(Translator's note: The Ringer journalist Dan Devine, the content does not represent the views of the translator and the platform.) The data is as of April 8, Beijing time after the game. ）
After picking my NBA Individual Award of the Year, it's time to vote for The Best Team, the Best Defensive Team, the Best Rookie Team. Let's get started!
Best Team Lineup:
Center: Jokic (Nuggets)
Forward: Alphabet Brother (Bucks)
Forward: Tatum (Celtic)
Defender: Booker (Sun)
Defender: Doncic (Lone Ranger)
"Please vote for the player in the position he usually plays!"
When you open the ballot for the NBA's best team, you'll be greeted by the above prompt, one of the three guidelines for voting. In recent years, the NBA has blurred the positions of candidates, allowing many players to play multiple positions at the same time, which gives voters more flexibility; however, the NBA still refuses to completely eliminate the concept of position, insisting that voters choose 1 center, 2 forwards, 2 guards.
Jokic and Embiid can be seen as both centers and forwards, and they are two of the NBA's three best performers this season. However, they spend 100% of their time on the field playing as a center. Also, I can only choose 1 center player.
I know the debate about these two big men, especially Jokic, whose comprehensiveness upends our perception of the traditional center forward. He can advance with the ball, shoot at fixed points, connect teams to attack, he can play low back, he can pose a threat outside the three-point line, and so on. You don't have to put everything they do under the label of "center forward", like... They are the center.
A large number of mid-range jumpers didn't make Ewing a small striker. Leading the league's assists list also doesn't make Oxlade-Chamberlain a point guard. Shooting three-pointers also doesn't make Jack Hickmas a point guard. They are all centre-forwards, as are Jokic and Embiid. There are of course many different ways to define the center if you want to, but, like U.S. Supreme Court Justice Porter Stewart said about obscenity and pornography, you know it when you see it.
Embiid is one of the five best-performing guys in the league this season, but he's not on my squad list, and maybe you think that's stupid. To this, I would like to say: "I agree! ”。 If "picking the 5 best players of the season" is what the NBA wants, and the NBA wants to solve the position problem, then it needs to abandon the past tradition and clearly guide voters to choose the 5, 10 or 15 best performing players, regardless of their position. Don't take just half a step anymore, don't shirk your responsibilities anymore.
However, at the moment, I can only choose 1 center. Despite Embiid's incredible performances this season, Jokic is a little bit better. Jokic's team won only 2 fewer games than Embiid's, and Jokic made more appearances, played more hours, scored more points and was very efficient, and his team's second- and third-best players missed almost the entire season. So, Jokic got a vote for a center position. Alphabet Brother, Booker, and Doncic — all of whom are in the top five of my MVP list — occupy 3 of the other 4 positions.
The last forward spot in a squad was a competition between Tatum and Durant. The Nets have been chaotic this season and have been disappointing (obviously, they're not the most disappointing team). But you can't put that on Durant's head. Thanks to Durant's ability to maintain a 52.5% win rate, the team has averaged 30+ points, 7+ rebounds, 6+ assists per game this season, a true shooting rate of 63.5%, and his assist rate is still the highest in his career. When he's healthy, he looks like the best basketball player in the world.
If all else is the same, the last position is Durant's. However, it is not. Durant missed more than six weeks due to a medial collateral ligament strain, and Tatum played 22 more games than he did, playing 750 more minutes. Although Tatum has not yet reached Durant's level, he has played a quarter of a season more than Durant with 27+ points, 8+ rebounds, 4.5 assists per game, and he has also played near-elite level defense, which makes me inclined to choose him.
Best Team 2:
Center: Embiid (76ers)
Forward: Durant (Nets)
Forward: DeRozan (Bulls)
Guard: Morant (Grizzlies)
Guard: Curry (Warriors)
Embiid and Durant should certainly be selected, with another spot in the frontcourt going to the Bulls' DeRozan. His injuries have affected the Bulls' performance, but he has absolutely done everything the team can ask him to do. This season, he averaged a career-high 28 points per game, plus 5.2 rebounds and five assists, and he also scored some incredible key goals, even back-to-back kills.
The two players in the second team, Morant and Curry – like DeRozan, were at the top of the MVP list until those three big men became MVP favourites. Morant's big outburst this season has made his team a spoiler in the league, and they even made it all the way up to second place in the West.
what? Haven't you seen Morant's highlight clip? Check it out!
