Raptors forward Scottie Barnes is the Eastern Conference Defensive Player of the Month for October/November, while Thunder guard Cason Wallace won the award for the Western Conference, according to an announcement from the NBA (Twitter link).
Barnes led the surprising Raptors to a 14-7 record through the end of November, and the team posted the NBA’s sixth-best defensive rating (111.5) during that time. According to the league, the versatile 6’8″ forward ranked fourth in the East in deflections in October/November (4.0 per game) and was the only player in the NBA to rack up at least 30 steals and 30 blocks.
Wallace, meanwhile, is one of many standout defenders on a dominant Thunder team that went 20-1 with a remarkable 103.6 defensive rating in October/November. Oklahoma City was three-and-a-half games better than any other NBA club during that time, and its defensive rating was nearly seven points per 100 possessions better than that of the second-place Rockets (110.3).
While the Thunder’s defensive performance is a team effort, Wallace led the NBA in steals per game (2.2) to open the season and also had more deflections per game (5.0) than any other player in the West, despite playing a relatively modest 28.6 minutes per contest.
It’s the first time that either Barnes or Wallace has won the Defensive Player of the Month award, which was introduced at the start of last season. According to the NBA (Twitter link), the other players nominated in the East were Cavaliers forward Evan Mobley, Heat big man Bam Adebayo, Hawks guard Dyson Daniels, and Pistons big man Isaiah Stewart — Mobley and Daniels each earned Defensive Player of the Month recognition twice last season.
In the West, Wallace’s Thunder teammates Luguentz Dort and Chet Holmgren were also nominated. Rockets guard Amen Thompson was the only non-OKC nominee in the conference.
Hawks should do whatever possible to sign Cason Wallace this summer. Adding him to Dyson & Nickeil would give us the best defensive backcourt in the league. KP & Kennard come off our books after this season & if/when we get rid of Trae we’ll have more than enough cap space to sign Cason. His brother Keaton is already here & those guys are closer than even most other brothers are. OKC is paying a bunch of guards already & has more capable young guards waiting in the wings. I highly doubt that they would be willing/able to pay Cason what we would. Im pretty sure Dice is currently #1 or #2 in the league in deflections (led the league last yr) & Cason is right behind him at #3. I would LOVE to see us with the 2 best defensive guards in the game as our starting backcourt.