Here's my ranking: Good: 1. RoCo 2. Nurk 3. Rondae H-J Not bad: 4. Nassir (controversial!) 5. Powell Below Average: 6. Jones Jr. 7. Elleby (also a stretch) 8. CJ Definitely bad: 9. Dame 10. Simons Just God-awful 11. Kanter 12. Melo Not featured: Giles, Blevins
My list would be almost identical, except I'd swap CJ and Dame. I also think that Nurkic is an interesting topic in this regard. In a vacuum, he's a very good defender. He's sound, he's good in man defense against other big men and he brings rim protection. In any era until about 6-7 years ago, he'd be an unqualified strong defensive center. But in this era, while he obviously brings useful things, he's arguably a defensive detriment in the many, many pick-and-rolls teams run nowadays. In match-up hunting, getting Nurkic into a pick-and-roll with whomever is defending the other team's best wing or guard is an excellent tactic for the other team. As much as people hate the drop coverage Stotts plays with Nurk (and Kanter), having them press up on a Steph Curry or a Kawhi Leonard or any good/great offensive perimeter player, is also tantamount to disaster.
Good: Nurk Roco Zach ( if was playing) Not Bad: Jefferson Powell Jones Below ave: Giles Nas CJ 2 Bad:. Dame CJ Melo Kanter Simons
for what it's worth, individual defensive ratings keeping in mind that the team rating is 116.6 (last highlighted column): and DBPM (last highlighted column): not anything really surprising there. Kanter's rankings in the two categories is in conflict. Jones registers as a better defender than he's being credited for you really have to look at rotations to gauge those stats with decent context
A lot things goes into those advance rating because Kanter can't defend what makes his score look so good because of his rebounding.
A lot things goes into those advance rating because Kanter can't defend what makes his score look so good because of his rebounding.
A lot things goes into those advance rating because Kanter can't defend what makes his score look so good because of his rebounding.
A lot things goes into those advance rating because Kanter can't defend what makes his score look so good because of his rebounding.
Good: RoCo Powell Nurk Not bad: RHJ DJ Nassir Elleby Below Average: CJ Dame Simons Def Bad: Kanter JGA: Melo
Rebounding is one of (if not the most) important aspects of defense. Kanter defeninately is not a good defender, but he's better than most give him credit for.
Simons is the worst. He’s probably the worst defensive player in the league, but at least he plays guard. Can’t survive with Melo and Kanter who are barely ahead of him. Everyone else it doesn’t even matter.