If we vote in the middle of the season, Curry could be a member of the MVP and the first team. However, his performance has declined (one is due to the chase for the historical three-point king, the other is because of the absence of the dream's injury), coupled with the absence caused by the sprain of his right foot, which has caused him to withdraw from the MVP and the competition for a while. Although his shooting percentage and three-point shooting percentage this season are the lowest in his healthy season, he has averaged 25.5 points, 6.3 assists and 5.2 rebounds per game, and his true shooting percentage is still as high as 60.1%, and his possession rate is less than 30%. Of all the players who played more than 1,000 minutes, he ranked 3rd in the league for both on-court and out-of-court plus-minus, just behind Jokic and Tatum. He's still in or close to the league's top 10 in high-level stats, and he's laid the groundwork for the team to stay in the top half of the West. I need to remind everyone that Curry, who has slipped down, is still as good as the best defender in the league.
Best Team Three:
Center: Towns (Timberwolves)
Forward: James (Lakers)
Forward: Siakam (Raptors)
Defender: Paul (Suns)
Defender: Trae Young (Hawks)
After four years in the NBA's All-NBA Team, Towns' strong return to the selection is a reminder of his strong dominance on the offensive end. Because of injuries, he was absent from the best team of the past four years, and his team has always been among the worst in the league. This season, his efforts on the defensive end have put the team in the top ten of the NBA's defensive efficiency list for the first time since the peak of Garnett, and he is also the anchor of the team's defensive end. Not only did Downs become a better player, but he also proved that a competitive team could be built around him. He's averaged 24.6 points, 9.8 rebounds and 3.6 assists this season, shooting 58 percent from two-point range and 41 percent from three-point range. With his outstanding performance, the Timberwolves made it to the Western Conference playoffs and took a big step toward the team's revival. The position of the third center of the All-Roc is his.
As the worst result of James' brilliant career, the Lakers' performance this season has been disastrous. Considering that other better teams have plenty of strong candidates, James will miss out on the NBA All-NBA First and Second Teams for the first time since his sophomore year. But then again, James' on-court performance is commendable. He averaged 30.3 points per game with a true shooting percentage of 61.9 percent, higher than any player except Embiid, and higher than his own average since President George W. Bush's second term (January 2005). He may no longer scare young players, he may no longer be able to bring a team to the playoffs on his own, but he remains the most dangerous scorer and the most intelligent offensive initiator in the league. I don't know of any other striker who has enough strength to squeeze him out of three squads.
The last forward position will fall to Siakam or Butler. They are all the best players in the league and are indispensable to their respective teams.
Butler scores more points per minute, scores more efficiently and makes fewer turnovers. He performed better in almost all of his high-level stats, and his team also finished first in the East, several more games than the Raptors. He's a huge source of motivation for the team, and when he's healthy, he looks like a top ten player in the league. However, the impact of the injury has left him with just 56 games, a dozen fewer than Siakam, who also played more than 600 more minutes than Butler, equivalent to a third of Butler's playing time this season, despite missing more than two weeks of games due to his recovery from shoulder surgery at the beginning of the season. After a long period of recovery from a shoulder injury, Siakam is now one of the most trusted players in the league.
In the 38 minutes he averaged since February, Siakam has averaged 24+ points, 8.5 rebounds, five assists, 51 percent from the field and 37 percent from three-point range, better than the 2019-20 NBA All-Team. In the small ball lineup that Nas and Ujerry dreamed of, when VanVleet was resting, he often played at the same time as Scotty Barnes and OG Anunoby, "Oh! It's all 6'8 inches! ”。 As in the case of Tatum beating Durant to the All-Roms, Siakam's workload is also an important consideration, but it's not simply "quantity over quality". Since 2022, the Raptors' record is third in the East, fourth in net wins, and Siakam has contributed a lot, so he deserves a place in the three teams.
In terms of individual performance, Paul is a strong candidate for three teams. He's very close to leading the league in both assists and steals (second in steals). His plus-minus at key moments is the highest in the league, and he is one of the greatest killers in key moments in league history. In key moments of the season, Paul shot 25-of-43 (58 percent from the field) and had an assist-to-turnover ratio of 30-5. There's also the fact that his Suns will be number one in the league by an advantage of about 8 games, and you can write his name down with a pen. As the proverb goes: the winner is always pampered.
