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Who's the absolute best guard on the defensive end? (alien.top)

submitted 1 year ago by Elyx117@alien.top to c/nba@nba.space

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I'm trying to figure out how elite Anthony Edwards is, defensively. He is currently the top ranked guard by defensive ratings, and certainly we all know he's very good with on ball D plus intercepting passing lane.

But stats (especially team stats like DRTG) aren't everything, not this early in the season. So who do you think is the best 1 or 2 on the defensive end? Others I can think of: Donovan Mitchell, SGA, Jrue Holiday.

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[–] BlueJays007@alien.top 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

If we’re talking overall defense by a guard as opposed to just best defense of guards, Marcus Smart should 100% be mentioned here.

[–] Elyx117@alien.top 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

yea Smart should def be on the list. How well is Jrue Holiday filling that gap?

[–] BlueJays007@alien.top 1 points 1 year ago

Oh Jrue’s been great so far. He also fits better in our new defensive scheme than I think Smart would while Smart was a better fit for our schemes under Ime.

They share a lot of similarities as defenders, but I’ve always felt that Jrue is a better lockdown guy while Smart thrives as a defensive playmaker. Kerr has compared him to Draymond in that sense.

Jrue is this more steady overwhelming defensive presence where you put him on a guy and he’s just stifling play after play. Smart thrived in chaos and as a disrupter, he didn’t too often shut a single star down throughout the game, but he could blow up plays like nobody else in the nba imo.