I imagine there is five players in the league. I might trade him for, but I would be hesitant to do so. I am not sure where this is going? Once he begins to aggressively hunt shots and hit the corner three pointer. He might end up a top 10 player in the league.
It is not a fair comparison. Right now wemby is averaging over 30 mins a game. Amen is averaging 20 mins a game. Amen is defending all over the court whereas Wemby is primarily acting as a defensive stopper in the lane. You can't just use stats to prove your point, although that is what the voters will do. That is why Gobert keeps winning even though he can't guard a lampost on the perimeter. DPOY is slanted toward interior defenders because of the Block stats and rebounds. If Amen averages 30 mins a game his rebounding per game and blocks will not be nearly as short of Wemby as they are now. The other defensive stat, steals, Amen already leads him with 1/3 less minutes. I'd rather have a defensive player that can dominate perimeter offensive players in a perimeter dominated league than a rim protector only. Amen has one of the lowest if not the lowest % against in the post as well.
Gobert has always been an excellent perimeter defender, this is what happens when people just listen to the media and narratives. Amen has actually played more minutes than wemby this season, though wemby does play 5.4 more minutes per game. A center should win dpoy every season because they have by far the greatest impact on defense.
Prime Pippen is a good comp. But he didn't defend the rim as well as Amen. This is based solely on my eye test. Amen has better recovery speed if a player gets a step on him as well. I think that he actually projects to be one of if the greatest perimeter defenders of all time. I know that it's subjective, but his combination of speed, and lateral quickness along with hands that strike with cobra like quickness is something that I don't know if I have ever seen before. You add in his shot blocking at the rim, and closing out on jump shots, he has all of the tools to become a GOAT like peremiter defender. He has a coach who is obsessed with locking teams down. It's the perfect storm for him to fully max out his defensive potential.
Those of you saying he’s not, please tell me who’s better. Excluding Wemby, which is a completely different kind of defender.
There's probably a post like this on most teams forums, because people mostly watch just their team. Is he actually better then rudy? The wolves defense is 8 pts worse when he sits, rockets defense is only 1 point better with amen on the court. Caruso has overall kinda sucked this season but their defense is 7 points worse when he sits.
I guess when I originally posted this thread, I kind of meant it in the sense that he is the best overall defender. It’s not like he is the post defender that some of these guys are, but he also makes a **** load of plays in the paint. Including blocks and weak side protection. I’ve never personally seen more impactful defender in my life. I think he’s that good already. Battier, Brooks or even Eason just aren’t on this level.
You don’t think wemby is as impactful? Peak dwight who teams would literally not attack the rim against? Peak draymond? Ben wallace? Hakeem? Garnett? Duncan? None of them?
Sure, he’s incredible. I just don’t think a wing can ever have the impact of an elite big. I saw dwight (past his prime) put up a top 10 defense with terrance jones, parsons, harden, and lin. All of whom were between worst in the league and awful. Wings just can’t do that
He’s one of the best perimeter defenders in the game. But there’s just no way he’s going to impact the game defensively on a consistent basis as much as an elite rim protector.
The Good news is that over the past 10 years, 5 winners of the DPOY have been other positions besides Center. Leonard Twice Draymond Giannis Marcus Smart Goober 4x JJJ Win 60 games with a top 4 defense and leave them no doubt. He's having a better season than Smart's 21-22
Smart had no case to be top 5, let alone to win. Giannis and draymond were both bigs so it's really just kawhi. You generally expect voters to get better/smarter over time but the smart one really hurts that argument
As much as I despise GSW, I think Draymond is the most impactful defender I have ever seen. Not everyone can guard Harden and Chris Paul and at the same time shut down Capela. When people say guys that can literally guard 1-5, Draymond is it
