Down the stretch tonight he played the most suffocating on the ball defense I have seen since Derek Harper was here. Calderon has given the Knicks fits for years and Shumpert was just ALL OVER this guy. Since Lin has taken over and Shump hasn't had to worry about playing PG, he has reclaimed the agressive play that caught our eyes early on and he has really thrived. Really the way that he plays defense, with that agression, length and quick hands, the only player I can compare him to is Gary Payton. I think as the year goes on, he has a very good chance to lead the league in steals as a rookie. He's gonna challenge for ALL-NBA defense right off the bat.
Give credit to the Knicks staff. I thought the perimeter defender they needed was Singleton and I was not high on Shumpert. Boy was I wrong. Shumpert is the elite perimeter defender from this draft class.