The position of the last defender was contested by Trae Young and Mitchell. Although Mitchell played the best statistics of his career, I still think Trae Young is slightly better from the perspective of personal performance. Trae Young scores more, scores more efficiently, leads sharply in assists, has slightly more turnovers, but has significantly higher possessions and can walk to the free throw line more often. While there were some key players out at key moments, he brought the Hawks' offense to third in the league.
Those who defended Mitchell with Trae Young's defense seemed stupid, and Mitchell wasn't Gary Payton on the defensive end. Such arguments are tantamount to "Mitchell is better than Trey Young because Gobert is better than Capela", and I think such arguments are obviously not as convincing as "Trae Young tears defense at a higher level".
Missed all-team misses: Mitchell, Gobert (I'm probably not going to be popular in Salt Lake City for a while), Butler, and Adebayor and Jarrett Allen, two centers who, despite their great performances this season, haven't been able to squeeze the center off the roster.
Best Defensive Team One:
Center: Gobert (Jazz)
Forward: Adebayor (Heat)
Forward: Jarren Jackson Jr. (Grizzlies)
Defender: Smart (Celtic)
Defender: Bridges (Suns)
Best Defensive Team 2:
Forward: Robert Williams III (Celtic)
Defender: Sebel (76ers)
Guard: Van Vleet (Raptors)
You've probably noticed that there are no dream-chasing names on this list.
As of the date of this writing, Dream Chase has played 43 matches, less than 1300 minutes. He's likely to be one of the top 5 defenders in the league during his playing time, and he's also likely to be a strong contender for Defensive Player of the Year. But he didn't play enough time for me to put him in the best defensive team to replace other players who played longer, had a larger sample size and performed well. I'm looking forward to Chasing Dream's performance in the playoffs, and he might make my current choice look completely stupid.
Adebayor, Smart, Bridges, my top three in DPOY, locked up three spots for a while. Although Adebayo always played the No. 5 position on the Heat, I switched Adebayor from the center position to the forward when I voted. You might say that I did this immorally and hypocritically, because when Embiid was selecting the best team for a while, I didn't treat them equally. To that, I'd like to say, "It's a defensive award, and you're the one you're going to protect." "As the NBA's most frequent (one of the best) defenders, he's going to defend everybody. In fact, he has not spent 55% of his playing time this season as opposing center players, more than a third of them defending the No. 3 and No. 4 positions. Coach Spollstra enjoyed having Adebayor change places, so why can't I?
Adebayor was replaced as a striker in order to give Gobert the position of center forward. He didn't make it into my top three DPOY this time, but my previous compliments to him were all true. He remains one of the NBA's best defensive threats, ranking No. 5 on the block average per game list, No. 2 in jammed shooting, and tied for no. 1 defensive rebounding rate. He put his opponent on just 49.9 percent shooting from the inside, third out of 152 players defending at least 150 near-frame shots. While the Jazz slipped their opponents' points per game to 11th, they were second with a defensive efficiency of 107.5 when Gobert was on the floor. He certainly deserves to defend for a while.
Of the several other candidates on the defensive side, I ended up with Jaren Jackson Jr., who I'm bullish on more than once in future DPOY voting. As a misplaced defender of Michigan's big production, Jaren Jackson Jr. spent some time pinpointing his position on the court, thus eventually becoming an elite-level defender.
The 22-year-old has the speed, agility and ability to move and can handle any cover-up. When the little guard thinks they can play small, he can keep up — after he changes defenses, the team concedes an average of 0.81 points per game, and the average loss of 0.79 points per round for single defense — both of which are elite-level defensive stats. At the same time, he is also a defensive gate on the inside, ranking first in the league in terms of total blocks and average blocks per game, and he shoots only 49.6% of the way to the basket.
Jaren Jackson Jr. is one of the few people you can think of when it comes to dealing with elite-level scorers of different sizes and sizes, like his defense against Durant and Irving in the fourth quarter of the Grizzlies' win over the Nets. His defense is one of the big, if not the only reasons, why the Grizzlies were able to finish No. 5 on the defensive efficiency rankings and the team's 20-4 record without Morant.
