In the land of the bludgeoning offense, the defensive stopper is king.
What does this mean? It means that in an NBA season that is oversaturated with offensive-minded players and seemingly devoid of any defense, perhaps being a top-notch defender is the more valuable skill. It’s a simple case of supply and demand.
This season, you can throw a pebble and hit five 20+ points per game scorers. Currently, there are 34 players averaging 20+ PPG compared to 27 last year. But how many gifted, versatile defenders are there? The answer is not many.
Seemingly every night, there’s at least one player putting up a 40-burger, so much so that it’s no longer a special feat.