No D, No rings

One of the most overlooked NBA awards is the Defensive Player. However Defense is one of the most key things about the game of basketball. Here are my top 4 picks to win the DPOY.

1. Kawhi Leonard, SF, San Antonio Spurs: He has already won 2 in the last 2 years and may have started a trend. He has transcended the idea that only bigs can win this award while maintaining a great scoring average. He may even have a shot at this years MVP as he does it on both ends of the floor. All in all a good chance that the award goes to him this year
2. Draymond Green, PF, Golden State Warriors: While the addition of Kevin Durant may affect his offense it will do little to his defense as he is still the anchor in Golden State. last year is when he broke out and largely due to his Defense. He might snap Kawhi's streak and give the title to a big man once again.
3. Anthony Davis, PF, New Orleans Pelicans: Much like Kawhi Leonard he has a shot at both MVP and DPOY. His stellar defense and size gives him a clear advantage over Kawhi and Draymond as it allows him to get more blocks. the only reason why he is not higher is because of the amount of steals that he will produce. If he can up the ante on his steal game why not give him the award.
4. Hassan Whiteside, C, Miami Heat: One thing stands out to me most about this player. The ferocity of his blocks are unmatched. If you watch any game with him playing and your sure to see at least one stellar block. He also is a great rebounder who is averaging almost 15 rebounds to go with his solid 2.5 blocks per game.

With all of the buzz going to the MVP race why not show a little more interest in this award because after all No D , No rings.

MVP,MVP,MVP

This year is jam packed with MVP candidates like Russell Westbrook , James Harden, Anthony Davis,etc. But in my opinion only 4 even come close to contending for this sought after trophy.

1. Russell Westbrook,PG,Oklahoma City Thunder: This man put's up triple doubles every night with 6 in a row so far. Much like James Harden he is carrying his team without MVP Kevin Durant by his side. What set's him apart from James and Davis is his story line. It's perfect for this year as KD shamefully left to go play for Golden State in a historic free agency move. Now Westbrook has a chance to lead his own team after being abandoned. The only thing holding him back from being a lock is the fact that he has to clinch at least 50 wins to be a legitimate contender.
2. James Harden,PG/SG,Houston Rockets: After Patrick Beverley's injury this guy is a man on a mission. He is notching a career high in assist's per game and still mantain's his impressive scoring with 28 points per game. he has a career high in usage rate and PER. Much like Westbrook he has to lead his own team with the departure of Dwight to Atlanta. but unlike Westbrook his Defense will come into question when deciding whether he will be the MVP. Also take into account that it will be hard for him to get 50 wins which also will come in to play.
3. Anthony Davis,PF, New Orleans Pelicans: One clear advantage that he has againt's both of the guards is the fact that he has much higher rebounding and blocks per game than both along with similar scoring averages. What goes against him being higher on the list is the fact that he has significantly less assists and he is playing for a team which went 1-9 in the first 10 games of the season. This probably means he will not come close to 50 wins without something changing fast.
4. Lebron James,SF,Cleveland Cavaliers: While Lebron is the only one on the list that has 2 All Stars sharing the court with him he is also the one with the most balanced statline. He has enough of everything with an average of  21 PPG, 9.1 APG, 7.1 RPG, and a PER of 25.1.