Warriors forward Draymond Green was named the league’s Defensive Player of the Year, as was announced during the TNT awards show Monday night.
Green led the league in steals at 2.03 per game and was 12th in blocks at 1.4 per game. He topped the other two finalists, Jazz center Rudy Gobert and Spurs forward Kawhi Leonard. Leonard won the award the past two seasons.
Well deserved, he put clamps on Lebron lol
Really? That’s why LeBron averaged 33 points and a triple double in the Finals? Draymond barely covered LeBron anyway. It was usually KD or Iggy.
Don’t give me numbers, how about them 4th quarter numbers? You want to bring those up for me please?
Oh I know LeBron played bad in the 4th quarter of the Finals (outside of Game 5 when most of his points came in garbage time), but it still stands that KD and/or Iggy were the primary defenders on LeBron in the game. Draymond was on Kevin Love (or Tristan Thompson, whichever of the two were playing) in end game scenarios.
Lebron needs to take over plain and simple. Come back with the same squad, just fix the bench. Stop worrying about playing with Melo,George, or Wade and beat the Warriors.
That’s the thing, outside of Kyrie, the rest of the squad needs fixing. TT couldn’t rebound. Kevin Love disappeared again. Same with Shumpert, Deron Williams, and JR Smith. After LeBron and Kyrie, the Cavs had no other players who the offense could run through (or even be a playmaker) and after LeBron, they don’t have any other player that can hold their own against KD, let alone come up with a big defensive stop. I don’t think Wade or Melo are the answers, but LeBron simply “taking over plain and simple” isn’t the answer either. The Cavs might be able to steal a game or two off of LeBron “taking over” but not a series (see 2015 NBA Finals). When they won last year, Kyrie and LeBron each stepped up big, but so did the role players…something that didn’t happen this past Finals.
Just feel like we are making excuses for Lebron, he did not shoot the ball when the Cavs fell behind. I don’t know what you watch but Kyrie showed Lebron Game 4 with those 40 points how to win a big game. Lebron’s 41 in Game 5 where not the same as Kyrie’s 40 in Game 4 because Kyrie simply put the game out of reach with his scoring, it was a barrage. If the Cavs were to do this move I think they might have a shot at the Warriors. Start Williams and run the offense through him and let Kyrie be a shooting guard simple as that. Lebron can’t have the ball 70 percent of the time because his handle is suspect and he does not have the outside game to iso and shoot.
Williams as in Deron Williams? So the plan is to start Deron Williams and Kyrie Irving at the two guard spots? Deron Williams did absolutely nothing in the playoffs. If he was able to run the offense, then the team wouldn’t have been as bad when Kyrie/LeBron had to come out. Plus, the defense would be horrendous as one would have to guard Curry and the other would have to chase Klay Thompson around.
Williams can’t get in a rhythm playing in an offense where Lebron and Kyrie dominate the ball, you guys wont ever understand that Lebron does not play team ball. He does not play in a system, Curry,Durant,Duncan,Kawhi,Dirk, Kobe,Mike all played in a system, Lebron is UNCOACHABLE and wants to be bigger then the team thats why when he plays a TEAM which plays great TEAM defense and offense he gets handled easily.
Congrats Draymond, you deserve it.
Durant could win this award next year.
Gobert deserves it more but who am I to talk about this GSW bias
What makes him “deserve it more”?
I want to hear the logical argument behind why he deserves it more.
I’m kidding, Dray was fantastic and so was Gobert, but Dray deserved it more
Congrats Green you worked hard for that.
Lebron got robbed by Tyson chandler and joakim Noah 2 years in a row for this award…
Anyway, congrats to draymond. Well deserved. Could easily be his 2nd
Durant made Harden have a nervous breakdown and did that to so many. He honestly deserves a lot more MVP talk than he gets. Not sure GSW is all time great without him. His defense this year was easily the greatest single defensive year Ive ever seen, slightly better than Rodman in his prime.