Hollinger picks Bradley for 1st team all defense, but leaves Rondo off?

[rondohondo]

In his Insider-Only column today:

DPOY: Tyson Chandler

1st Team:
PG: Avery Bradley
SG: Iggy
SF: Lebron James
PF: Kevin Garnett
C: Tyson Chandler

2nd Team:
PG: Ricky Rubio
SG: Tony Allen
SF: Luol Deng
PF: Taj Gibson
C: Dwight Howard

3rd Team:
PG: Mike Conley
SG: Ronnie Brewer
SF: Grant Hill
PF: Josh Smith
C: Serge Ibaka

I don't see how Bradley makes 1st team all defense(because of mins played), but then Rubio as 2nd and Conley 3rd team ?

Come on Rubio a better defender than Rondo?  

[theswitch]

Yeah that surprised me, Hollinger is a stats fiend and Rubio didn't check out too well on Synergy and 82games.

[Fafnir]

The defense of the Timberwolves has collapsed since Rubio went down. Its one of those cases where his absence is used as evidence as his defensive value (relative to JJ Barea and Ridnour)

I wonder how Rondo's synergy and adjusted plus minus numbers are?

Basketballvalue: Defense is actually 2 points better with him off the court.

82games.com: Defense is 3 points better with him off the court

Those are unadjusted on/off court defensive numbers. That's two years in a row that teams have scored more against the C's with Rondo on the court than with him off the court.

Of course most of this seems to be tied to KG. When KG is on the court our defense is great, when he's off its meh at best.

[Spilling Green Dye]

I can't argue with Hollinger on this one.  Bradley is a better on the ball PG defender than Rondo.  And Rubio does a very good job of staying in front of his man and often takes charges, which you rarely see from a PG.

Rondo is just too inconsistent on the defensive end for him to be named at the top 3.  He has the capability of being #1, but every game I see him let his man drive past him at least 4 times and he gives a little poke from behind as a last ditch effort.  

[Eddie20]

In his Insider-Only column today:

DPOY: Tyson Chandler

1st Team:
PG: Avery Bradley
SG: Iggy
SF: Lebron James
PF: Kevin Garnett
C: Tyson Chandler

2nd Team:
PG: Ricky Rubio
SG: Tony Allen
SF: Luol Deng
PF: Taj Gibson
C: Dwight Howard

3rd Team:
PG: Mike Conley
SG: Ronnie Brewer
SF: Grant Hill
PF: Josh Smith
C: Serge Ibaka

I don't see how Bradley makes 1st team all defense(because of mins played), but then Rubio as 2nd and Conley 3rd team ?

Come on Rubio a better defender than Rondo?  

Rondo turns it on and off a lot. Plus, he lets his man beat him, to try to poke it from behind, way too much. Rubio is an excellent defender. Very smart. Quick hands. Reads the passing lanes. He averaged 2.2 steals per game.

[jambr380]

Weird, I get that he doesn't want two Celtics pgs on there, but it doesn't have to be that way since Avery is mostly a sg. Rondo should unquestionably be on one of the teams...probably the first [over Rubio and Conley especially].

[LooseCannon]

Yeah that surprised me, Hollinger is a stats fiend and Rubio didn't check out too well on Synergy and 82games.

It's hard for me to criticize Hollinger until I know what stats Hollinger puts into his ranking, and I'm not paying for ESPN Insider content.

[ianboyextreme]

Rondo is top 2 or 3 in all the advanced defensive statistics including the percentage of posessions scored against and opponent fg%. Any though that his defensive prowress is unfounded is rediculous.

[ianboyextreme]

http://www.mysynergysports.com/?lid=corpSite rondos advanced defensive stats
http://www.mysynergysports.com/?lid=corpSite rubio defensive stats
Rondo's are much better in over all points per posession and % scored against. Steals aernt what make a great defensive player.

[BballTim]

The defense of the Timberwolves has collapsed since Rubio went down. Its one of those cases where his absence is used as evidence as his defensive value (relative to JJ Barea and Ridnour)

I wonder how Rondo's synergy and adjusted plus minus numbers are?

Basketballvalue: Defense is actually 2 points better with him off the court.

82games.com: Defense is 3 points better with him off the court

Those are unadjusted on/off court defensive numbers. That's two years in a row that teams have scored more against the C's with Rondo on the court than with him off the court.

Of course most of this seems to be tied to KG. When KG is on the court our defense is great, when he's off its meh at best.

  Rondo played heavy minutes at the beginning of the season when the defense was terrible and missed a fair amount of games when KG amd PP were playing better. That did a lot to his numbers.

[Tr1boy]

rondo is not a practical defender. Always opportunistic for a steal or defensive rebound. Its not how traditional defence is played and thats why hollinger prob left him off. Doesn't mean he isn't a good defender, but unique to say the least. It works and against some guys totally dominates but vs others he gets beaten.

Bradley on the other hand is hard to play and it doesnt matter if your player a or b.

Its sort of sad to see Pierce not on the list, esp the past few years. PP 5 years ago was one of the better sf defenders in the league

[clover]

Bradley and KG first team all defense?  Deserved and good to see IMO, though a bit surprising--even if Bradley is now out of position.

[LooseCannon]

One thing that should be mentioned is that Hollinger has KG on his first team, but not Tony Allen or Dwight Howard.

[Celts Fan 92]

Rondo aint a lockdown defender he more of a gambler then anything lol

[ianboyextreme]

Rondo aint a lockdown defender he more of a gambler then anything lol

This idea that Rondo just "gambles" everty time is silly. Rondo trusts the defense behind him to pick up the man after he gets by him. Its only gambling if he knows the man has a clear path to the basket after he gets by rondo.