Kevin Garnett, Tony Allen -Top Contenders for the NBA Defensive Players of the Year Award
In the last season, Orlando Magic’s big man Dwight Howard once again proved himself as the defensive giant and became the first player ever in the history of the National Basketball Association to be named as the Defensive Player
of the Year for the third successive times.
Considering that Howard’s game-play and physical strength has reached to a level which cannot be achieved by any player in NBA any time soon, it’s difficult to think of anyone else winning the award in the next season.
While the 25-year-old Dwight Howard is on the top of the list to nab NBA Defensive Payer of the Year award in the 2011-2012 seasons yet again, here are few players how might give Howard a tough time in clinching the honour for
the fourth time.
Kevin Garnett
Any player who can match the physical toughness of Dwight Howard is no other than Boston Celtics’ veteran power forward Kevin Garnett. Although, the 35-year-old Garnett is in the final stages of his career and might not be seen
around in the league for a longer period. However the Celtics big man still have some good years left and his physical game is still the biggest strength.
Kevin Garnett has won one NBA Defensive Players of the Year award in 2008 and he is the top contender to snatch the title from Dwight in the next season. Garnett finished second in the last season to be nominated as the best defensive
player with 8.9 rebounds per game and next time he may finish on the top.
Tyson Chandler
The NBA Champion Tyson Chandler might not be prolific scorer but this is not what his role is in the team. The 7 feet 1 inch centre is a man behind the defensive strength and his major role is to restrict the sharp-shooters of
the opposition from taking control.
Playing for the Dallas Mavericks in the last season, Tyson Chandler powered the team tremendously from the back court which helped Dallas to realize their Championship dream finally. Especially in the NBA Finals, Chandler hampered
the three best scorer of the league LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh to play their natural game which placed Miami Heat in the back foot and Dallas Mavericks won the series 4-2.
Tyson Chandler averaged 9.4 rebounds and 1.1 blocks per game in the last season and he can definitely improve those numbers in the next season to contend for the Rookie of the Year award in the 2011-2012 season.
Tony Allen
Memphis Grizzlies shooting guard Tony Allen is a great defender and he proved those skills in the last season during Grizzlies miraculous run in the play-offs. Tony averaged 1.9 steals per game on the bog platform which is a good
record as a defender.
Although Tony Allen was not that active on the rebounds as the best defensive player should be however he was the reason to restrict San Antonio Spurs veteran players from taking control in the first round of the play-offs. And
as a result, the Grizzlies eliminated the top seeded San Antonio in a record setting fashion.
If Tony Allen manages to improve his stats on the rebounds, he might become the next NBA Defensive Player of the Year.
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