Last season, LA Clippers head coach Doc Rivers made a big deal about DeAndre Jordan supposedly being snubbed for the Defensive Player of the Year award.
Rivers’ DPOY campaigning for Jordan this season is already well underway.
According to Doc, Jordan is far and away the L’s top defender.
Per ESPN:
“He’s clearly the defensive player of the year,” Rivers said Sunday. “If anybody else gets that award, we need to have an investigation. … What he’s doing defensively, if he was doing that offensively, he would be recognized as the MVP or one of them, but because it’s defense, no one notices.”
Jordan started his 300th consecutive game on Sunday, the longest active streak in the NBA, but it wasn’t until Blake Griffin was sidelined with a staph infection in his right elbow three weeks ago that Jordan received the attention Rivers felt was long overdue for the Clippers’ 26-year-old center. […] “He gets every rebound,” Rivers said. “And when he doesn’t get it, it takes two guys to keep him off and allows the other guys to get rebounds. He’s clearly very important for us.”
Jordan currently leads the NBA in field goal percentage (72.0) and rebounds per game (14.2) and ranks third in blocks per game (2.3). His field goal percentage is the second-highest single-season mark in NBA history, and only six players since 1985-86 have averaged at least 14.2 rebounds for a full season. In the Clippers’ win over the Memphis Grizzlies on Friday, Jordan recorded 15 points, 22 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 blocks and 2 steals in 41 minutes to become one of only three players (Dwight Howard and David Robinson) since 1985-86 to reach those totals in as few minutes played. […] “I would definitely be excited about that,” Jordan said of winning the award. “It’s definitely an individual goal of mine, but the ultimate goal is to win a championship. I’ll just let my play do the talking.”
