8 Highest-Energy 2-Way Players in the NBA Playoffs
While the vast majority of stats, commentary and accolades come on the offensive side of the ball, defense is still half of the NBA game. Great defensive players are called upon to do so much in this newest era of ball.
Rule changes, advanced analytics and ball-movement trends have put a premium on top-tier defenders. Take injured Houston point guard Patrick Beverley, for instance. In a single possession, Beverley might run a one-man press, fight through three to six on-ball screens in the half court (depending on the opponent's offensive system,) then close out full speed on an open three-point shooter.
That's ONE POSSESSION! Fewer than 24 seconds. The average NBA team has more than 92 defensive possessions each game.
So let's give it up for the guys who bust their butts on both ends of the floor.
8. (Tie) Patty Mills and Cory Joseph (PGs) San Antonio Spurs
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OK, I lied.
There are actually nine guys on the list. Here's to Coach Poppovich's dynamic duo of backup point guards.
According to NBA.com's player tracking stats, Patty Mills and Cory Joseph run harder and the faster than all the players in the league. Cory Joseph's average speed is 4.7 miles per hour, topped only by teammate Mills' 4.8!
Neither guy plays a full complement of minutes, which allows them both to go as hard as possible while on the floor.
While most coaches shorten the rotation for the playoffs, Pop tends to trust the guys who have helped get the Spurs there. Mills and Joseph should see plenty of action throughout the Spurs' playoff run.
7. Trevor Ariza (SF) Houston Rockets
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Last summer, Rockets' general manager Daryl Morey went all-in trying to land a third superstar. He failed to wrestle Chris Bosh away from Miami, looked long and hard at Carmelo Anthony and planned to do it all before attempting to re-sign the Rockets' own Chandler Parsons.
All three of those guys ended up on different teams and the Rockets were left with Trevor Ariza (though they technically signed Ariza before courting Bosh and losing Parsons).
A lot of critics thought Ariza's 2013-14 success was a product of Washington's system—that the long, slender free agent only succeeded because he was assisted by the great John Wall.
Well, Ariza just turned in another solid two-way season. He didn't shoot as well from beyond the arc, but still poured in 2.4 made threes per game. He also guarded the best wing player every night and, according to Basketball Reference, helped the Rockets drop their defensive rating by 2.5 points per 100 possessions.
6. DeMarre Carroll (SF) Atlanta Hawks
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So far this season, the Atlanta Hawks have won 22 more games than they did all of last season. Most of that can be attributed to the return of All-Star center Al Horford. But I'd like to shout out the Hawks' lone starter who did not make the All-Star team.
DeMarre Carroll shot 49 percent from the floor and 40 percent from beyond the arc this season. He had a career high in points per game with 12.6 and made opponents pay for focusing too much on three-point savant Kyle Korver.
He also hounded opposing swingmen on every possession. Carroll and Horford helped cover up defensive inefficiencies of their teammates and propelled the Hawks to the sixth-best defensive rating in the league.
5. DeAndre Jordan (C) Los Angeles Clippers
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DeAndre Jordan is enjoying the best season of his career. He's pulling down 14.9 rebounds per game, tops in the league.
Jordan is a dunking machine. According to CBS Sports, he leads the league with 244 dunks. He's dunked 66 more times than anyone else in the league. He has more than twice as many dunks as all but six players in the league! When Jordan dunks, he does so with emphasis.
On defense, Jordan has grown up. According to Basketball Reference, he's fifth in the league in blocks per game, and his defensive rating is under 100 for the second straight season. His two-way energy is undeniable, just like his vicious attacks at the rim.
4. Jimmy Butler (SG) Chicago Bulls
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If Steph Curry didn't exist, Jimmy Butler might top the list of most likable players in the league. He'll have to settle for the four spot on this list.
The Bulls shooting guard emerged as a two-way star this season. According to Basketball Reference, he's currently 10th in the league in steals per game, 15th in points per game, fourth in total made free throws and leads the league in minutes per game.
In two seasons, he went from a gritty defensive backup to a highly dependable offensive weapon who still busts his butt to fight through screens and challenge jump-shooters.
Butler is the two-way freak that allows Chicagoans to partially block out the Derrick Rose fiasco from the last three seasons. Now both are healthy, and Chicago is poised to make headlines in the East.
3. Draymond Green (PF) Golden State Warriors
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Draymond Green's vast improvement on both ends of the floor has helped the Warriors to one of the best regular seasons of all time.
Golden State's system calls for switches on almost every screen. Green is the key cog in the system and has helped the Warriors attain a league-best defensive rating of 101. He has the size and strength to guard almost every power forward in the league. But he has the lateral quickness, intelligence and length to contain most guards.
While Green's defense has improved each year, his offense has taken a much bigger leap. This season, Green has career highs in minutes, points, assists, steals, blocks, rebounds and three-pointers. What's truly amazing is that he's doing everything more efficiently. His shooting percentages are up everywhere except the free-throw line.
As Green gains confidence as a player, he has let his true personality come out. This season Green has emerged as one of the premier trash talkers in the NBA. His teammates and the Warriors crowd thrive off of Draymond's energy, hustle and fire.
2. Russell Westbrook (PG) Oklahoma City Thunder
7 of 8*Westbrook's Thunder are currently on the outside looking in. They have the same record as the Pelicans but lost the tiebreaker and need to finish a game ahead to make the postseason.*
Russell Westbrook is the most energetic player in the league. What he's done offensively since Kevin Durant went out (again) with a foot injury is insane.
Per Stat Muse, over the last nine weeks, Westbrook averaged 37 minutes, 31 points, nine rebounds, 10 assists, 11 free-throw attempts, two steals and 2.5 gravity-defying plays per game. Every game, the only thing taking a bigger beating than his body is the opposing point guard's ego.
Sometimes we say athletes play "like there's no tomorrow," Westbrook plays like "there's no five minutes from now." He is as relentless as anybody in the sport since Allen Iverson played in the City of Brotherly Love.
I am not a Thunder fan, but I want to see Russ drag this beat-up and flawed Thunder roster into the postseason. He deserves a shot at the Warriors, and NBA fans deserve to see four more games of the league's most fun player against the league's most fun team.
1. Kawhi Leonard (SF) San Antonio Spurs
8 of 8Kawhi Leonard is Richard Sherman, if Richard Sherman never spoke and also played wide receiver at a Pro Bowl level. Kawhi is best player on the hottest team in the league. Some opponents challenge Leonard (it usually doesn't go well). Other teams just avoid his side of the floor altogether.
His two-way impact is obvious. According to Stat Muse, the Spurs are 46-17 when Leonard plays and just 9-9 without him this season.
When Kawhi Leonard wants the ball, he takes it. He leads the league with 2.3 steals per game and a defensive rating of 96.1.
He's also become quite the offensive threat. For the first time in his career, Leonard leads his team in points per game. He gets his points in a variety of ways. Some buckets come in transition after he pickpockets opposing guards or jumps the passing lane. Others come from corner threes through the Spurs' pinpoint ball movement, but most impressively, he's developed a back-to-the-basket game.
That's right, Kawhi Leonard, the guy who barely dribbled in his first season and a half in the league, can now dominate smaller defenders with short-range turnaround jumpers. Enemies beware.