Embiid and Sebel have been on my best defensive lineup second-team list for the second year in a row, and their defense put the 76ers in 9th place in terms of letting their opponents score points per possession. That's still the case in which they missed one of their first 55 games, Ben Simmons, the best defensive player contender, in exchange for the least defensive player contender, James Harden. Embiid's defensive stats aren't as impressive as Gobert's, but they're about the same, with opponents' basket offenses significantly reduced when Embiid is on the floor and shooting in any area of the field. Like Gobert, the 76ers' defense was in the league's top 5 when Embiid was on the floor.
Rivers said that putting Sable in the starting lineup was to allow the team's starting five to have a defensive terminator at any time. In longer playing hours and bigger team roles, the third-year defender did as hard as he did when he was a substitute. Sable is ranked 8th on the steals list and 4th for jamming shots. The players who came ahead of him on this list played 475-1,000 more minutes than he did. What's even more impressive is that no player in this league has played Against Boolean more often as the opponent's number one choice, with only the Thunder's Ludot and Sable facing a matchup of equal difficulty. That's why he can't play series G3G4 at Raptors home Toronto — because of vaccine issues — is particularly unfortunate, and the 76ers are likely to play against the Raptors in the first round of the playoffs a week later.
As I did with Adebayor in the pick, I switched Lowe from the centre forward position to the big forward because he spent more time defending the No. 3 and No. 4 positions (42.2 percent) than the No. 5 position (36.3 percent). What we have to remember is how impressive he was on the defensive end before he was injured. Alphabet Brother belongs to the second team with him, because although the Bucks' defensive efficiency has slipped to ten places for the first time in 4 years, it is Alphabet Brother's assistance from the weak side that allows Coach Budenholzer's defensive system to remain intact. Whether you need him as a defensive defender, midfielder or ball carrier, he's one of the most feared options in the league.
For the last defender position, before finally choosing VanVleet, I considered Beverly, the previous backcourt duo De Chantai Murray and Derek White, Juil Holliday. VanVleet protruded like a swollen thumb in the Raptors' main lineup. Everyone else is a 6'8" forward with a 7'2" arm span, but he is still an important part of the team's defense and has done a good job of assisting the defense, which is why the Raptors' defense can rank 10th.
VanVleet can press the opponent's ball carrier to the full field, he can appear in the right position to block the opponent's offensive route, and he can also judge the opponent's passing route very accurately and interfere with it. He could have done that all the time in his 38 minutes per game, setting the tone for the Raptors' defense and exhausting opponents. No team has done a better job than the Raptors in forcing opponents to make mistakes, and only the Timberwolves have scored more from their opponents' turnovers than the Raptors. The Raptors' defensive strategy stems from a group of tall forwards created by head coach Nas and president Ujari, who are the nightmare presence of opponents. Although Van Vliet doesn't have their size, he always has open arms and lets you dare to try different lineups.
Apologies to the players who didn't make the defensive team: Chasing Dreams; Beverly and Jared Vanderbilt, who are the main drivers of the Timberwolves' defensive upgrade; Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley, the Cavaliers' top 6 defensive towers; Derrick White, Tatum, and Jaylen Brown, all three of whom are important implementers of coach Uduka's unlimited change plan, who together help the Celtics rank at the top of the league defensively; and Dezhangtai Murray, who are at the top of the league in steals and destroying opponents' passes. He's also the team's number one choice on the offensive end, along with Jacob Peltel, one of the league's best and most fearless framers; Herbert Jones, one of the league's best outside defenders in recent years; Dorian Finney Smith, the ill-known (and not paid high) defensive terminator at the heart of the Lone Rangers' defensive end; Caruso and Peyton Jr., whose careers are just getting started and who will be on next year's roster if they stay healthy.
Best Rookie Lineup:
Center: Scotty Barnes (Raptors)
Forward: Evan Mobley (Cavaliers)
Forward: Cade Cunningham (Pistons)
Defender: Franz Wagner (Magic)
Guard: Herbert Jones (Pelicans)
Best Rookie Team 2nd Team:
Center: Josh Kitty (Thunder)
Forward: Ayo Dausum (Bulls)
Forward: Jaylen Green (Rockets)
Guard: Nashon Hyland (Nuggets)
Guard: Jonathan Cumminga (Warriors)
Barnes, Mobley and Cunningham, the top three of my Rookie of the Year, locked in the All-Rookie Squad for a while. And Herbert Jones, who became the team's starter as the No. 35 pick, also played close to the best defensive lineup, helped the Pelicans reach the playoffs, and it was really a treasure in the draft. The fifth place went to Franz Wagner, a player from the University of Michigan who did everything the Magic required him to do, averaging 4th in points, 9th in assists and 10th in rebounds out of at least 15 rookies who played at least 15 games.
