The Boston Celtics see 2 players in top-5 of B/R’s DPOY rankings

The Boston Celtics have been one of the hottest teams in the league since the start of 2022 and, throughout this span, they’ve gone on to solidify themselves as a true powerhouse on both sides of the ball but, particularly, on the defensive end.

Currently, we find the shamrocks holding onto the top mark in numerous defensive categories including defensive field goal percentage (43.5), percentage points difference (-2.5), and Defensive Rating (106.2).

Now, while the team as a collective has been overall tremendous in this department, ultimately there have been two players, in particular, spearheading the charge on this front.

Of course, we’re talking about the two menacing stalwarts of Robert Williams III and Marcus Smart, both of whom rank within the top-3 on the team in Defensive Box Plus-Minus and, to many, have a fair shot of contending for this year’s Defensive Player of the Year award.

Though some–namely, Boston Celtics fans–believe that these two should be ranked first and second in this specific race, others are under the impression that, while they are without a doubt contenders, there are still a few individuals that should be ahead of them in the ranks, and the folks at Bleacher Report believe that Williams and Smart should be considered fifth and second, respectively, in the running for the illustrious honor.

In this final ranking of the year, we saw the list consisting of Williams (tied for fifth), Jaren Jackson Jr. (tied for fifth), Rudy Gobert (third), Smart (second), and Giannis Antetokounmpo (first).

Here are snippets of the breakdowns for both members of the Boston Celtics, written up by Andy Bailey:

Robert Williams III

"Robert Williams III tops both Smart and Tatum in shots defended and shots defended at the rim, and the field-goal percentage he’s allowing in both contexts is lower.Williams isn’t your typical rim-protecting 5, either. He has the vertical explosiveness and quick-jump ability to help in that capacity, but he’s also more than comfortable helping on the outside (or even starting possessions on smaller players).He can stay in front of guards and wings on switches and actually leads Boston in threes contested per game.That ability to cover the entire floor is what’s made him so important to the Celtics’ league-leading defense. They give up 104.4 points per 100 possessions with Williams on the floor, compared to 109.2 when he’s off."

Marcus Smart

"Smart is a dynamic on-ball defender who can stymie a team’s attack from the outset. And matchup data shows he’s comfortable defending more than just wings and guards.He’s spent more time on those smaller players, but Smart has also had plenty of possessions on bigger forwards like OG Anunoby, Franz Wagner and Miles Bridges. And for years, he’s been one of the game’s better guards at stonewalling big men in the post.The versatility Smart brings as a defender has undoubtedly been a key part of Boston’s top-ranked defense, but it wasn’t quite enough to put him over the top here."

Now, though Giannis is, in fact, once again having himself a tremendous season on the defensive side of the ball, from both a subjective and totally objective standpoint, we at HH truly believe that Marcus Smart should ultimately come away with the award when this season is all said and done.

While the 28-year-old finds himself ranked just 27th in the league in Defensive Rating of those who have logged over 1000 minutes, he’s one of only three non-frontcourt players to place within such confines.

When it comes to Defensive Win Shares, we see the veteran placing 11th, behind solely big men (unsurprising, considering they are the typical backbone of a team’s defensive unit) and one other guard in Luka Doncic who, frankly, everyone knows is nowhere near the type of defender Smart is.

On top of all this, the Boston Celtics stud personally finds himself putting forth arguably the best campaign of his career when it comes to this less glamorous part of the game, as he’s boasting 3.6 Defensive Win Shares (his best mark) and a 1.7 Defensive Box Plus-Minus (his second-best mark).

Considering he’s a 2x All-Defensive selection already, this is quite high a high level of play for the baller.

Arguably the most underrated contributor for the shamrocks during their second-half surge, Marcus Smart has been an absolute gem on both sides of the floor, but, to no surprise, particularly on defense where he has yet to back down from any challenge.

Be it when found one-on-one against top-flight guards like Ja Morant and Trae Young or switching onto menacing bigs like Pascal Siakam and even Giannis Antetokounmpo, the Swiss Army Man has yet to back down from any challenge he’s found himself up against.

How many other players of his size and at his position can you say are able to guard anyone from the one all the way down to the five?!

Regardless of how the league’s voting process ultimately plays out, Boston Celtics fans know just how stellar both Williams and Smart have been on defense and, while we believe they are more than deserving of taking how the DPOY award, we’re more than content with them continuing to lead the way for the team’s top-ranked defensive unit moving forward.