2021-2022 MAVS NEWS: 4th in West | WCF loss [ARCHIVED]

[ItsGoTime]

Great post. 

I agree that Powell is an overlooked and underrated defender. The worst part of his game is when he meets the ball at or near the restricted area and he's prone to looking pretty weak, physically, in that situation. But, while that seems to be the only thing a lot of fans notice about his defensive game, I've long thought his strengths (intelligent and efficient movement) prevent scoring and even discourage shot attempts by rerouting the ball. 

And to further this, I think many players' defensive contributions get overlooked routinely because a large portion of the viewing audience only recognizes how effectively each defender pressures shot attempts when their man takes them. In reality, the defender's primary goal is to prevent their man from getting to the place they want to reach in order to shoot or even to deny their man an angle to receive the pass cleanly. There are so many facets of defense that go unnoticed. Often, the guy who gets credit for contesting the shot well is really benefiting more from his teammates' hard work denying the action's goal than he is from his own skills.

If a player lets his man slip away or gets overpowered at the end of 3-4 possessions in one game, he'll get roasted around here. But, what if that same player prevented 19 "first option" shots from even being attempted over the course of the same game?

I’m one that absolutely hates watching him try and keep a big out from where they want to go. It’s not just on a post up, it’s about getting them away from rebounds and generally stopping those types from wreaking havok on our team. That big is for sure a dying breed, but they are still out there, and there are plenty of top teams who employ at least 1 player that can do that to him (or any of our bigs).