I am going to take a break from the NHL awards and give out my award for the NBA's Defensive Player of the Year. This award was easily given out to Dwight Howard (his 3rd straight). I have no disagreements with this, and I will show you my statistical reasoning for picking Howard.
Defensive Player of the Year

Orlando Magic C Dwight Howard

Dwight Howard is an incredible defender; we all know that. The defenders around him are poor, so he has to make up for a lack of defensive talent. Hedo Turkoglu, Gilbert Arenas, and Quentin Richardson are three of the worst players in the league. Reserve point guard Chris Duhon is another horrible defender. Howard has dominated the middle, and that has been all they have needed to have the third highest defensive efficiency in the league as well as the second best rebounding rate. That's all Howard.

Howard put an exclamation point on his latest trophy by packing Kirk Hinrich in the Magic's playoff win. In total, Superman had 33 points while shoring up 17 boards. He had the 4th best total rebounding rate, but more importantly, the best defensive plays average. This is the average number of blocks, steals, and charges drawn per game. Basically everything from Howard was blocks, but it definitely shouldn't draw any complaints.

Ryan Anderson was 31st in the league in total rebounding rate of all forwards, which is a decent mark but nothing special. I mean, it took a lot from Dwight Howard to even be the 2nd best rebounding team in the NBA with only Anderson posting solid numbers. By the way, Hedo Turkoglu was among the worst rebounders in the NBA last year. We can all agree that Howard was the best defensive player in the 2010-2011 season. It's remarkable that Howard alone made his team one of the best rebounding and defensive teams in the league. His season was the equivalent to a 25-7-7 season for a defensive player.

2010 PSW DPOY

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Posted By: Joe Soriano - Category: NBA, Hawks, Kirk Hinrich, Magic, Dwight Howard, Jason Richardson, Hedo Turkoglu, Ryan Anderson, Chris Duhon, Quentin Richardson, Gilbert Arenas

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4/2011 Shooting Guard Rankings 1-10

April 13th 2011 12:54

1. Kobe Bryant- Dwayne Wade is baring down on his neck, but Bryant is still the king of the position. He plays much better defense than Wade and is the better pure scorer and shooter.
2. Dwayne Wade- Bryant's age is the only reason why people believe Wade is the better player. If somebody is older, we shouldn't just penalize them because of age when they are still better than the younger player. Heck, it's only a difference of a couple of years. I'll put Wade at the top when he's better than Kobe; it's as simple as that.
3. Joe Johnson- Johnson is one of the most consistent scorers in the NBA, and he is solid at rebounding and passing.

4. Manu Ginobili- Ginobili is a great point guard that would be third on this list if not for injuries. He is a solid defensive player, a good ball-handler, a good passer, and a great scorer that is among the best in the league at drawing fouls.
5. Andre Igoudala- He is such an athletic and explosive player, and he has really transformed into the defender we knew he could be. AI2 has finally put it all together, and it has been quite a show for Sixers fans.
6. Kevin Martin- Before you start bashing me, hear me out here. Martin has been the 4th most efficient player this year behind these guys named Dwayne, Kobe, and Manu. While he is a poor defender, he more than makes up with it by scoring efficiently and drawing fouls.

7. Stephen Curry- Curry has huge upside, and it is shameful that Monta Ellis gets more playing time than Curry. He is the far better shooter, passer, and defender than Ellis. Curry was the best shooting rookie we have seen in years.
8. Jason Richardson- J-Rich is one of the best in the NBA playing the catch-and-shoot game, and he has been able to cut down on his turnovers and rebound solidly. He is a very good perimeter shooter who is also one of the best dunkers in the league.
9. Eric Gordon- Gordon isn't particularly good at attacking the rim, but he does have a nice shot which allows him to score. He was the 6th most efficient player in the league, and he also draws a ton of fouls which makes him all that more valuable as an outside scorer. His biggest weakness is rebounding.
10. Monta Ellis- I will reluctantly put Monta on my list. He takes far too many shots and his stats are so overblown. Ellis doesn't care enough to at least try to block passing lanes and cover on D. He is so lucky that the incompetent Keith Smart is coaching the Warriors. Ellis can play great defense when he wants too- he's like a safety out there at times- but he gambles too much when he does try. Get this, the Warriors play much better basketball without him around. That's easy to see considering all the stupid shots he takes, especially right when the possession starts, and it seems like he doesn't know how to open up the defense by passing it. Ellis is talented, but he's just so dumb on the court.