The leading candidates to win the NBA’s Defensive Player of the Year are Rudy Gobert, Mikal Bridges, Bam Adebayo, and Marcus Smart.
If Gobert were to win it again, it would be the Jazz center’s fourth time taking home the hardware since first earning the title in 2018. Giannis Antetokounmpo is the only other player in the league to win the trophy in that span.
Smart doesn’t think Gobert should get the nod, though. In his estimation, he told league insider Tim Bontemps, Gobert does not have the versatility (via ESPN):
“Let’s think about it,” Smart said. “As a guard, especially on the team that switches a lot, especially on the No. 1 defensive team, you are worried about every single player. And here’s the thing: When you see Defensive Player of the Year, that means he can guard all five spots. Nothing against Rudy, but Rudy can’t guard all five spots. I can guard all five spots and I have been doing it. I’ve done it very well.”
Smart brings up a fascinating point about the importance of versatility. Basketball isn’t just played at the rim. You need to guard the perimeter, too.
But it might instead explain why Adebayo is more deserving of the award, not Smart. The Miami big can just as easily guard the ball handler and the screener when defending pick and roll sets.
Over the past few seasons, basketball defenses have relied more on switching against the pick and roll. To learn more about the strategy, you read this from Yaron Weitzman or this from Cleaning The Glass.
While not everyone favors the NBA’s obsession with switching, the skill set has intrinsic value. Teams can accomplish more on the defensive end of the floor if they deploy as many switchable defenders as possible.
Total Switches
Smart: 558
Bam: 684Switches Per 100
Smart: 9.4
Bam: 17.9Deleted the previous tweet because I had my filters setup specifically for Bam (as the screener defender). Bam remains possibly the most prolific switch defender in league history. https://t.co/LTsYRtbR0W
— Couper Moorhead (@CoupNBA) March 31, 2022
Heat content manager Couper Moorhead explained why Adebayo offers unimaginable versatility.
Although he has not played as many minutes, Adebayo has recorded more switches than Smart in 2021-22. Meanwhile, on a per-100 possession basis, he actually shatters the rate from the Boston wing.
Miami’s head coach, Erik Spoelstra, provided more insight on why that is so important (via NBA.com):
“Switching is a big part of our pick-and-roll defense and that looks great, sounds great, but if you don’t have somebody that can really see plays before they happen and get things organized as the initial backline of the defense, and then you [become] the frontline of the defense on the switch, that’s not as easy as it may seem,” Spoelstra says. “This league is driven by these amazingly skilled perimeter players that have incredible range and handles and know how to draw fouls and know how to get people off balance. We’re switching our center onto so many of those guys night in and night out, that just shows you his level of defensive prowess, IQ, physical ability.
“The majority of the teams just don’t have that sort of player to be able to do this scheme.”
Adebayo spends 11.7% of his defensive possessions guarding point guards, per BBall Index, which is a pretty high rate for a big man.
Additionally, he has been a more efficient defender than Smart in one-on-one opportunities (no matter the talent level or the opponent’s position) thus far. But opponents tend not to bother attacking the basket when he is on the floor. That is because, unlike Smart, Adebayo is also a fantastic rim protector.
He is an incredibly unique defender, and he is a key component to why Miami’s defense ranks second-best in the Eastern Conference this season.
