NBA Free Agents 2011: 5 Best Defensive Guards Available

You hear it year in and year out, defense wins championships, and it was true this past season, despite the fact that the most important player on the Mavericks is primarily an offensive player.

The Dallas Mavericks used a unique mix of man and zone defenses to keep the Heat on their feet and to keep them from being able to beat them off the dribble, as LeBron James and Dwyane Wade could tear them up otherwise.

The most important part of any defense is the anchor down low, whether it be a center or a power forward, or even just a tall small forward in some cases (complete oxymoron, but whatever), but you can't just be a good defensive team because you have a good center in most cases (the Magic are able to do it with Dwight Howard, but that's about it).

You need the wing guys who can defend on the perimeter and keep the quicker players from getting into lanes and completely moving their team's defense out of whack. 

Defense may end with the center, but it starts with the guards. A guard who can keep a man on the wing and keep him from easily passing the ball or getting closer to the basket can be completely useless on offense but still be helpful to his team; point in case, Keith Bogans.

So, in a free-agent class that is weak in pretty much all areas, who are the defensive guards out there that are the best at locking down their man? Well hold your horses there folks, I'll tell you if you just click on that little arrow.

5. Mario Chalmers

Mario Chalmers was off-and-on at times throughout the season. When he was off he seemed like he was disinterested and just didn't care about what he was doing on the floor, but when he was good he was very impressive.

He was either the best bad basketball player or the worst good basketball player last season; I still can't decide.

Still, he has the potential to be one of the better defensive guards in the league with his mix of speed and toughness.

He has the basic fundamentals that he'll need to stay effective on defense, he just needs to keep his head in the game more often and I'll be sold.

4. Arron Afflalo

When the Pistons traded Arron Afflalo away to the Nuggets a few years back for a second-round pick, I was pretty sure they had underestimated how good Afflalo could be—now I know they did.

Afflalo isn't the type of guy who racks up a huge number of takeaways, but he has a great defensive mind and able to almost read predict his opponent's next move.

He is more of a guy that can slow down a hot shooter by staying in front of him with his lateral quickness, or body up with him and make him think twice before thinking about trying to create space by backing him down.

3. Sasha Vujacic

Jokingly (or sometimes seriously depending on who you ask) referred to as "The Machine" Sasha Vujacic plays with a type of intensity that is ingrained, it can't be taught. 

Vujacic is extremely disciplined for a young(ish) player, and he is rarely caught cheating up on a player or fooled with a pump-fake or a stutter-step, and he is well-versed as a fundamental defender.

He can keep players in front of him or force them to their weak side with relative ease, and when he knows he is overmatched, he will just crank up the intensity and out-hustle his opponent.

2. Anthony Carter

It sounds crazy, but I think the biggest mistake the Knicks made in the playoffs last year was not playing a 36-year-old, slightly chubby guard quite enough.  

In the end, the Celtics thrashed the Knicks for the most part on defense, whereas the Knicks played defense like a team coached by Mike D'Antoni. Okay, maybe that's a bit harsh, they had some good defensive games, but they couldn't keep up with the Knicks.

With Anthony Carter in the game, the Knicks were able to slow down Rajon Rondo and keep him out of the lane, where he was most effective. Or they had him on Ray Allen, where he would keep him from getting open threes.

The Knicks, however, only put Carter in the game for a little over 10 minutes a game in the playoffs, mostly because he was a definite liability on offense, averaging fewer than four points a game during the season.

1. DeShawn Stevenson

DeShawn Stevenson was one of the biggest reasons that the Dallas Mavericks were able to end up with the NBA Championship at the end of last season, and the reason he made such an impact was his defense.

Stevenson was equally able to play defense when the Mavericks were playing man-to-man and when they switched over to zone, which seemed to be very effective on the Heat offense.

At this point Stevenson is in the second tier of defenders in the league, right below the level of Shane Battier, Grant Hill and Tony Allen, but he is extremely close to those guys.

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