Celtics ☘️ Sentinel

 The Celtics Robert Williams III is high on the NBA's Defensive-Player-of-the-Year Ladder despite only participating in 23 games. The 6'8" athletic phenomenon lands at number-3 in the rankings (per NBA.com's Steve Aschburner ): Robert Williams simply said "no" pic.twitter.com/pNtY3k6gpU — Celtics on NBC Sports Boston (@NBCSCeltics) February 7, 2023 3. Robert Williams III, Boston Celtics "Look, the max appearances Williams can make this season, if he stays healthy the rest of the way, is 47. That’s not enough to win a major annual award like DPOY. Heck, it’s not enough to climb as high as No. 1 on this Ladder. But the Celtics’ center merits a high rung here because he’s not just a top defender — he’s a doctor of denial. His on/off impact is ruthless: Boston’s rating with him defensively is 104.8 vs. 110.9 without him. And among players averaging 10+ defensive field goal attempts, his minus-8.0% effect on foes’ shooting is tops. Granted, Williams was a l...

 With Marcus Smart taking this years Defensive-Player-of-the-Year Award , he is a lock to be First-Team, All-Defensive, and he may be joined by teammates Al Horford and Robert Williams . NBA writers and broadcasters now vote for both honors , and Rob and Al landed in the 7th and 9th positions in the DPOY voting. The Boston Celtics having a guard, forward and center in the top-9 for DPOY should be no major surprise. The team ended the season with a smothering defense that earned them the second seed in the East, a 51-31 record - and now - a win over the Brooklyn Nets in Game One of the series. Horford has been voted DPOY (Second Team) once in 2018 , and Williams III was SEC Defensive Player of the Year twice. Stay tuned for the official voting results.

 Call him "the Wolverine", "Stretch-6" or "Cobra" , but whatever you call Marcus Smart , we need to add "2022 Defensive-Player-of-the-Year" . Chauncey Billups started the chant five years ago: Y'all say what u want about Marcus Smart but that kid makes winning plays every game in the 4th. — Chauncey Billups (@1MrBigShot) May 22, 2017 Well, fans, the fire in "that kid" has not been squelched in the least over the past 5-year span. Now it's "The Glove" himself, Gary Payton singing the praises of Marcus: “[Marcus Smart] should win [DPOY]. Why not?” If @GaryPayton had a vote for Defensive Player of the Year, he tells @termineradio and @jumpshot8 he’d be voting for @smart_MS3 #BleedGreen pic.twitter.com/CgV4LKXMBm — SiriusXM NBA Radio (@SiriusXMNBA) April 8, 2022 Enough is enough! In the past few years, I have written more about Smart than any other Celtics - for a reason. In 62 years of following the Boston Celtics,...

Don't expect Celtics guard, Marcus Smart, to seriously compete for the NBA Defensive-Player-of-the-Year Award this season. He has too much against him in the form of bias from several sources. Defensive guards stand little chance to walk away with this trophy, but that has not always been the case. The DPOY Award has been given out since the 1982-83 season, and five of the six initial winners played the guard position: 1983: Sidney Moncrief (guard) 1984: Sidney Moncrief (guard) 1985: Mark Eaton (center) 1986: Alvin Robertson (guard) 1987: Michael Cooper (guard/forward) 1988: Michael Jordan (guard) It has been all centers (23) and forwards(7), with the one exception being Gary Payton (guard) winning the trophy in 1996. The numbers clearly show why Smart stands little chance of ever seeing the DPOY Trophy in his home. So where does the bias come in. Well, first of all, there is obvious prejudice here directed at the "little guy". While other NBA awards such as...