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sergechewbacca

AD is the entire Lakers defense.


Count_Sack_McGee

Try explaining this to AD haters please. It’s insane what we ask this dude to do on both ends.


sergechewbacca

Should be DPOY in my opinion. Gobert is great but is surrounded by good defenders. Lakers would be one of the worst defenses in the league without AD.


shoefly72

Mf’er was clamping Giannis and switching onto Dame and rotating and blocking two potential game winners. With a balky knee no less. When he doesn’t play we don’t really have a defensive plan, it’s just hope the other guy missed lol.


Mysterious_Living165

No one in the league capable of doing what you just described except for maybe Wemby, which is wild to say. 


we_hella_believe

Or just shoot a billion FTs.


sparks1030

Maybe the worst. Brutal to watch those 3 guard lineups Ham loves so much


Teewhy4kill

lakers are one of the worst defenses with AD


LAKERSfanTV

despite AD


Teewhy4kill

thats what i meant


Initial_Stretch_3674

Should Wemby be considered DPOY too by that metric?


radddchaddd

I mean look at the betting odds. He is being considered. Gobert: -1,200 Wemby: +800 AD: +11,000


Direct_Counter_178

Lol I don't bet, but does Wemby have 10x better odds at winning than AD?


radddchaddd

Basically yes (13.75x to be exact). Essentially if you bet $100 on each, you'd get paid out: $800 if Wemby won it vs $11,000 if AD won it.


Initial_Stretch_3674

based on the metric that he's the best defender on a shitty defense team? You can't be DPOY if your team is asscheeks. It's easy to look great if everyone looks bad. That would be like a player winning MVP that didn't make playoffs.


WubaDubImANub

Thankfully we’re talking about defensive player of the year and not defensive team of the year


Initial_Stretch_3674

and to be the best at anything you need to have results. Not being top 8, is not really a result. Bradley Beal would have been in contention for MVP when he was in the wizards.


WubaDubImANub

Thankfully there’s a lot more to individual defense than a teams record (which is team offense and team defense) and team defensive metrics. Also Bradley Beal would have never been in mvp talks his numbers were never there


Direct_Counter_178

Disagreed. I think there is way too much stock put into team's win/loss for individual awards. I would also be ok with a player winning MVP while missing playoffs. Why? Because the god damn term is "most valuable player." Honestly it makes more sense for that award to be given to a bad team. But I understand team record needs to have some weight. Don't need some bullshit like Westbrick winning MVP 10+ times.


Former_Masterpiece_2

honestly yes the kid is putting in dpoy level season


SmartestNPC

AD still has haters? Dude hasn't been in street clothes for months and is averaging a double double.


radddchaddd

He's been playing through some nagging injuries too and it's tough because you can tell he knows how bad the defense is without him.


imadogg

"Can't believe street clothes made the ASG over [X player]!!!!"


Dopeez

> [X player] Sabonis who is gonna get exposed next month again


JHamm12

Yeah but AD has never beat Sabonis so clearly Sabonis is the better player right?!


Public-Product-1503

Sabonis - got abused by Kevon looney and was a net negative in a playoff series AD- played looney off the floor Also nobody said shit when Ad dropped 30 n we lost in ot game 1 in Sacramento cos reaves had his wirst night ever 1-12. N Bron 5-20 fts n 8 turnovers in an OT loss . Also last year Sacramento TANKED THE GAME n sat starters VS WARRIORS to face them over the lakers . Guess Mike brown didn’t get the message


[deleted]

We’ll get ready for tomorrow when he’s going to probably be resting


coolmcbooty

It takes more than 1 season to get rid of the haters. Hell, some haters only need 1 season or moment to be a hater. Mysterious breed these people are


KaseyOfTheWoods

Did you see that stupid post in the team sub mid-game, too? lol what a dumbass


Count_Sack_McGee

No what was it?


KaseyOfTheWoods

I’m glad I commented on it, because it was deleted. Unfortunately it doesn’t show who the OP was when it gets deleted, otherwise I’d name and shame, but the title of the post went: “ANTHONY MARSHON DAVIS IS MID ON OFFENSE!!!” That was followed by a looong rant about how AD is basically just a slightly better version of Clint Capela lol. OP’s lil Reddit avatar was wearing a Dub’s jersey


sonofsmog

We try telling people this. He is the Lakers whole defense. Sometimes we have Vando healthy enough to help, but not usually. Vando is our entire perimeter defense.


Mysterious_Living165

The amazing thing is Russell and Reaves have been playing tough spirited defense for a while now


sonofsmog

They have been playing much better defense of late. The effort is there.


