Who do you guys think is the best defensive player in the NBA. Names like Ron Artest, Gary Payton, Ben Wallace and Bruce Bowen come to mind. I think I'd have to go with either Wallace or Artest. Both are flat out intimidating. Artest more so.
The best perimeter defender by far is Bruce bowen. Even if Kobe or anyone has alot of points, their shooting percentage is HORRIBLE against Bowen. He makes them force very bad shots. And that horrible shooting percentage helps the Spurs win games. Another defender I believe is outstanding but not seen on the national level is also on the Spurs. Manu Ginobili. If you don't belive me yet, just watch some more Spurs games, and wath Manu. You'll see that he'll be a HUGE threat once he takes over the starting spot for San Antonio. Man, this guys is so good, that when his man tries to lob a ball over him, Gino just grabs it in the air with one hand. He knows exactly what the offensive player is gonna do. Man, Ginobili and Bowen on the floor at the same time? That's freakin scary.
Gee...I wonder if SA78210's opinion is going to be biased? Bruce Bowen is one of the best defenders, but I highly doubt he is "by far" the best one. And I'm sure players shake in their shoes when they hear they are going to be defended by Ginobili or whatever the **** his name is. X 1000000 And when another team is going to try a lob, a defender will usually try to grab the ball in the air with one hand. Who the hell goes up in the air with two hands anyways? You can jump higher with one hand. Ooooooh Ginobilli catches the ball with one hand. Pass out the Gold Glove and Defensive Player of the Year awards already. Ben Wallace is one of the best low post defenders, Horry is one of the best and Kobe as well.
I'm not saying he's the best but Cat is extreemly underated especially as far as on-the-ball defending goes. He doesn't get many steals or start many fast breaks because he's not long enough to see the ball and his man and then react but if you want to make it hard for a player to score within a team's system, let Mobley guard him.
How about some love for Doug Christie. The guy leads the league in steals and plays the passing lanes better than anyone in the game. His on ball defense is also very good. Just look at a box score of one of the 'elite' players when Christie is guarding him. Kobe, for instance, has a habit of scoring 30 or so, but doing it on 11 of 35 shooting whenever Doug is playing him.
There are too many good ones, so I'll just mention a few that haven't already been mentioned: Kevin Garnett (don't know how he wasn't already mentioned) Anthony Mason (can be impossible to score on in the post) Tariq Abdul-Wahad (brutal one-on-one defender, but he can't score at all)
LOL. KINDA BIASED. JUST A LITTLE. Anyways.....yeah Ron Artest is very good physically and mentally. He knows how to screw people up. He is very good. I like him. And Ben Wallace is of course a very good defender. They are top two contenders for defender of the year or whatever the heck they call it.
Uh, you might be right with other SGs, but Kobe has owned Bowen, as much as anyone can own him. Bowen plays good defense against Kobe, but Kobe still shoots 45-50% against him. Bad example on your part. Next you'll talk about how D-Rob owned Olajuwon in the 95 series.
There are a hand-ful of good/great 1-on-1 defenders, but KG and Ben Wallace are on their own seperate level.
after watching today's game i think it's safe to say that Duncan is one of the best help defenders. Such long arms and good timing. it's sexy to say ben wallace is the best defender, but i think he gets so much pub for it because he's so one-dimensional.
Kevin Garnett is in my opinion is the best overall defender.He can guard big and small players and only gets in trouble when he is physically overmatched.
Hey......he can't guard Shaq! But sometimes......I have seen the Twolves put him on the other team's POINT GUARD!!! He can pretty much guard anybody. Like Ron Artest can guard all guards and small forwards. Ben Wallace can guard all power forwards and centers. Hmm....it's tough. Shawn Bradley is pretty good too...
Garnett and Artest are up there as 1 and 1.01 IMO. If I were creating an all-defensive team, I'd have to go with: Wallace - C Duncan - PF Garnett - SF Artest - SG Payton - PG Get some size at the SF and SG positions by moving each player down one spot. If you put Garnett at PF and Artest at SF, then I think I'd put McGrady at SG, but that would be a tight call. Kobe's actually a fantastic defender as well. Doug Christie would also be a possibility.
Artest when he doesn't stop to "think". Bowen. KBryant when he wants to be. Payton is still solid though definitely not like he used to be.
Artest Raja Bell Bowen (although good, I think he's a bit hyped as a defender) Christie Iverson (laugh, but look at his steals per game, picks pockets fairly regularly too) Ben Wallace Jerome Williams Kobe
Good call on Jerome Williams, HOOP-T. Ben Wallace, Artest, KG, Duncan, you could go with either one of these studs.
When Shaq retires, barring something unforeseen; Ming will be the best defensive center in the league. If Ben Wallace were in the West: Ben Who?? Seriously; how much impact has he had on Detroit's recent road massacre on the left coast. I was flat suprised at how easy Duncan handled his "superior" defense on the Pistons trip to SA in January.
Do you really think Shaq is a good defensive center? He's a good weakside shot blocker, but he doesn't actually contest his own man's shot a lot. Whether that's because he wants to stay out of foul trouble or that the majority of centers in the NBA just aren't significant threats .... who knows? By the way, Ben Wallace is probably still the best defensive center even in spite of his size. Ming has height, but Wallace has quickness, timing, great hops, and agressiveness.
