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Ball Don't Lie

Wed Apr 16, 2008 2:00 pm EDT

Why ... Kevin Garnett is the Defensive Player of the Year

By Kelly Dwyer

Have you seen the way Kevin Garnett plays defense?

You likely have, this season, quite a few times. All those national TV appearances, y'know? He probably blew your mind. You probably gave a little credit to the Boston coaching staff, appreciated Kendrick Perkins (finally in shape), and noticed that Rajon Rondo can be of some help when his gambles pay off. But then you'd come back to KG.

Dirty, little secret here: Garnett was playing like this last season.

And the year before.

And the year before that.

He's always been this brilliant, but the league's most underappreciated and unheralded player has more or less been underappreciated and unheralded since winning that MVP award back in 2003-04. For one thing, factoring in his dominating mix of offense and defense, the man should have repeated as MVP in 2004-05, but he didn't have Amare Stoudemire and Shawn Marion next to (rather, a sulking Latrell Sprewell and an injured Sam Cassell), and he missed the playoffs.

And, because voters often confuse "best player" with "best player who has the most talented teammates," someone else walked off with the award. But this didn't stop KG from playing his game, defending the way he always has, and doing it under a relative batch of anonymity that better suits ... well, nobody deserved the treatment he took in over his final three years in Minnesota.

Garnett has improved defensively this season, and that's mainly a function of Boston assistant coach Tom Thibodeau's machinations and his role on a team that can still put up a hundred points with KG taking just a half-dozen shots. So he has gotten better. But because we lazily value blocks and steals over sitting down and watching a player work defensively off the ball, we glossed over this man. In his prime, no less. Pity.

So herald Garnett for his accomplishments this season, including his role in taking a team that was 18th in defensive efficiency last season into its current position as one of the best (statistical, we still have a playoff run to take in) defensive teams of all time.

And also remember that he's been doing this, without plaudits, for the longest time.

It's nice when someone gets something that they deserve. It doesn't mollify the sting, however, that comes with the recognition taking way too long to meander toward where it's supposed to go.

(Also remember that Scoop Jackson voted for Josh Smith, the guy who is routinely abused by the men he's supposed to be defending, the next time you decide to click on one of Scoop's columns.)

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27 Comments

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  1. swanksalot
    1. Posted by swanksalot Thu Sep 03, 2009 9:50 pm EDT

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    josh smith, really? really? i must have missed that ten minute span where josh smith played defense.
  2. David
    2. Posted by David Thu Sep 03, 2009 4:13 pm EDT

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    Not a single mention of Shane Battier? Weak.
  3. gobig_or_gohome300
    3. Posted by gobig_or_gohome300 Thu Sep 03, 2009 4:10 pm EDT

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    There is no player in the last decade that has combined shutting down his own man, contesting so many shots from others, destroying the pick and roll, and dominating the defensive glass like KG has.
    Tim Duncan is the only player in the discussion with KG when it comes to a single player controlling the pace of the game defensively.
  4. uoftorange
    4. Posted by uoftorange Thu Sep 03, 2009 10:28 pm EDT

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    While I have no problem with KG winning, I do think the answer is Shane Battier. I love the dig at Scoop Jackson, who has absolutely no business getting paid for what he does. Josh Smith? ARE YOU STEPHEN A. SMITH KIDDING ME????
  5. Sky P
    5. Posted by Sky P Thu Sep 03, 2009 9:26 pm EDT

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    I think a lot of his defense has to do with his intensity. Seriously, we've all been gaurded by a guy like that at one point or another. You're going against him thinking, "This guy does know it's a game right? I'm not going to kill his family if he doesn't stop me from scoring or anything."
    It's tough to play against someone like that, very intimidating.
  6. gadogry
    6. Posted by gadogry Thu Sep 03, 2009 4:05 pm EDT

