Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert won his third Defensive Player of the Year award this season, but in Game 6 of the second-round playoff series against the Los Angeles Clippers, he looked like a liability on that side of the ball.
When Clippers shooters received passes outside the 3-point arc, Gobert hesitated to close out and leave the lane open. That’s not a formula that works against Los Angeles, a team that shot a league-best 41% from 3.
With Gobert’s inability to get to the perimeter, the Clippers made 14 3-pointers in the second half to erase a 25-point deficit and end the series with a 131-119 win. According to ESPN, Los Angeles shot 12-for-15 when Gobert was the primary defender.
This prompted former Oklahoma City Thunder wing Andre Roberson to give his take on the Defensive Player of the Year award.
Roberson made his career by being a lockdown defender. Despite lacking solid offensive abilities, Roberson was essential to the team in the Russell Westbrook days. His impact was clear both by watching him play and by seeing the defense collapse when he got injured.
After Game 6, Roberson tweeted that guards should receive stronger consideration for DPOY.
It’s about time we start looking more at guards for DPOY..*thoughts from Dre 💭
— Andre Roberson (@FlyDre21) June 19, 2021
“It’s about time we start looking at more guards for DPOY,” he tweeted.
A guard has not won the award since Gary Payton in 1996. The award was almost exclusively given to centers until Kawhi Leonard won it back-to-back in 2015 and 2016. Draymond Green, who plays forward and center, won in 2017, and forward Giannis Antetokounmpo won in 2020.
Voters have shown a clear willingness to go with forwards over the past decade, but there has been lack of appreciation toward guards.
Over the past five years, Ben Simmons (2020, 2021), Paul George (2018, 2019) and Andre Roberson (2017) are the only guards to finish in the top-five of voting.
If there is a guard fit to file this type of complaint, it’s Roberson, who has made his career on the defensive end of the court.
