I should add that the above stat is in essence a team defense stat measuring the overall team's rating (PPP I believe) when a player's on the court. We know that T-Mac can be a great individual defender if he wants to. But his help defense seems to be non-existent, and he isn't giving any effort at all -- he is just atrocious at this point. It completely negates his value on the offensive end of the court.
I am just going to add some ideas. 1. T-Mac has the potential to be the best defender on the team. At times, he was (playoffs against Dallas). But he is rarely motivated for very long on that end, isn't physical, and seems to back down from the big challenges in favor of catering to offensive endurance. Its sad. At times I feel if he focuses hard on defense and becoming the primary facilitator on offense (rather than jacking the jumpers) that he will set the tone on defense and guys like James, Wells, and Francis will pickup the slack on offense. 2. Bonzi Wells... He isn't a great defender. He takes too many risks. But he is our most physical guard. He is a pest. He makes what I call impact plays, yes he gambles, yes he will get beat, but comes up with the big crowd pleasing steals on a regular basis. Excellent at forcing turnovers yet mediocre on D. Its like having a run stopping blitzing safety. 3. Scola is the hardest worker, extremely physical. Its like watching a player from the late 80's-mid 90's. 4. Hayes... So good I bet he can guard guys like Ray Allen with some effectiveness. His combo of strength, speed, and determination is great.
It's working out for them. The Celtics are so good defensively right now it's scary. Their efficiency rating is 95.4 - for comparison, the best team last year was Chicago at 101.1 (Rockets were 3rd at 101.6). The second best team in the league right now is Denver at a paltry 101.8 (yes, they are indeed playing defense this year.)
We have a bunch of slappers on the team (they try to slap the ball out of the offensive players had when posted up or getting drove by), nobody tries to move their feet and stay in front of the defender (except Rafer). The don't communicate well on switches or weakside. Do they actually study the players they go against. Manu can only go left, JTerry can only go right and score, Boozer is strictly going to his left with a layup. Yao - Average at best no lateral movement and poor weakside help. A foul waiting to happen Tmac - only plays D when he wants to or is challenged. Rick needs to make him hold the top offensive threat (Kobe, Baron, etc...). Chuck - A foul waiting to happen, has the heart but not the game or size Battier - Average, please develop some new tricks the hand to the face isn't working and get's beat of screens easily. Rafer - One of our best defensive players and leads in steals. Bonzi - Can play D, still average on the perimeter Luther - He is a post up waiting to happen Scola - Ref's hate this dude, he's a foul waiting to happen Steve - Looks old and slow with $30 mln ($15 mln after tax) reasons not to play D Mike James - Guaranteed contract living in Htown
Purely from observations: 1. Shane Battier (A+) - Read my other dissertations about the job he did on Rip at the Pistons game. 2. Chuck Hayes (A+) - The strongest player on the team and quickest big man. Has the attitude and basketball IQ to make up for his lack of height. 3. Yao Ming (A-) - The best last year, would still be if the guards would play better. 4. Rafer Alston (B) - Basketball IQ is great, works hard on defense. 5. Tracy McGrady (B) - Again, could be the best, but doesn't try all of the time. 6. Luis Scola (C) - He's not strong enough, so he's posted easily, but he has good anticipation for blocked shots and charges. He can move up this list. 7. Steve Francis (C-) - Pretty good effort, but he's slowed down too much at this point. 8. Luther Head (D+) - Gets posted easily, but he defends the wing and the break okay. Bad but not horrible. 9. Bonzi Wells (F) - The worst effort on the team. He's got good hands so he gets a few steals, but he's always out of position. I don't know how many times I've seen him on the opposite side of the court as his man. And he commits the dumbest fouls of any player I've ever seen. Multiple fouls on rebounders on the floor in crunch time? It's like giving away points. 10. Mike James (F) - He's never been good. Now with less effort he's really bad.
I am pretty much in agreement with this ranking. McGrady has the potential to be shut down, for instance he did a great job on Dirk a couple years ago, but some nights he just takes the night off and relies on Shane. Mike James, for some strange reason, has been atrocious defensively this year. Everybody just blows by him or shoots over him. Luther Head is horrible on the defensive and does not have the physical tools to get better. He's too slow to guard point guards and he's too small to guard big guards. He ain't gonna quicker and he ain't gonna get taller. Mutombo is not necessarily better than Yao defensively but his reputation lets him get away with stuff that is called on Yao. He is a good defender but if Yao were called like Deke was, he would be ranked as a sensational basket defender and would bet 3.5 blocks per game. Bonzi is an underrated defender when the game is on the line. He's got smarts and good physical tools, strength and quickness. He's a very good defender. Rafer is overrated. When teams choose to isolate their point on him, he is dead meat. He does play good team help defense though. Steve has the best defensive potential of out point guards. Those of you that remember his last year here, the first year of Van Gundy ball, know that Van Gundy had him slapping the floor and getting after it. Van Gundy made him a much better defender. Chuck Hayes is still the best post defender we have and Shane is the best perimeter defender we have. Scola is showing potential to be very servicable defensively. He has tremendous bball iq, not extremely gifted physically, but a great mind and a great heart. I think he will end up being a very good defender................unless they outlaw flopping. Then him and Shane may both be in trouble.
