On April 18, the NBA official website announced the candidates for defensive player of the year; Mikael Bridges of the Suns, Gobert of the Jazz and Smart of the Celtics.
On April 19, the NBA officially announced that Celtic guard Smart won the Defensive Player of the Year award.
Smart has averaged 12.1 points, 3.8 rebounds, 5.9 assists and 1.7 steals this season, and he became the first defender to win the award in 26 years since Payton.
It is worth mentioning that Payton personally presented the award to him.
Subsequently, the official website also announced the specific number of votes.
Smart received 37 first-place votes, 18 second-hand votes and 18 third-place votes for a total of 257 points; Bridges received 22 first-place votes, 25 second-hand votes, and 17 third-place votes with a total score of 202 points; Gobert had 12 first-hand votes, 18 second-place votes, and 22 third-place votes, for a total score of 136 points;
But is he really worthy of the Best Defensive Player award more than Bridges and other players?
Personally, I feel that it is not satisfactory (so as not to cause misunderstanding to explain: it is generally satisfactory).
Overall defensively, the Celtics' defensive efficiency is the first in the league, which is a plus, but the Celtics' defensive core is Lowe, and if it is Smart, it is the best defensive player.
Of course, he is not to belittle Smart's defense, he is the spiritual core of this team, and when the team's performance was sluggish at the beginning of the season, he had the courage to speak out and criticize teammates Tatum and Brown, which also slowly put the team back on track.
His teammate Lowe said in an interview: "My courage on the defensive end and my willingness to fight are all learned from Smart. Even in training, he actively speaks out. ”
"On the pitch, he was the spiritual pillar of our defensive end, our leader. He didn't even know that. He was always vocal and put everyone where they were needed. ”
As the team's first line of defense, he is not only physically tough enough, but also can switch from the number one position to the fifth position, and his basketball IQ is very high, often predicting the opponent's offensive route and then creating offensive fouls on the opponent.
His defensive moves are not clean, even dirty at times, which is where he is criticized, but he is similar to the Leonard type, they are not defending others at the expense of fouls, one is prejudgment plus steals, one is prejudgment and fouling.
Smart averaged 1.7 steals per game and ranked 3rd in the league, with a total of 119 steals in the league 6th, and he can rank first for offensive fouls.
So although he is not an absolute defensive core, he is the most important defensive tip of the Celtics, and he is not worthy of DPOY, and he is not bad.
Of course, if you say that the bridge can be taken, in fact, I also agree, after all, the sun is also attacking and receiving, and the defense of the bridge is also top-notch.