Tayshaun Prince was named to the All-Defense Second Team today. In the “receiving votes” section, Chauncey Billups earned five first-place votes; Rasheed Wallace, three.
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Pistons Nation points out it’s the fourth straight season Tayshaun made the Second Team. That surprises me; I thought he would have made the first team at least once. Curse that Bruce Bowen fellow.
Congratulations to Tayshaun Prince. If the players voted, it would be Tayshaun every year. I’m not saying Tay’s that much better than Bowen, I’m saying players don’t like Bruce Bowen. Tayshaun’s going to get a gold medal in Beijing as the 6th man on Team USA and he’s never been an All-Star or First team All-Defense. Crazy.
I just want to point out that i like tim duncan sheed is a much better choice for 1st defensive team than him…
Here are the results. Points are in parentheses. Discuss.
First Team:
Forward Kevin Garnett (52)
Guard Kobe Bryant (52)
Center Marcus Camby (37)
Guard Bruce Bowen (36)
Forward Tim Duncan (33)
Second Team:
Forward Shane Battier (29)
Guard Chris Paul (26)
Center Dwight Howard (25)
Forward Tayshaun Prince (20)
Guard Raja Bell (18)
The voting is done by the 30 head coaches, and they can’t vote for their own players. If it was done by journalists, I could understand the results, but it seems like the coaches buy into hype, too. Allow me to complain.
Kobe can be a great defender, but is inconsistent because he conserves himself for offense. Although that is smart, inconsistent effort should mean you shouldn’t be tied with KG! I can’t disagree with KG and Duncan on first team. However, Marcus Camby is an awful pick and roll defender and a mediocre man defender. He plays to get the block way too much. No way he deserves first team. Bruce Bowen has lost a step. He just got his first team nod because of reputation. Chris Paul is not that great of a defender. He gets a lot of steals, yes, but his size limits him. Raja Bell’s defensive skills amount to flopping around like a freshly caught halibut.
Revised First Team (because I think I know the NBA better than its head coaches):
Forward Kevin Garnett
Center Tim Duncan
Guard Shane Battier (he plays SF on offense, but mostly guards the opposing team’s SG)
Forward Tayshaun Prince
Guard Rajon Rondo (he’s a big part of Boston’s great defense)
Revised Second Team:
Forward Rasheed Wallace
Center Tyson Chandler
Guard Kobe Bryant
Forward Josh Smith
Guard Bruce Bowen
Yes, I´m quite surprised coaches got it this wrong.I´m quite annoyed by the inclusion of Kobe Bryant on the First Team. You really shouldn´t be on the All-NBA defensive teams unless you give defense your all every single play of the game, and Bryant defends only when it suits him. Coaches fell prey to the “halo effect”.
Ditto on Camby, Bowen and pretty much everything else you said, Birdman. I´m not that sure about Rajon Rondo, though. No Ron Artest?
And clearly, Tayshaun deserves to be on the first team, and has done so for a few years. Not only because he defends consistently and relentlessly, but also because he does it smartly and usually comes up big in decisive times.
Dg.But: I see what you’re saying, but I don’t agree. Can you name some players who DO “give defense [their] all every single play of the game”? There’s more to the game than defense (although defense wins championships) so it would be extremely hard for a single player to go 100% on the defensive end. It would totally take them out of the flow of the game and wear them down. I think Bryant is a good defender and has always had the capability of being a VERY good defender, but like you said, he picks and chooses his spots. Probably because the Lakers rely so heavily on his offense.
I definitely think that there is a tradeoff between offensive and defensive energy. Many of the best players on offense are quick enough, big enough, and strong enough to be very good defenders. Kobe and LeBron are two of the best examples. By the same token, players that have offensive limitations (Shane Battier, Bruce Bowen) or aren’t the primary offensive threat (Tayshaun) can exert more effort defensively.
Rasheed has been amazing defensively this year.
Maybe, Garrett, but defense really isn´t something you can do just to look good. It´s where you can see if somebody really is thinking primarily in terms of the team or themselves. Maybe nobody can be 100 percent every single play of the game, but if you´re not defending as well as you should on a certain number of possessions because you´re worried about your stats (be they defensive, as with Camby, or offensive, as with many other players), you´re not a true defender in my book.
I do agree that there´s a tradeoff between offense and defense. But it´s not a reason to cut Bryant or James any slack over their often lackadaisical defensive attitude. Look at what Tim Duncan does. Even better, look at what Jordan did. He may have had a tremendous ego, but he loved winning even more, that´s why he defended like he had the rabies. For all of their pretensions to be stars, neither Bryant nor James come close to the intensity Jordan had, and a lot of that has to do with their outlook on defense.