It's quite incredible how a guy who was little more than a big stiff four years ago has turned into an elite roll man and bruising defender. A case can be made that he is the best defender on the Thunder, which is very impressive with Ibaka and Roberson on the roster. It remains to be seen if Donovan has finally figured out that he has the best front court in the West.
He reminds me of Beverley. He's a solid defender, but looks better than he actually is. They carry themselves like they're from another era and can do no wrong on defense.
You want to see a big bruiser, check out his Olympian older sister. She looks like the Incredible Hulk.
Adams was never a stiff. He has been contributing since he was a rookie and is still very young. This is his third year in the league and is far away from his peak. He is a smart and dirty defender.
Except that in the case of Steven Adams, his toughness is not for show. He really is a defensive game changer as shown by his ridiculously high team leading +/- which has persisted through the playoffs. His defense in the last seconds of game 2 was absolutely stunning and really made people finally look up and notice the beast he has turned into.
http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/15492500/staying-steven-adams-helped-thunder-even-their-series-spurs Zach Lowe confirming my humble observations.
Both Adams and Kanter got better when they became the stache bros Harden became better when he grew the beard Curry became better when he grew the chin beard Durant became better when he grew the goatee
