2014 NBA AWARDS: WHO SHOULD BE IN THE “ALL-NBA TEAMS / ALL-DEFENSIVE TEAMS” ACCORDING TO STATISTICS?

This is the second of my two articles about 2014 NBA AWARDS using statistics. Few days ago, we screened for the MVP of the 2014 regular season. Kevin Durant finally won the award as my screening was expecting (see the article).

Today, we will focus on “who should be in the All-NBA teams / All-Defensive teams”.

A. 2014 ALL-DEFENSIVE TEAMS.

The NBA All-Defensive Team is an annual National Basketball Association (NBA) honor given since the 1968–69 NBA season to the best defensive players during the regular season (Voting is conducted by the NBA head coaches who are not allowed to vote for players on their own team).

Accordingly, I screened the 10 best players of the 2014 regular season in 3 different sets of statistics regarding defense (see my article for February and March for the most effective defensive players during these months).

The first data (A) looked at player impact on opponents points (a global view of the impact of the defense). The second one (B) focused on defensive player impact on opponents’ offensive rebounds (the fewer offensive rebounds, the less second chance points by opponents) and opponents’ field goal % (a good defense imply a lower field goal %). Finally, I screened (C) individual statistics specific to defense (defensive rebounds, steals and blocks).

According to my benchmark of three statistics, Joakim Noah, the defensive player of the year, would lead the All-Defensive FIRST TEAM. There are 28 players that received points (see details in section C below). It's no surprise to find seven players belonging to the two best defensive teams in the top ten (according to the defensive rating ratio). A special mention to Tim Duncan who, at age 38 (he is the oldest player of this selection), is still producing amazing defense while leading his team to the third best defensive rating in the regular season.

a. All-Defensive FIRST TEAM.

Rk	Player	A	B	C	TOTAL POINTS
1	Joakim Noah	7	6	9	22
2	Roy Hibbert	9	10		19
3	Paul George	7	8		15
4	David West	5	10		15
5	Taj Gibson	10	1		11

b. All-Defensive SECOND TEAM.

6	DeAndre Jordan			10	10
7	Kirk Hinrich	9			9
8	George Hill	2	6		8
9	Andre Drummond			8	8
10	Reggie Jackson		7		7
11	DeMarcus Cousins			7	7

B. 2014 ALL-NBA TEAMS.

The All-NBA Team is an annual National Basketball Association (NBA) honor bestowed on the best players in the league following every NBA season. The voting is conducted by a panel of sportswriters and broadcasters throughout the United States and Canada. The team has been selected in every season of the league's existence, dating back to its inaugural season in 1946.

My All-NBA Team is the combination of (1) the statistics used to find the MVP of the regular season (statistics based on 5 different sets of statistics focused mainly on attack and efficiency) and (2) the screenings used to find my All-Defensive teams. Accordingly, there is no distinction regarding the position of the players.

According to my benchmark of eight statistics (five for the “attack/efficiency” and three for the “defense”), Kevin Durant and Joakim Noah would lead my ALL-NBA teams.

a. All-NBA FIRST TEAM.

Rk	Player	POINTS ATTACK/EFFICIENCY	POINTS DEFENSE	TOTAL POINTS
1	Kevin Durant	65	0	65
2	Joakim Noah	33	22	55
3	Kevin Love	44	0	44
4	Blake Griffin	43	0	43
5	Roy Hibbert	21	19	40

b. All-NBA SECOND TEAM.

Rk	Player	POINTS ATTACK/EFFICIENCY	POINTS DEFENSE	TOTAL POINTS
6	LeBron James	37	0	37
7	David West	21	15	36
8	Dirk Nowitzki	34	0	34
9	Chandler Parsons	33	0	33
10	Stephen Curry	33	0	33

c. All-NBA THIRD TEAM.

Rk	Player	POINTS ATTACK/EFFICIENCY	POINTS DEFENSE	TOTAL POINTS
11	Lance Stephenson	27	5	32
12	LaMarcus Aldridge	30	0	30
13	Paul George	13	15	28
14	David Lee	28	0	28
15	DeAndre Jordan	14	10	24
16	Dwight Howard	18	6	24

C. DETAILS OF THE 2014 ALL-DEFENSIVE TEAMS.

Below, you can find the details of the different statistics used to determine the all-defensive teams.

a. In a single season, per 48 minutes, in 2013-14, in the regular season, requiring Opponent Points <= 80 and Minutes Played >= 24, sorted by most games in season matching criteria.

Rk	Player	Count
1	Taj Gibson	18
2	Roy Hibbert	17
3	Kirk Hinrich	17
4	Paul George	16
5	Joakim Noah	16
6	Mike Dunleavy	14
7	Lance Stephenson	14
8	David West	14
9	George Hill	13
10	Tristan Thompson	13

b. In a single season, in 2013-14, in the regular season, requiring Opponent Offensive Rebounds <= 10 and Opponent Field Goal Pct <= 0.35 and Minutes Played >= 24, sorted by most games in season matching criteria.

