Posted by jeffdrayer on 2/3/2011 12:08:00 PM (view original):
"I had a center with a DE rating of 15 (but good ATH, SPD, and BLK) win defensive player of the year (he had a ton of blocks, RB, and steals)."
Only thing is, Defensive Player of the Year is based on stats (like blocks and steals). For all we know, every shot taken at that guy that didn't result in a block or steal, went in the basket. Now, obviously that's not the case, and I agree with everything else HalfAstros is saying, but just because other factors go into defense doesn't mean the DEF rating is unimportant. I think it's easier to *look like* a good defensive player with high ath/blk because blocked shots are an individual statistic, whereas shooting percentage against is not.
I'm too lazy to look it up, but DEF is defined somewhere as a player's willingness to play defense. Think of DEF and those other things as separate factors leading toward the same thing -- the best defensive players will have both the ability and the willingness to play defense. Ignoring either will be at your own risk.
Also, I don't think REB has anything to do with defense.
I agree with you overall. Obviously the best defensive players will have high ATH, SPD, DE, BLK, and IQ.
However, at D3, you often need to make compromises - with only ~450 points overall, you aren't going to find many guys that are good in every category.
My strategy has often been to sacrifice DE in return for higher ratings in other categories, and perhaps surprisingly, I've had good defensive teams even with below-average DE ratings.
As to your BLK point, remember that BLK effects both blocks and "altered shots," so it has a direct effect on FG%, not just blocks.
As for REB, it has a lot to do with overall defense because of defensive rebounds. If you give up a ton of offensive rebounds, you aren't going to be a good defensive team. (See Game 7 of last year's NBA finals.)