Picking the All-Defensive Team

While former Insider John Hollinger's All-Defensive picks were an annual Per Diem feature, I've been selecting All-D teams on various websites dating back to 2005-06. Over those eight years, I can't remember a time when Defensive Player of the Year was such an open race. Runner-up Serge Ibaka was close to Tyson Chandler last season, but Dwight Howard was the only other serious candidate. This season, an argument can be made for at least five centers and more than a half-dozen players overall.

Ultimately, Roy Hibbert of the Indiana Pacers and Marc Gasol of the Memphis Grizzlies stood out from the field. They anchor the No. 1 and No. 2 defenses in the NBA, respectively. And though both big men benefit from coaches with proven defensive schemes and quality teammates on the perimeter, they are the most important cogs in those stingy defenses.

In the modern NBA, a quality defender in the middle is as important as ever. As Grantland's Kirk Goldsberry found in a study with Eric Weiss presented at the MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference (PDF), the deterrent effect of keeping opponents away from the rim is real and often as important as the shots a Defensive Player of the Year candidate actually blocks. Though they didn't get as much attention as Howard, the study's inspiration, Gasol and Hibbert shined in the camera-tracking data.

So who gets the hardware? I'll reveal that along with the rest of my All-Defensive picks.

Point Guard

Bradley

First Team: Avery Bradley, Boston Celtics
Second Team: Eric Bledsoe, Los Angeles Clippers
Honorable Mentions: Mike Conley, Memphis Grizzlies; George Hill, Indiana Pacers; Tony Parker, San Antonio Spurs

Both Bradley, 22, and Bledsoe, 23, look like All-Defensive fixtures for the next decade. The only question is Bradley's position; he spent this season at point guard but will likely move back to shooting guard next season with the return of a healthy Rajon Rondo. Bradley's pressure was one of the biggest reasons the Celtics could overcome the loss of Rondo and serves to make life miserable for opposing ball handlers. If Bradley is the league's best when it comes to applying pressure on the ball, Bledsoe might be No. 2. He ranked third in the NBA in steal rate by creating a turnover on 3.7 percent of the plays he was on the floor. Those steals typically turned into lobs at the other end.

Conley and Hill are two of the league's most underrated players, in large part because their contributions at the defensive end are more difficult to quantify than the points and assists put up by offensive-minded point guards who give up equally gaudy numbers when they go on defense. Parker has made himself into a quality defender who surrenders nothing despite being undersized.

Shooting Guard

Allen

First Team: Tony Allen, Memphis Grizzlies
Second Team: Thabo Sefolosha, Oklahoma City Thunder
Honorable Mentions: Matt Barnes, Los Angeles Clippers; Danny Green, San Antonio Spurs; Dwyane Wade, Miami Heat

It's difficult for a perimeter player to be the most valuable defender in the league because big men are involved in so many more plays, both by guarding their own man and providing help defense. Still, Allen has a strong case for Defensive Player of the Year. With him on the floor, Memphis allows fewer points per 100 possessions (94.2, per NBA.com/Stats) than any other combination of player and team. Allen is the rare one-on-one stopper who is also an excellent help defender, which is what separates him from Sefolosha, his equal when it comes to shutting down a high scorer. Allen is also in the NBA's top 10 in steal rate and terrific on the defensive glass for a guard.

The depth at small forward pushes Barnes to shooting guard, where he often finishes games. Barnes and Bledsoe have been an incredible defensive tandem for the Clippers, whose second unit far outshines the starters on defense. Green's excellent size for the backcourt and defense-first mindset have made him a quality defender since he emerged as a starter in San Antonio. Wade's focus on defense comes and goes, depending in part on his health. Nonetheless, there are few players who match Wade's ability to sense when to take a calculated gamble for a steal or a block.

Small Forward

Iguodala

First Team: Andre Iguodala, Denver Nuggets
Second Team: Paul George, Indiana Pacers
Honorable Mentions: LeBron James, Miami Heat; Kawhi Leonard, San Antonio Spurs; Paul Pierce, Boston Celtics

Iguodala is Allen's peer when it comes to combining help defense and stopper ability. Always a phenomenal athlete, Iguodala has worked hard to scout opponents' tendencies to take his one-on-one defense to the next level. My only All-Defensive selection from a team outside the top 10 in defensive rating, he gets credit for improving Denver's ranking from 19th a year ago to 11th this season, one big reason the Nuggets have become contenders in the Western Conference.

