Through the first two games of the NBA Finals, which players have stepped up their defense, and which are slacking?
Everything is magnified in the NBA Finals. Clutch – or soft – players are exposed, and their reputations are often forever altered. The old adage “Defense Wins Championships” never matters more than in the NBA Finals (duh!).
Traditional Advanced Metrics like PER and Defensive Wins shares don’t always accurately measure how effective players are on defense. Klay Thompson, after all, has never posted positive Defensive Box Plus/Minus (DBPM) stats, despite being considered a superb defender.
Kawhi Leonard infamously got misrepresented by imperfections in defensive metrics, which assessed him as one of the worst defenders on the 2017 Spurs.
Through the first two games of the NBA Finals, several players on each team have distinguished themselves as excellent on-ball, and help-defenders. Let’s examine the series’ four best defenders thus far, and a few more players who need to assert themselves more on the less glamorous end of the floor.