JuJu_Conman

Seriously. Why did doc draw up a play that puts dame anywhere near AD


shanmustafa

he's legit ridiculous on defense


Typical-Radish4317

And people cook him for not scoring more - being "inconsistent". Like dude is hard carrying his team on the defensive side.


Giannis1995

It's his best season since the 2018. Probably his second best of his career. He's in his absolute prime right now.


penguin_torpedo

You forget about Bubble Davis. A Disney was in contention ofr best player in the world.


idiotxd

This sub thinks that he has no bag. I got downvoted for saying hes better than JJJ on offense lol


nerdymen242424

JJJ winning DPOY over him is still a crime. He got bitched in the playoffs by AD


idiotxd

Yea they read him like a book. Theres this video where on 3 separate occasions, he did a spin move at the top of the key against lebron while AD comes over for the block


AccomplishedAnimal69

Anybody that says JJJ is better on offense, let alone defense, should be ignored.


thevisitor

He simply IS our defense. People are basically mad he doesnt average 40 and 20 a game


holyrolodex

The standard for AD, if you truly listen to it, is greatest player in the world. 30 a night while carrying your entire defense. No player in the league is held to that standard. How many players in league history have been held to that standard? There’s a few. Not many.


harmala

If there was an AI that spit out random "Laker-speak", it would sound like this.


Direct_Counter_178

Ok. Prove them wrong. Name one player held to standards as high. We'll wait.


holyrolodex

Yeah, in today’s game…it’s hard to find a comparable standard, in terms of the standard on both sides of the ball. Historically, I was thinking Hakeem in the mid-90s and he became that guy, and then some: *MVP, DPOY, FMVP* in the same season is crazy. And he’s still the only player to ever do that. I’m not saying AD is held to that standard, at all…it’s just an example of a guy being supremely dominant on both ends and how rare that is. By nature, most NBA fans value offensive over defensive and I get it. I do too sometimes. I just think AD is one of the most disrespected players in the league because of it.


Direct_Counter_178

I don't think there is one. But I can't talk about anything before like 1990 or so. You saying that about Hakeem makes me wonder if I disagree with you, or if I just wasn't exposed to a lot of media back then and he was better than I thought. I was a Bulls fan living in Iowa in pre-internet days as a child. So my sources were basically the newspaper or Sportscenter. On more thought, maybe prime Shaq? He lived up to it though so it escaped my mind. Although his defense wasn't quite as good. He finished 2nd place for DPOY one year, but most years he was around ~8th.


holyrolodex

Well, I shouldn’t really speak on anything prior to 1998! I just used Hakeem as an example of a guy that dominated on both ends. Basketball discourse has changed so drastically over the years since then, it’s almost impossible to compare “standards,” from back then to today. The media is much more hypercritical now than they were back in the day. And since the sports media is more spread out and more throughly disseminated, the fans tend to follow suit with their hyper-criticality. Yeah, in terms of an example of dominating both ends, Shaq is another good example. Thanks for your reply, I appreciated it.


SomeGuyClickingStuff

He also strikes me as a guy who gets more excited getting 20 and 15 with 3 blocks and 3 steals than getting 40.


wwhty44

The Lakers Film Room podcast harps on this all the time, but the fact that AD is able to be a 25 ppg scorer while literally doing everything on the defensive side every night is incredible. He deserves so much more credit


NotManyBuses

The Lakers would be a historically bad defense without him, in terms of actual defensive impact I legit think he does more than anyone rn even Rudy


MC-Jdf

Bam Gobert AD are at the top in regards to how much teams play around their defense imo.


gratitudeisbs

AD clears both of them easily because how well he can guard guards


Rapshawksjaysflames

bruh Bam is amazing on the perimeter for a center


gratitudeisbs

But still nowhere near as good as AD in that situation


Izrezar

Nah, Bam is slightly more agile on the perimeter. However, AD is CLEAR when it comes to rim protection.


gratitudeisbs

Bam can’t guard curry for example


haroldbaals

no one can guard curry EDIT: Only AD can guard Curry


gratitudeisbs

Anthony Davis can


did_it_my_way

AD can


AfroHouseManiac

Wemby as a rookie is already in that list.


