Larry Sanders snubbed from 1st and 2nd all defensive teams

[MILLERHIGHLIFE]

Andre Iguodala didn’t make the NBA’s All-Defensive first or second team, and shortly after voting was released, he tweeted:

https://twitter.com/andre/status/334123189863079937

It’s easy to see why Iguodala would expect to make an All-Defensive team. Iguodala finished ahead of one first-team guard (Chris Paul) and both second-team guards (Avery Bradley and Mike Conley) in Defensive Player of the Year voting, but coaches voted on All-Defensive teams and the media chose Defensive Player of the Year.

Did the league’s coaches conspire against Iguodala? Potentially. I wouldn’t expect coaches with much more important responsibilities to take these selections seriously, and I can easily see them trading favors with their votes.

But it seems like the real political slight came form the NBA.

Iguodala received more voting points (16) than second-team center Marc Gasol (12). As a matter of fact, so did Larry Sanders (16) and Thabo Sefolosha (15).

As guards, Iguodala and Sefolosha were stuck behind second-team guards Bradley (25) and Conley (19). Likewise, Paul George (27) is locked into one forward spot, so that prevented Iguodala from sliding in there.

But with center and the remaining forward spot, the NBA had wiggle room on the second team.

We know the NBA classified Tyson Chandler and Joakim Noah as centers, because they’re listed that way on the first team. We also know Gasol is a center, because that’s his position on the second team. Two other players who received votes, Dwight Howard and Roy Hibbert, are also certainly centers. Those five combined to receive 27/30 first-team votes and 21/30 second-team votes.

The only other realistic possibilities to get center votes are first-team forward Serge Ibaka, second-team forward Tim Duncan and Sanders.

Why is Sanders a center? Well, the Bucks list him as a center and a center only. Nobody else in Milwaukee’s six-most used players was a center, so it’s not like Sanders had to play out of position, either. He’s a center.

Duncan and Ibaka defend both forwards and center, so they could have slid into either position. Duncan’s flexibility gave the NBA multiple options for second-team center and the forward spot next to George.

Option 1 (what the league did):
•F: Duncan (20)
•C: Gasol (12)

Option 2 (what the league should have done):
•F: Duncan (20)
•C: Sanders (16)

Option 3: (what the league could have done):
•F: Iguodala (16)
•C: Duncan (20)

Options 2 and 3 were both better than Option 1, so Iguodala seems correct that he could have fared better if politics didn’t work against him. But if politics – or any other should-have-been-irrelevant factors – disrupted voting, Sanders got the biggest slight.

Really, if the NBA wanted to be completely fair, a tiebreaker would have been used to separate Chandler and Noah, who tied for first-team center. Rather than naming a six-man first team and a five-man second team, the NBA could have made one the second-team center and honored 10 players as designed. In that case, Gasol, Sanders and Iguodala would all have missed the second team.

Instead, the NBA honored an extra player. It just chose the wrong one.

http://probasketballtalk.nbcsports.c...biggest-gripe/

Memphis Grizzlies guard Tony Allen and Miami Heat forward LeBron James, winner of the 2012-13 Kia NBA Most Valuable Player Award, headline the 2012-13 NBA All-Defensive First Team, the NBA announced today. Allen totaled 53 points overall and James tallied 52. Each player received 25 First Team votes.

Joining Allen and James on the NBA All-Defensive First Team are guard Chris Paul of the Los Angeles Clippers (37 points, 15 First Team votes) and forward Serge Ibaka of the Oklahoma City Thunder (46 points, 17 First Team votes). Rounding out the First Team are centers Tyson Chandler of the New York Knicks and Joakim Noah of the Chicago Bulls, who tied with 24 points each while getting nine and eight First Team votes, respectively.

Allen was part of a Grizzlies defense that allowed a league-low 89.3 ppg. According to NBA.com/Stats, Memphis' defensive rating with Allen on the floor was 94.3 points per 100 possessions compared with 101.1 points when he was on the bench. In winning his fourth MVP in five years, James led the Heat to a league-best 66-win season. On the defensive end, James recorded 17 games of at least three steals, and 10 games of at least two steals and two blocks.

Ibaka paced the league in blocks (3.03 bpg) for the second consecutive season, while Paul led in steals (2.41 spg) for the third straight year and the fifth time in last six seasons. Chandler and Noah anchored two of the league's stingiest defenses, with the Knicks ranking seventh in opponent scoring (95.7 ppg) and the Bulls finishing third (92.9 ppg).

The NBA All-Defensive Second Team consists of guards Avery Bradley of the Boston Celtics (10 First Team votes) and Mike Conley of the Grizzlies (four First Team votes), forwards Tim Duncan of the San Antonio Spurs (three First Team votes) and Paul George of the Indiana Pacers (seven First Team votes), and center Marc Gasol of the Grizzlies (five First Team votes).

The voting panel consisted of the NBA's 30 head coaches, who were asked to select NBA All-Defensive First and Second Teams by position. Coaches were not permitted to vote for players from their own team. Two points were awarded for a First Team vote and one point was awarded for a Second Team vote.

Attached are the results for the 2012-13 NBA All-Defensive Teams balloting. The balloting was tabulated by the independent accounting firm of Ernst & Young LLP:

2012-13 NBA ALL-DEFENSIVE FIRST TEAM





POSITION PLAYER, TEAM 1ST 2ND POINTS
Forward LeBron James, Miami 25 2 52
Forward Serge Ibaka, Oklahoma City 17 12 46
Center Tyson Chandler, New York 9 6 24
Center Joakim Noah, Chicago 8 8 24
Guard Tony Allen, Memphis 25 3 53
Guard Chris Paul, L.A. Clippers 15 7 37


2012-13 NBA ALL-DEFENSIVE SECOND TEAM





POSITION PLAYER, TEAM 1ST 2ND POINTS
Forward Tim Duncan, San Antonio 3 14 20
Forward Paul George, Indiana 7 13 27
Center Marc Gasol, Memphis 5 2 12
Guard Avery Bradley, Boston 10 5 25
Guard Mike Conley, Memphis 4 11 19


Other players receiving votes, with point totals (First Team votes in parentheses):
Andre Iguodala, Denver, 16 (2); Larry Sanders, Milwaukee, 16 (4); Thabo Sefolosha, Oklahoma City, 15 (2); Luol Deng, Chicago, 11 (1); Dwight Howard, L.A. Lakers, 9 (3); Kobe Bryant, L.A. Lakers (6 (1); Roy Hibbert, Indiana, 6 (2); Kenneth Faried, Denver, 4 (1); Russell Westbrook, Oklahoma City, 4 (1); Shane Battier, Miami, 2; Nicolas Batum, Portland, 2 (1); Corey Brewer, Denver, 2; George Hill, Indiana, 2; Mike James, Dallas, 2 (1); Kawhi Leonard, San Antonio, 2, (1); Tony Parker, San Antonio, 2 (1); Dwyane Wade, Miami, 2; Metta World Peace, L.A. Lakers, 2 (1); Eric Bledsoe, L.A. Clippers, 1; Kevin Durant, Oklahoma City, 1; Jrue Holiday, Philadelphia, 1; Andrei Kirilenko, Minnesota, 1; Iman Shumpert, New York, 1; David West, Indiana, 1.

http://www.nba.com/2013/news/05/13/a...ase/index.html

[jrock645]

Thats what happens when you're a good player that happens to play for the Bucks. Probably the most irrelevant team in basketball anymore.

[time4change]

Yah, but his play took a bit of a hit at the end of the year. He seemed to lose a little gas.

[MILLERHIGHLIFE]

He did hurt his back.