Kevin McHale said Thursday that Bulls center Joakim Noah should win the league's Defensive Player of the Year Award based on his performance this season. The Houston Rockets coach knows a special defensive big man when he sees one. He was one himself, being selected multiple times to the NBA all-defense team. He has also coached two previous award winners in Kevin Garnett and Dwight Howard. Read more http://espn.go.com/chicago/nba/stor...player-year-kevin-mchale-houston-rockets-says
Just a few weeks ago, ESPN forecast the DPOY award. http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/10331297/2014-winter-forecast-defensive-player-year (5-3-1 scoring system) 1. Hibbard 221 points 2. George 53 points 3. Ibaka 40 points 4. James 33 points 5. D. Jordan 27 points 6. D. Howard 23 points 6. Anthony Davis 15 points 7. Bogut 13 points Also receiving votes: Iggy, Jo, Paul, David West, Leonard, CHandler, Splitter, Drummond. (yes, they listed Howard and Davis both ranked #6)
And yeah, I'd think Hibbard is going to win it going away. A guy I'd think would be on the list but isn't is Marc Gasol - he might be my #2 pick.
The article was published over 7 weeks ago, which isn't the end of the world, but in this "yesterday is old news" world today's media lives in, it's pretty old. For example, when the article was published, your boy Marc Gasol had missed more than half of the Grizz's games, explaining his absence from the list (he is a defensive stud). Also, all of the top vote-getters, with the exception of the Pelicans Anthony Davis, plays for a team that was probably top-10 in mid-January. In mid-January, the Bulls were under .500. If things continue as they've been going lately (Noah getting a decent amount of national attention), when the voting counts, I strongly believe that Noah will be top 3 in the voting.
Indy is 1st on defense both PTS/G and Def Rtg. No wonder they have two guys in the top 2. We shall see.
I think this nails it. Media perception today is very much a stream of consciousness kind of thing, and Noah has catapulted himself to the very top of the technorati's most beloved players. I firmly believe that about half of a players votes can be attributed to the "mood" surrounding the player and his team at the time of voting. If DPOY voting were to happen today I'd bet good money that Noah ends up in the top 5. PS - I still think Hibbert is the favorite for now.
Ahhhh...the trusty Magic 8 Ball. Like a noisy John Hollinger stat analysis in a handy analog device. And remember: Technorati rhymes with Mariotti so never forget to take their bleating with a healthy spoonful of iodinized sodium chloride.
The poll's been up on this vibrant forum for nearly 48 hours. It's Noah as DPOY by a unanimous decision. Congrats, Jo!