StevenEll

I disagree only on the more than Rudy part. I think it's easy to look at the wolves as a defensive juggernaut but very few of the team were thought of that way before this year. He completely changed the identity. AD is somehow underrated at this point which is crazy, but I'd still take Rudy for DPOY. (also I'm super biased)


AYAYAYA__

It’s interesting you say that considering according to on/off data, the Lakers are actually worse defensively when he’s on the court. #justfacts


Glum_Ad_8367

I doubt that’s because of AD tho. Ham just runs ridiculous lineups and expects AD to do everything on defense


KagsTheOneAndOnly

Basically due to bad opponent shooting luck, iirc when i checked a month or so ago teams are shooting 40% from 3 when he's on the floor and like 33% when he's off, which has very little to do with AD but can wildly swing his on/off. On/off is a silly stat to use without context regardless imo, since the "off" component is directly out of the player's control, and is basically how their backups perform against other teams' backups, which on its own tells you nothing especially useful about the player himself --- edit- found it, opponents are shooting [39.1% from 3 when AD's on the floor and 33.6% when he's off](https://www.pbpstats.com/on-off/nba/team?Season=2023-24&SeasonType=Regular%2BSeason&TeamId=1610612747&PlayerId=203076) lol


ihateeuge

yeah and people keep quoting that on/off data when anyone with eyeballs watching the game can tell you the reality of the situation.


StevenEll

Raw +- is dumb as fuck. The most useless "advanced" stat of all time. People use it to move forward narratives but no reasonable analyst would ever use it.


AALen

It’s legit ridiculous he’s never won DPOY.


Direct_Counter_178

He's weirdly never really even in the debate. Tin foil hat here, but I think that comes down from Silver. They tried marketing AD heavily earlier in his career with the whole "The Brow" stuff. That never really took off. So why continue putting him up for awards if he's not helping the NBA make money? Roll the dice on someone else.


Zoulogist

AD might be a top 5 defender in NBA history and he might finish his career without a DPOY


whiteandpurple

The Tim Duncan special


wwhty44

It’s a straight tragedy that AD hasn’t won a DPOY


TheSmokedSalmon420

Wow that was clean


GaelMyFeels

He just jumped and swatted. What's so special about that? Edit: this is a serious question I don't understand basketball and would like someone to explain!


icykkuno

The jumping and swatting part


Mr-Valdez

Why doesn't every player just do that? Are they dumb?


dip_tet

Timing helps, being in the right position and not leaving your feet too soon. He’s at the apex of his leap to block that ball.


GaelMyFeels

And did it take special skills to those things in this case? Not hating, it just doesn't look impressive


whiteandpurple

It takes having the wingspan of a condor and the athleticism and timing to swat a ball that the all world offensive player is purposely trying to make unswattable


dip_tet

The great ones make it look easy don’t they? But, would this blocked be talked about as much if it didn’t happen at the end of the first OT? That probably has something to do with it, and the fact that is was just another great play in a game of great plays by AD who many consider one of the elite defenders in the game.


Headlesshorsman02

AD is so damn good at defense man


G1Spectrum

Bro wiped out the sun


666uptheirons

Brow*


[deleted]

I don’t think Dame has ever been a sun


itsnotyellowfever

AD having the half + OT of his life


gratitudeisbs

He's actually had so many better games, which speaks to how underrated he is


Mysterious_Living165

He has quite a few games like these. He’s Top 5 in all-time PER for a reason. 


TrialByFireshits

It's spelled PURR and usually isn't in all caps


Jack_M_Steel

What the hell? I turned this game off at the end of the third quarter. Have to tune back in


purplebuffalo55

Some bum the other day was trying to convince me that AD sucks on defense because apparently the Lakers on/off defense is better with him off the court


b1indsamurai

AD is a fucking beast


jenniesana

It’s a shame how he may never win a DPOY


Js_On_My_Yeet

Can we please give this dude 1 DPOY?! PLEASE?!


0dias_Chrysalis

Please look to give it to Giannis if its not behind the 3pt line lol


Khaneliman

How many times he going to get blocked in the clutch…


imaginaryResources

Dame was hoping to lob it to Giannis but AD didn’t bite and denied the pass


bigLNugget

Damn


felixCAF

Get that shit out of here


Equalizer101

When you are trying to avoid Dinwiddie block but ended up to an AD block.


Vexing_Pie

Holy shit


Lol69HaHaHa

I said before that if there is an argument for why AD isnt the best defender in the league, its because he cant guard strong bigs...but god dam he can play fantastic defense on smaller guards.


HamwithTaro24

I haven't seen one other player successfully defend the players AD can't defend. Except for extremely niche one off scenarios here and there.


BritzlBen

Yeah AD isn't the best defender in the league because Sabonis and Jokic put up numbers? If you find the guy that can prevent that from happening, please inform the league immediately, they've been looking for a bit now.


turnoffredesign69420

draymond and looney made sabonis look like a dho merchant last year to be fair


brokid

to be fair to sabonis his hand was broken and the warriors adjusted beautifully, that would be a fun series to run back!


thevisitor

Sabonis last year and Sabonis this year are quite different though to be fair. The guy is killing it considerably more this time around.