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    Scoop Jackson also said that he'd take Telfair over Lebron if they came out of the same draft. And he also said that Acie Law is going to be great (I'll give it 3 more years before putting the hammer down on this one though).
    Since he's more into cultural, social stuff and basketball is not really one of his strong suits, he has to compensate by being different. If everyone says KG is DPOY and he says KG is DPOY, no one cares. If he says its Josh Smith or Wang Zhizhi or something, then at least people would read his column to figure out how stupid his argument could be.
    I find the same with Jamele Hill, or whatever her name is.
  7. Low Battery
    7. Posted by Low Battery Thu Sep 03, 2009 7:34 pm EDT

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    KD, you mentioned Boston having one of the best defenses all time. I've seen that mentioned other places on the web, too. Just curious what the, say, top 5 teams are all time or where I can find out.
    Thanks.
  8. Lamar W
    8. Posted by Lamar W Thu Sep 03, 2009 4:56 pm EDT

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    To be honest KG should have more credibility to win MVP[before DPOY] than Kobe. He doesnt deserve it because he never got it. Or because he's the "Best Overall Player". If LeBron had won 50 games he's be this seasons MVP. He won 45, only ten less than Kobe, thru an injury plagued season, with key players being traded, not to mention Big Z being the best Cavalier behind James who doesnt compare to Gasol, Bynum Or Odom[or Fisher or Walton or Ariza or Farmar]. Not to mention LeBron won the season series against Kobe. I believe KG deserves MVP, as does Paul[who's team sucks btw] or LeBron before Kobe.
  9. Dudeman
    9. Posted by Dudeman Thu Sep 03, 2009 4:52 pm EDT

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    Kenny and the rest of the TNT crew are just Rockets haters.No Shane Batteir mentioned!!?!!?
    Kenny, u make me sick.
  10. Elliot K
    10. Posted by Elliot K Thu Sep 03, 2009 3:53 pm EDT

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    yea Garnett has all the right to win DPOY. He's such a difference maker on both ends of the floor. And I totally agree with best player versus best player with best teammates. It's really dumb how the mvp's definition keeps changing and isn't consistent with many voters. Anyway, for DPOY it has to be marcus camby. Besides the fact that he puts up ridiculous defensive numbers(improved from last year), he makes such a big difference for the nuggets defensively. As for shane battier... as many of you keep saying down there, he ain't good enough to be DPOY. Just cuz he's the only one on that team that can guard the best player on the other team (b/c tmac can't take both offensive/defensive loads and no one else can defend on houston) doesn't mean he should win DPOY. He's a decent defender, not a great defender.
  11. Jon L
    11. Posted by Jon L Thu Sep 03, 2009 2:57 pm EDT

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    Battier's been a better defender than Bowen the last two years...and without trying to break anyone's ankle, Achilles tendon, knee or crotch.
  12. Adam G
    12. Posted by Adam G Thu Sep 03, 2009 8:59 pm EDT

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    Give me a break....if he wasn`t in Boston no one would be talking about him. BRUCE BOWEN IS THE DPOY !!!!!!
  13. MAC316
    13. Posted by MAC316 Thu Sep 03, 2009 3:33 pm EDT

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    KG Desereve's It!
  14. J0$h
    14. Posted by J0$h Thu Sep 03, 2009 10:58 pm EDT

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    KG is deserving of the award, but... there is not even ONE mention of the defending DPOY... Marcus Camby.. who is 2nd in rebounds per game, and for the 3rd strait year #1 in blocks per game.. although denver's TEAM defense sucks, marcus camby DOMINATES the paint. stats dont lie.
  15. Doug D
    15. Posted by Doug D Thu Sep 03, 2009 3:48 pm EDT