George is another of the NBA's budding defensive stars. He embraces the challenge of defending high scorers and uses his long arms to play the passing lanes. George has been so good for the league's top defense that he bumps usual fixture James to the honorable mention ranks. More than in past seasons, James has saved his defensive intensity for when Miami needs him to shut down a hot opponent at any position. If you want to argue that his defensive versatility should put him on the First Team, I couldn't seriously disagree. James is the victim of having five good candidates for four spots on the wing.

Of the four Spurs who earned at least honorable mention notice, Leonard had the most impact on the San Antonio defense, which allowed 4.0 fewer points per 100 possessions with him on the floor (per NBA.com/Stats). He has all the tools to be an All-Defensive pick in years to come. Pierce is at the other end of his career but remains a capable one-on-one defender and stepped up his defensive rebounding, smashing his career high by grabbing 19.7 percent of available misses, for the undersized Celtics.

Power Forward

Garnett

First Team: Kevin Garnett, Boston Celtics
Second Team: Tim Duncan, San Antonio Spurs
Honorable Mentions: Taj Gibson, Chicago Bulls; Serge Ibaka, Oklahoma City Thunder; Josh Smith, Atlanta Hawks

Among the big men I considered for All-Defensive honors, Garnett had the most positive net defensive plus-minus. Boston allowed 7.4 fewer points per 100 possessions with him on the floor (per NBA.com/Stats). To put that in context, the Celtics defended like the league's second-best team with Garnett and at an average rate without him. That's due in part to the lack of size behind Garnett, but it also reflects his continued mastery of pick-and-roll defense and ability to get teammates in the right place.

Like Garnett, Duncan has been a fixture on the All-Defensive Team for years and continues to excel at the defensive end. An improbable late-career resurgence has seen Duncan block shots at the best rate of his career at age 36, ranking him fifth in the league.

Some year, Gibson is going to play 2,000 minutes and bolster his All-Defensive credentials. Alas, injuries limited his court time this season. When Gibson did play, the Bulls allowed 4.7 fewer points per 100 possessions (per NBA.com/Stats). Ibaka is on his way to leading the NBA in blocks per game for the second consecutive season. However, the Thunder aren't any better defensively with him on the floor rather than backup (and defensive savant) Nick Collison. For all the frustration he causes his own team on offense, Smith creates nearly as much for opponents on defense at either forward position.

Center

Gasol

First Team: Marc Gasol, Memphis Grizzlies
Second Team: Roy Hibbert, Indiana Pacers
Honorable Mention: Tyson Chandler, New York Knicks; Joakim Noah, Chicago Bulls; Larry Sanders, Milwaukee Bucks

Before compiling the numbers, I figured Hibbert would be my Defensive Player of the Year pick. He leads an Indiana defense that is not only the best in the NBA this season but also one of the best in league history. The Pacers allow 7.3 percent fewer points per 100 possessions than league average, which would rank sixth since the NBA-ABA merger behind the 2003-04 Spurs, the 2007-08 Celtics, the 1992-93 and 1993-94 Knicks and the 2003-04 Pistons. Frank Vogel has built Indiana's scheme around Hibbert's ability to patrol the paint, which allows other Pacers defenders to stay home on 3-point shooters and force opponents to beat them with less efficient midrange attempts.

Nonetheless, it was impossible to ignore Gasol's all-around defensive brilliance. After all, the Spaniard is the captain of a Memphis defense that is outstanding in its own right. The Grizzlies' defensive rating is 5.7 percent better than league average, which ranks in the top 25 in post-merger history. Gasol excels in the post, allowing opponents just 0.65 points per play, according to mySynergySports.com. He's a fine shot-blocker, and he is much better at stepping out to defend on the perimeter than Hibbert, who rarely strays outside the paint. Add that up and Gasol has the narrow edge.

Chandler, the reigning Defensive Player of the Year, has shown little drop-off aside from injuries. Surprisingly, however, a middling New York defense is no worse when Chandler is off the floor. Without departed backup Omer Asik as a security blanket, Noah has grown into the role of defensive anchor for the Bulls, who were far better defensively with him on the floor. He is a legitimate candidate for Defensive Player of the Year. So too is Sanders, who will finish second in the league in blocks per game in his first year as a starter. The numbers compiled by Goldsberry and Weiss show that Sanders' presence causes opponents to think twice about driving -- and struggle when they do so.