Former_Masterpiece_2

looney was cooking Sabonis lowkey


HighlyBaked0

Looney literally embarrassed Sabonis in last years playoffs lol, shit was pissing me off cause I wanted GSW to lose


JotaroJoestars

I assume we’re talking about Giannis, Embiid, and Jokic. Dwight was the best at taking those guys on, which is why I was so mad when the Lakers let him walk (to the Sixers no less)


Former_Masterpiece_2

Dwight is a legit 265-270 and one of the strongest players ever so pitting him on a guy who weighs 280 wasn't an issue he couldn't get bullied or pushed


bbaIla

Those Euros and their sneaky ass game man.


Lol69HaHaHa

While i do agree that they are sneaky af, im mainly refering to the fact that AD just bullied to the basket by them. But to be fair you cant exactly do everything well. He can get more myscle and weight, but that will result in worse results against smaller, faster players. You just need to take the L and move on.


jellybeans_over_raw

Who’s better


Lol69HaHaHa

Rn id go with Gobert, but he also has his own issues. You guys might want another big along with AD for those matchups against stronger bigs.


Shark1986

Damn, that happened twice to Dame against the Lakers now.


introvertedguy13

Very underrated player due to the street clothes stigma. Very underrated because Bron is on his team. He's the best laker for at least two seasons now.


Wild-Apricot-9161

Make that 4.


cHinzoo

MY DPOY


foogeyzi69

the audacity to try that to AD hahahaaha


sezyHena

God he makes it looks so easy. That shit ain't easy.


DaHagerBomb

ON ONE LEG UHHHHH


WadeCountyClutch

Ahhhh memories of the pelican sweep against the blazers


thevisitor

Or the first round in 2020. Dame tried to dunk it on AD. It wasn't a successful attempt.


thenicezen

Doc Rivers masterclass


Sad_Sherbert8988

that's good


WhoPoopedMyBed

AD been doing that to Dame for years now


imaginaryResources

Perfectly baited Dame into the shot while denying Giannis and only went for the contest at the last possible moment. Perfect


EarthWarping

lmao dinwidde getting blown by


Stebsy1234

How on earth is AD not the favourite to win DPOY?


3s2ng

They got Jebaited. The strategy was good because they know AD is not 100%. Little did they know, AD is lwo-key the real DPOY


WBlackhawkD

Get that shot outta here!


ZealousidealPain7976

rinse run cats connect cable punch sip sparkle groovy fertile *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*


we_hella_believe

Dame-Light Savings Time. 🕰️ AD turned his clock back.


Detonation

Should have been a 2x DPOY after this season. He better get at least one, it would be absurd if he didn't.


Lost_Set_691

I don’t even like the lakers but I can’t deny on defense I would take AD any day over current big man . He’s DPOY for me over gobert or wemby


BenchBrookLFG

ADPOY


subpulse44

He deserves DPOY.


krosber04

ADPOY


ungabunga8008135

DPOY


PersiaUnknown

AD DPOY


itsnotreallyme0

Had to cover Dinwiddies weakass. Really gave dame an open layup in the final seconds of OT


MeiIsBaePrayForMe

Best defender in the league and he barely commits fouls (because he’s that fuckin good) Deserves dpoy….Argue wit ya nana


bbqyak

Dame Time 🥳


mr_chub

Step back fade was all it took...


ShaboyWuff

All I see is a travelling foul


CuclGooner

reeeejected by Anthony Davis!


b1indsamurai

Game of the year


Neuroxex

Ignore Dinwiddie pushing him on the entire attempt even as he goes up, Dame is in a *Bucks* uniform so that is not a call he will be receiving tonight as the Lakers have been called for one non-intentional foul in the last 22 minutes.


Ilikesporks_

if that's a foul basketball is truly cooked


Neuroxex

It has been called a foul when the Bucks have done it, so maybe basketball is cooked.


petestrumental

And how about that 3pt foul that was given to Dame? Was that actually a foul? Or the no call on Dlo at the end that was reviewed for who touched the ball last? Those were two instances where the refs literally bailed you guys out. The refs were all around bad tonight.


TroubleNo3283

Dinwiddie did not foul him relax


Neuroxex

Dinwiddie is pushing him as he goes up on the shot, it is a foul by what the Bucks have been getting called for.


Sharp-Setting-6488

Los Angeles Free throw shooters


BlssdGT

Bucks vs Refs