Panos wrote:Lots of talk about our lack of front court defense, lately, and I fully agree.
But I also feel that in general, that has dropped across the league.
Just curious, who in your opinion are the top 8 front court defenders in the league?

It's funny you ask this question because the best front court defenders are more then likely to be bench role players. It just show's you how different the NBA is today, where it's the defensive schemes that matter.

EwingsGlass wrote:These first 5 I think are very good defenders in the front court.

Andrew Bogut
Brendan Haywood
Tim Duncan
Joe Pryzbilla
Samuel Dalembert

I think these guys are great help defenders who put up the big block stats because of their athleticism.
Josh Smith
Marcus Camby
Dwight Howard
Emeka Okafor

I think these two when healthy could be in the top 5 defenders.
Yao Ming (when healthy)
Greg Oden (when healthy)

All of these player's are solid defenders, but none of them ( except for Timmy) has there team in the top defensive catagory.. Indidvidule skills are great to have, but the NBA has so many great offensive players that (once again) if you don't have a scheme your not gonna be a great defensive team.

Boston has One great defender(kg) and one good one (perkins) yet no one else on that team has been known for there defense, Same could be said about the Cavs.

EwingsGlass wrote:

knicks1248 wrote:

EwingsGlass wrote:These first 5 I think are very good defenders in the front court.

Andrew Bogut
Brendan Haywood
Tim Duncan
Joe Pryzbilla
Samuel Dalembert

I think these guys are great help defenders who put up the big block stats because of their athleticism.
Josh Smith
Marcus Camby
Dwight Howard
Emeka Okafor

I think these two when healthy could be in the top 5 defenders.
Yao Ming (when healthy)
Greg Oden (when healthy)

All of these player's are solid defenders, but none of them ( except for Timmy) has there team in the top defensive catagory.. Indidvidule skills are great to have, but the NBA has so many great offensive players that (once again) if you don't have a scheme your not gonna be a great defensive team.

Boston has One great defender(kg) and one good one (perkins) yet no one else on that team has been known for there defense, Same could be said about the Cavs.

Clearly defense is a team matter based upon the tremendous amount of individual offensive skill, even if you lock down one guy, it is hard to lock down all 5. But you look at guys like Shane Battier who is a terrific one-on-one defender, but it is hard to tell if the rest of the team is not performing.

I read an article that compared opponent's scoring per 100 possessions when individual players are on the court versus off the court and Battier is the best. Rudy Gay was the worst.

http://www.nba.com/2009/news/features/john_schuhmann/11/19/numbersgame.battier/index.html

Good list E-Glass. And good call adding Kendrick knicks1248 - not the tallest center around but he's tough & a very solid post defender

Maybe we can add these guys to the mix:

Help defenders/Post defenders
Chris Andersen
Al Horford
Lou Amundson
Anderson Varejao
Ty Thomas
Chris Kaman
Amir Johnson
Ronny Turiaf (when fully healthy)
Andris Biedrins (when fully healthy)
Elton Brand (when fully healthy, on the decline though)
AK-47 (when fully healthy, on the decline though)
Anthony Randolph (when fully healthy, on the rise)
Taj Gibson (on the rise)
Javale McGee (on the rise)
DeAndre Jordan (on the rise)
Brook Lopez (on the rise)
Robin Lopez (on the rise)
Hasheem Thabeet (on the rise)

Man to man defenders
Ron Artest
LeBron James
Jared Jeffries
Gerald Wallace
Corey Brewer
Mickael Pietrus
Wilson Chandler
Trevor Ariza
Shane Battier (when fully healthy)
Shawn Marion (possibly on the decline)

Guys with defensive potential that just don't play enough to have an impact
Hilton Armstrong
Renaldo Balkman
Solomon Jones
Dominic McGuire