Rk	Player	Count
1	Roy Hibbert	12
2	David West	12
3	Paul George	9
4	Reggie Jackson	8
5	George Hill	7
6	Amir Johnson	7
7	Joakim Noah	7
8	Victor Oladipo	7
9	Iman Shumpert	7
10	Harrison Barnes	6
11	Mike Dunleavy	6
12	Taj Gibson	6
13	Joe Johnson	6
14	Klay Thompson	6

c. In multiple seasons, in 2013-14, in the regular season, requiring Defensive Rebounds >= 6 and Blocks >= 1 and Steals >= 1, sorted by most games matching criteria.

Rk	Player	Count
1	DeAndre Jordan	45
2	Joakim Noah	36
3	Andre Drummond	35
4	DeMarcus Cousins	32
5	Anthony Davis	29
6	Dwight Howard	29
7	Paul Millsap	28
8	Marcin Gortat	22
9	Nikola Vucevic	22
10	Tim Duncan	21
11	Al Jefferson	21
12	Josh Smith	21

d. Final rating for the all-defensive teams. 

Rk	Player	A	B	C	TOTAL POINTS
1	Joakim Noah	7	6	9	22
2	Roy Hibbert	9	10		19
3	Paul George	7	8		15
4	David West	5	10		15
5	Taj Gibson	10	1		11
6	DeAndre Jordan			10	10
7	Kirk Hinrich	9			9
8	George Hill	2	6		8
9	Andre Drummond			8	8
10	Reggie Jackson		7		7
11	DeMarcus Cousins			7	7
12	Mike Dunleavy	5	1		6
13	Amir Johnson		6		6
14	Dwight Howard			6	6
15	Victor Oladipo		6		6
16	Iman Shumpert		6		6
17	Anthony Davis			6	6
18	Lance Stephenson	5			5
19	Paul Millsap			4	4
20	Marcin Gortat			3	3
21	Nikola Vucevic			3	3
22	Tristan Thompson	2			2
23	Tim Duncan			1	1
24	Harrison Barnes		1		1
25	Klay Thompson		1		1
26	Al Jefferson			1	1
27	Joe Johnson		1		1
28	Josh Smith			1	1

D. DETAILS OF THE 2014 ALL-NBA TEAMS.

Below, you can find the final rating of the ALL-NBA teams.

Rk	Player	POINTS ATTACK/EFFICIENCY	POINTS DEFENSE	TOTAL POINTS
1	Kevin Durant	65	0	65
2	Joakim Noah	33	22	55
3	Kevin Love	44	0	44
4	Blake Griffin	43	0	43
5	Roy Hibbert	21	19	40
6	LeBron James	37	0	37
7	David West	21	15	36
8	Dirk Nowitzki	34	0	34
9	Chandler Parsons	33	0	33
10	Stephen Curry	33	0	33
11	Lance Stephenson	27	5	32
12	LaMarcus Aldridge	30	0	30
13	Paul George	13	15	28
14	David Lee	28	0	28
15	DeAndre Jordan	14	10	24
16	Dwight Howard	18	6	24
17	Klay Thompson	21	1	22
18	Zach Randolph	22	0	22
19	James Harden	22	0	22
20	Nicolas Batum	22	0	22
21	Tim Duncan	20	1	21
22	Evan Turner	21	0	21
23	Paul Millsap	15	4	19
24	Serge Ibaka	19	0	19
25	Russell Westbrook	19	0	19
26	Ricky Rubio	17	0	17
27	Al Jefferson	15	1	16
28	Marc Gasol	16	0	16
29	Ray Allen	14	0	14
30	DeMarcus Cousins	13	0	13
31	Carmelo Anthony	12	0	12
32	Chris Bosh	12	0	12
33	Gerald Green	12	0	12
34	Taj Gibson		11	11
35	Kyle Lowry	10	0	10
36	Mike Conley	10	0	10
37	Anthony Davis	4	6	10
38	Kirk Hinrich		9	9
39	Michael Carter-Williams	9	0	9
40	Goran Dragic	9	0	9
41	Trevor Ariza	9	0	9
42	George Hill		8	8
43	Joe Johnson	7	1	8
44	Andre Drummond		8	8
45	Reggie Jackson		7	7
46	Corey Brewer	7	0	7
47	John Wall	7	0	7
48	Mike Dunleavy		6	6
49	Amir Johnson		6	6
50	Victor Oladipo		6	6
51	Iman Shumpert		6	6
52	Kyle Korver	5	0	5
53	Marcin Gortat		3	3
54	Nikola Vucevic		3	3
55	Tristan Thompson		2	2
56	Harrison Barnes		1	1
57	Pau Gasol	1	0	1
58	Kevin Martin	1	0	1
59	Josh Smith		1	1
60	Rudy Gay	-3	0	-3

Source: www.basketball-reference.com. 

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