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    I would vote for KG for DPOY, but Josh Smith does deserve consideration -- his combined block and steal numbers are some of the best of all time.
    MVP should go to Kobe, although the only real knock on KG is that he has Paul Pierce and Ray Allen on his team, who are surer bets to make the Hall of Fame than Pau Gasol or Lamar Odom.
    Chris Paul is a great player, but in the NBA you have to wait your turn for MVP consideration. And don't think the Hornets aren't loaded -- David West is a 20/9 All-Star, Tyson Chandler is a legit center (12/12), and Peja Stojakovic is a pure shooter and former All-Star. Paul arguably had a better supporting cast than Kobe, given that Gasoldidn't play the whole season.
  16. Aardvark
    16. Posted by Aardvark Thu Sep 03, 2009 2:43 pm EDT

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    Numbers don't mean anything when it comes to defence. Defence should be measured by how many points your oponants score against you. KG is a very good defender and yes he looks like he should with some talented people around him.
    But how can you go past Battier ! His team won 22 games in a row, and their oponants hardly ever score over 100 points in a game. He constantly takes the oppositions best player (James, kobe, Anthony etc..) and limits their scoring for that game.
    Another honorable mention is Camby, because nobody else on his team plays defence.
    Three candidates, winner : Battier
  17. Trieu
    17. Posted by Trieu Thu Sep 03, 2009 8:36 pm EDT

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    Deny the wing. DENY THE WING!
  18. Neji48972
    18. Posted by Neji48972 Thu Sep 03, 2009 10:38 pm EDT

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    Dirty, little secret here: DUNCAN was playing like this last season.
    And the year before.
    And the year before that.
    -------------------------------
    Duncan has better defensive stats (def reb, blk, stl) than Garnett. The Spurs are are statistically the #3 in the league but their opponent ppg is less than half a point of the Celtics's opponent ppg. If you take into account that the Spurs played more games against Western teams, the Spurs are just as good as the Celtics, maybe even better. The next best defensive team in the East, Detroit, is almost as good as the Celtics. The next best defensive team in the West, Houston, is significantly inferior to the Spurs, defensively. What the hell is oing on here? Look to the West for the MVP and look to the East for DPOY?
    Not awarding Duncan DPOY would be a travesty. I guess we'd have to wait for the a Finals showdown to see who really deserved it.
  19. Oliver
    19. Posted by Oliver Thu Sep 03, 2009 7:44 pm EDT

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    how is it that KG wins mvp in scoop jackson's mind, but not Def POY.
  20. meow sir
    20. Posted by meow sir Thu Sep 03, 2009 4:55 pm EDT

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    i love how number 9 forgets the fact that kevn garnett has paul pierce and ray allan on his team? and says kobe has gasol and odom.... he had gasol for less then 2 months of the season and odom sucked until gasol arrived... and oh yeah bynum has missed 3 months of the season? what a moron
  21. BC47
    21. Posted by BC47 Thu Sep 03, 2009 7:02 pm EDT

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    Im sorry but garnett aint the defensive player of the year. He is the most intense player but he dont have the stats... Camby stats is better and so is the often injured chris kaman, and amare made him look out flat old when they went head to head. sorry give it to battier.
  22. manchester1987
    22. Posted by manchester1987 Thu Sep 03, 2009 4:44 pm EDT

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    he should be the mvp!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
  23. mikey
    23. Posted by mikey Thu Sep 03, 2009 7:41 pm EDT

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    Oh well, if KG doesnt get those awards, he is still a crucial piece of the best team in the league and the 17th banner will be hangin' in Boston where it oughtta be and 18 and 19 will be there to...they were 25 and 5 against those west coast fakers and will just smoke the west again..the real ball will be between Boston and Detroit it just gets simpler after that....KG is just on the most valuable team anyway
  24. Nookiez
    24. Posted by Nookiez Thu Sep 03, 2009 4:42 pm EDT

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    #11 Dudeman, this is KELLY dwyer's column not KENNY'S moron. KG for the Defensive Player of the Year Award!
  25. shola o
    25. Posted by shola o Thu Sep 03, 2009 7:43 pm EDT

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    Two words.KEVIN GARNETT

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