Players with the ability to defend multiple positions, the ability to connect offenses, and the threat of a certain three-pointer can fit perfectly into any lineup. Wagner, who is 6 feet 10 inches tall and weighs 220 pounds, has an assist turnover ratio of about 2:1, and according to the 36 minutes, there are four three-point shots per game, shooting 35.4%, which is simply the template mentioned above. The question now is how much he's worth. At the age of 20, the only players who can surpass his minute-per-minute scoring, rebounding, tandem offensive output, and who can also be as efficient as his shooting are James, Magic, Doncic, Zion, Chris Webb, Lamelo Ball and Anthony Edwards. I can't say he's going to be a star player at those levels above, and even if he's one magnitude lower than them, he's still a good player.
The work Wagner did and herbert Jones helped the team reach the play-offs all raised their standing in my mind and surpassed Josh Kieddy. The Australian is on my second-team list with an assists lead over all rookies, second only to Evan Mobley in rebounds, and has four triple-doubles, tied for 7th place on the all-time rookie list like Kidd. Before the hip injury, he was an absolute hot rookie. He averaged close to 16+9+7 per game in the early part of the season, and he has made great progress in passing.
Cuminga was an option after Josh-Kiddy. He injected explosive athletic talent into the Warriors, which had always been considered more skill-oriented, and when Dream was injured, Cole had Cumminga appear in the frontcourt in place of Dream. In his 21-minute playing time since Jan. 5, he has averaged 12 points and 4.5 rebounds from 51 percent shooting. He's not on the floor, and he could play a key rotation role in the upcoming playoffs.
The Bulls' Ayo Dawsum — the University of Illinois' All-American First Team player was selected by the Bulls with the 8th overall pick in the second round, thanks to questions about his ability to bounce — played a bigger role as the Bulls' backcourt players suffered from injuries and did take his chances. Dausum is always full of energy on the defensive end, constantly chasing the ball carrier around the cover, and he is a good complement to the team. Since last December, he's shooting 53 percent from two-point range, 36 percent from outside the three-point line, and the assist-to-turnover ratio is close to 3-1. Losing Caruso and Lonzo Ball was a big blow to the Bulls, but Dausum made up for it in time to ease the crisis and allow the team to stay in the playoffs.
Hyland shrugged off the slow heat of the early season and became an integral part of the Nuggets' second-team in the second half of the season. He's a very daring player, shooting 5.5 three-pointers and shooting 40.8 percent from a 40.8 percent shooting range in less than 21 minutes of playing time since mid-January. He also has a certain ability to play tandem offense, and of course, I probably won't believe hylanders will win a playoff game for the Nuggets anytime soon.
Speaking of the bounce after a slow start, hello! Jaylen Green.
You could say I'm biased, if you want, or that I sacrificed a larger sample to give more weight to the All-Star performance after the Game. The No. 2 pick has only a bad 37 percent shooting percentage in his first 35 games, he makes more turnovers than assists, and his defense plus-minus is one of the worst in the NBA. For me, despite his early struggles, Green has improved from his mistakes and is making a strong comeback, which bodes well for his future. After the All-Star Game, he averaged 34 minutes per game, he could get 22 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, and the true shooting percentage was 59%.
It felt a lot like what Anthony Edwards went through in his rookie year, but made big strides the following year. Whether Green will follow the same career trajectory remains to be seen, but for the Rockets, who are looking at a quick rebuild, Green's appearance gives them a very exciting possibility.
Apologies to the following player who failed to be selected: Alpiran Sagu, a creative, bold and productive big man, it looks like he will join Green as a core player in the young Rockets' rebuilding plan. Zaire Williams, who was on the Tyler Jenkins starting line-up since the start of 2022, and Jose Alvarado, one of the most inspiring stories of the season, the lost draft from Georgia Tech was awarded a two-way contract to a training camp, helping the Pelicans reach the playoffs with his continued defensive pressure and keen sense of stealing, and he also managed to secure the official contract offered by the team.
Original author: DanDevine
Compilation: Nanshan