sad.
Who impacts more? the guy who shows up for games rather than the guy sitting on the bench in street clothes.
Lebron isnt going into depth about this subject in the playoffs hes focused on something way more important. Lebron is a student of the game he knows hes not first, but he knows hes the BEST to do it and does it more frequently than anybody ever has. Magic didnt have to consistently guard multiple positions bc his teams were stacked with all around talent. Lebron guards different positions night in and night out. Being extremely effective while doing so.
Not saying that Duncan is more deserving. But you didn't really answer his legit question. Duncan played less, but produced more, at least in numbers. How do you answer that?
Good for Rocket fans. Keeps Dream as the only player to get DPOY, MVP and Finals MVP in the same year. Lebron will be as close as it gets this year.
