Chicago Bulls Talk: NBA Award Projections!
By Chris Brent
Sep 26, 2014; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James (23) during media day at Cleveland Clinic Courts. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports
Defensive Player of the Year (DPOY) – LeBron James, Cleveland Cavaliers
I’m going to take some heat for this, because most of the time the award goes to a big man. Also, with this being a Bulls fan page, I’d imagine that a lot of Bulls fans are expecting and hoping that Joakim Noah will be able to repeat this award. However, looking at the landscape of LeBron James’s defensive career, he deserves this award. If you look back at the advance stats, yes, LeBron James’s defensive efficiency rating did decrease a lot last season compared to his career.
However, look at this Cleveland teams defense. They need a bit of help, and I believe that LeBron James steps up on that end of the floor and gets his teammates into the mood to start playing better defense. We’ve never quite seen a player who is quick enough to guard point guards, and is big enough to defend centers. He deserves this award, although, he likely won’t get it though.