I was watching TNT last Thursday night when the NBA All Star starters were revealed. The studio team of Ernie Johnson, Kenny Smith, Chris Webber and Gary Payton were analyzing/critiquing the rosters. Everything was cool, until Payton started letting go the haymakers. Two of them stood out in particular. According to Payton:
1) Not only does Al Jefferson deserve to start the All Star game over Tim Duncan, but if Jefferson were in San Antonio instead of Duncan the Spurs would be just as good.
2) Chris Bosh has played better than Kevin Garnett this season, and therefore deserves to start the All Star game over him.
Payton's point in each circumstance was that the younger player in each comparison had better points/rebounds numbers than the vets which made them better thus far, and that Duncan and Garnett were basically only starting because of reputation and the fans being more familiar with them. When Kenny Smith pointed out how much better Garnett and Duncan's teams were, and how it is easier to get big points/rebounds numbers on bad teams, Payton said that record didn't matter and that Bosh and Jefferson were just playing better this year. Now, I know Payton was in Charles Barkley's seat and his role was to stir up controversy, but let me point out where he was wrong.
It can't possibly have escaped Payton's notice that Garnett and Duncan are two of the best defensive players in the NBA. Payton's nickname was The Glove, so I know HE knows the importance of defense. Yet, in his analysis, he completely ignores the other side of the ball for the sake of Bosh and Jefferson scoring a few more points? Well, if Payton like stats, let me give him a couple to chew on:
1) Garnett is second in the NBA in defensive rating at 95 (opponents score 95 points for every 100 possessions that Garnett is on the floor) while Duncan's DRTG is a respectable 101. Jefferson and Bosh, on the other hand, sport DRTGs of 107 and 108 respectively. In other words, teams score roughly 6 more points per full game against the defense led by Jefferson than they do against units led by Duncan, while teams score a whopping 13 more points against Bosh's team's defense than they do against those anchored by Garnett.
2) According to 82game.com, Garnett leads all power forwards in minimizing opponents' production (opponent's production of 12.5, where production is a variant of PER and low is good). Duncan yields an opponent's production of 16.3, while Bosh's is 17.3 and Jefferson brings up the rear at 18.4.
Translation: Garnett and Duncan are both locking up their individual opponents better than Bosh and Jefferson, and are also anchoring much stronger team defenses than Bosh and Jefferson. So those few individual points that Bosh/Jefferson outscore Garnett/Duncan by are more than counteracted by how many points Garnett/Duncan prevent their opponents from scoring. If I score 15 points and hold my opponent to 10, that is better than scoring 20 myself but letting my opponent get 23.
So Gary, it's not that the Celtics and Spurs are better than the Raptors/Timberwolves in spite of their All Star big men…it's that Garnett and Duncan are masters at the often ignored but vitally important defensive side of the ball, and because of that they are key figures in the Celtics and Spurs being atop the league. And also because of that, they are very deserving of their All Star Starter status despite good seasons from the youngsters. Bosh and Jefferson will have their day, but in the words of Bill Bellamy…"today just ain't that day!"