Another point to make, and I hate disagreeing with KD, but Gary Payton's omission is very unsettling. Payton was the last lockdown PG this league has seen. He was still good in the early 2000's so he definitely qualifies under the specified time frame.
Hey, does this article mean that we can start up the Kirk Hinrich trade threads again??? Seriously, though, while I wouldn't really put Hinrich among the top 10 defenders of the last decade (ahead of guys like Kobe Bryant, Shawn Marion and Rasheed Wallace), it is still a testament to what a solid defender Hinrich really is. People who don't closely follow the NBA just look at him, see a white guard, and assume that he's not a good defender. But this kid can D it up. If his salary was just a little lower, opposing GMs would be beating down the Bulls' door to trade for the guy.
battier #2 LOL, the guy has made one all defensive team the hype this guy gets as a defensive stopper is so ridiculous, I hate to hate on him but seriously, that's ridiculous being a great defender should involve more than staying in front of your man and getting down on the fast break and taking charges. that's just fundamental defense, does he do that better than most players, sure, but its not special.
Uh . . . yes it IS special. Look around the league. There are not many players who play good, sound, CONSISTENT fundamental defense. Other than the players listed in that article, there are only a handful of players who fall in that category. I'm not saying that Shane Battier has been the second best defender of the past decade. But I am saying that he belongs on the list of the top 10. He's made back-to-back Second Team All-Defense the past two years (and should have been a First Teamer both years). And in 2006-07, he finished 5th in the balloting for Defensive Player of the Year, yet inexplicably didn't even make the Second Team All-Defense. His defense was also very solid in Memphis, but people just didn't watch the Grizzlies play. Plus, Hubie Brown and Mike Fratello ran a large rotation, so Shane didn't play as many minutes as he does with the Rockets. He HAD been grossly overlooked until this past season, but he has since gotten his due in the media. While I think he gets a ton of love on this BBS, I think the national media give Shane just about the right amount of credit. Still, #2 of the decade may be a bit high for him. Although #2 RIGHT NOW isn't too big a stretch.
I'd rate the big guys ahead of the wings when it comes to defense. A big man needs to do more than a perimeter guy when it comes to defense. 1) Pick and Roll D, KG is the best when it comes to playing the pick and roll, Duncan isn't far behind. You can be the best perimeter one on one D guy in the league and it won't matter once you get screened off by Yao or Shaq. 2) Grab the defensive board. Defense is 2 parts, getting the stop and grabbing the rebound. I feel like Dwight Howard should get some props here, sure he's not great playing the pick and roll, but he is fantastic at getting the boards. The only reason Orlando was such a good defensive team is because Howard covered up Rashard and Hedo's defensive boarding weaknesses. 3) Help defense: pretty much self explanatory. I guess pick and roll is part of it but mostly talking about covering for a teammate that gets beat. 4) Individual D on the block, this is actually the least important aspect of big man defense, rarely do they have to play another big that can score.
Its really just fodder for me like Durvasa has stated. I think its crazy by whomever vote that duncan has never won dpoy and yet his team is always top 5. When you look at opps fg %,rebs, and opp pts, Duncan led teams have always been top. I mean he's played with some less than great defenders in that span also.
I love to have those rockets on the top 10 list. But this is not a fair list if you looked at the full list for a few more seconds.
I'm bored, I'll take a stab (my opinions, if you disagree, post your own) at it (this is assuming Dream wasn't a very dominant defensive player during the last decade): I would put the sensational Luther Head on this list, but that would not be fair. His lockdown D deserves spot 1-10 so I'll leave him off . 1. Hakeem Olajuwon- Only was a Rocket for 2 years during the decade, wasn't as dominant defensively as he was in his prime. But out of respect, he has to be here. He just absolutely has to. 2. Shane Battier- Thats all he does and does it very well 3. Chuck Hayes- See Battier 4. Dikembe Mutombo- Even at his old age, he was a very good defender. 5. Yao Ming- He is a WALL. Even when Maurice Taylor, Scott Padgett and Juwan Howard started at PG, our interior defense was amongst the best. This speaks volumes about what he does on that end of the floor. 6. James Posey- Had he played longer with the squad, he would probably be higher. Good rental tho. 7. Ron Artest- See Posey 8. Kelvin Cato- The bottom of this list is getting very hard. I think he deserves it. 9. David Wesley- See Cato 10. Cattino Mobley- See Cato Honorable Mention: Shandon Anderson, Eddie Griffin, Kyle Lowry, Juaquin Hawkins, Jim Jackson, Adrian Griffin, Charles Oakley, Mike James, Ryan Bowen, Stephen Graham
I can honestly tell by your list how long you have watched the rockets. No maxwell? No elie? No ralph. No thorpe? Ok, while your bored, try watching some older rockets games.
Somebody forgot to read the actual question. I don't recall Max and Ralph playing for the Rockets. THIS DECADE.
Shane Battier is pretty much the Nnamdi Asomugha of the NBA. Doesn't need to put up stats to be considered a top tier Defender.
Props to KD for not perpetuating the notion that Bryant and Lebron are the best defenders in the league.
Marcus Camby is like the Quentin Jammer of the NBA. Puts up a couple of blocks a game even though is otherwise worthless and people think he's Bill ****ing Russell.
