Is David Lee an Elite Power Forward?
Thanks to a 10-game winning streak and wins in 11 of their last 12 games, the Golden State Warriors have gone from fringe playoff contenders to legitimate title threats.
Point guard Stephen Curry's MVP-caliber play is one of the primary reasons for the recent outburst of wins, but don't forget power forward David Lee's contributions. Averaging 19.0 points and 9.9 rebounds per game and starting on one of the NBA's best teams, Lee has vaulted into the discussion as one of the premier big men in the game.
He's been especially hot as of late, averaging 22.3 points over his last 16 games while eclipsing 20 points 11 times during that span.
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All of that leads to the question: Is David Lee an elite power forward?
The NBA has seen spectacular play from a variety of big men this season. For example, Kevin Love of the Minnesota Timberwolves would undoubtedly be an MVP contender if his team wasn't 18-19 and mired in 10th place in the Western Conference.
The same goes for Anthony Davis, whose New Orleans Pelicans are 15-22 despite "The Brow" ranking sixth in the NBA in PER. But don't forget LaMarcus Aldridge, who has helped lead the Portland Trail Blazers to a top seed in the West.
Bottom line: The field atop the the power forward position is crowded, and Lee perhaps isn't quite there yet.
First, let's address the elephant in the room. Much of the case against Lee boils down to his much-maligned defense, which has certainly proven to be problematic in the past. But this year, his defensive troubles haven't been quite as pronounced.
Lee's improvement on that end of the court has shown in Golden State's overall level of play on defense, as it ranks fourth in defensive efficiency, according to ESPN. Of course, much of that is due to the addition of perimeter-defending maestro Andre Iguodala and the health of center Andrew Bogut.
But don't discount Lee. The Warriors power forward has allowed opponents to shoot just 48.9 percent at the rim this season, according to NBA Player Tracking Data. That's better than fellow big men DeAndre Jordan (51.7), Chris Bosh (53.5) and even Aldridge (49.4), among others.
Responding to criticism of his defense in March 2013, Lee seemed unfazed. “At this point I could care less," Lee said, per warriorsworld.net's Ethan Sherwood Strauss. "I’ve worked hard to improve my defense. I think I’m a much better defensive player today than I was a year ago and definitely to start my career."
Remember, that interview was 10 months ago; look where he is now.
Of course, that's not to say that Lee is an elite defender; he's far from it. In particular, he still struggles against spot-up shooters. But it's not quite fair to say he's an awful defender either, as there are plenty of other big men out there who are worse interior defenders.
Plus, Lee doesn't even have to be a great defender with the Warriors' current style of play. As Grantland's Zach Lowe notes, the Dubs' "intuitive" system is built to mask the supposedly lackluster defensive play of Lee (and Curry) thanks to the defensive abilities of Bogut, Iguodala and Thompson.
Where Lee really earns his worth, however, is through his offensive prowess. One would be hard-pressed to find a more efficient offensive performer during the span of the Warriors' last 16 games. In that time, Lee is shooting 58.7 percent from the field (152-of-259), including four performances of 70 percent or better.
Coach Mark Jackson certainly has high praise for Lee. "David, the last 15 games, has played the power forward position as well as—to me better than anybody in this league, when you look at his numbers," Jackson said, according to the Associated Press (via The San Francisco Examiner).
It's not a coincidence that Lee's red-hot play coincides with the Dubs' equally hot performance. (They're 12-4 during Lee's 16-game run of success.) That means Lee has played a huge role in his team's recent winning ways, and he'll undoubtedly continue to be influential for the remainder of the season.
Another mark of a marquee player is the ability to shine in big games. In that regard, Lee has more than proved his worth.
In particular, the Warriors have played the Miami Heat, Los Angeles Clippers and San Antonio Spurs within the past month, and Lee showed up to play each time. Against the Spurs, he scored 32 points on 59.1 percent shooting with 13 rebounds and followed that up with a 23-and-13 performance against the Clippers less than a week later.
But perhaps Lee's best performance of the season came against the Heat, when he was 13-of-17 from the field (including 5-of-5 in the first quarter) for 32 points and 14 rebounds. That ability to come up big when it matters most will prove to be especially key come playoff time, and it could go a long way toward cementing Lee's status as an elite player.
But for now, Lee falls just outside of "elite" power forward consideration because of a still below-average defensive game and the contingent of current stars at his position. Of course, "elite" is an arbitrary term, but its hard to classify Lee in that category regardless, due to the one glaring hole in his game.
Even so, if Lee can finish the season strong and help lead the Warriors deep into the playoffs, there will be more room to debate his candidacy to join the upper echelon of NBA power forwards. For now, he'll have to be content with being a top-25 scorer and top-15 rebounder in the NBA while playing on one of the best teams in the league.
That's not bad.
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