None Shall Score: Breaking Down The NBA’s Best Rim Protectors

Feb 2, 2015; New Orleans, LA, USA; New Orleans Pelicans forward Anthony Davis (23) and guard Quincy Pondexter (20) defend against Atlanta Hawks guard Jeff Teague (0) during the third quarter of a game at the Smoothie King Center. The Pelicans defeated the Hawks 115-100. Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports

In the ever-changing scope of the NBA, one of the more intriguing transformations over the past few decades has dealt with the role of the “big man”. Over that period of time, front-court players have been looked at to be more athletic and perimeter-minded, rather than being stuck in the low-post like bigs of generations past.

As the years went by, and the NBA continued to become festered with these athletic big men, opposing coaches tried to figure out ways to prevent this change from turning into an issue. In the process of trying to discover the solution to that problem, organizations also changed the definition of a “rim protector”. With this change in ideology, front-court players needed to be able spread themselves from deep within the bowels of the restricted area towards the unknown depths of the perimeter.

While there definitely are a bevy of current NBA players that can defend against athletic bigs, that are a handful of defensive specialists that stand out from the pack. In this piece, we’re going to use the combination of advanced analytics and film to be able to decipher why they’re so effective.

Hassan Whiteside

Seemingly from the moment his sneakers first stepped onto the hardwood of the American Airlines Arena, seven-footer Hassan Whiteside stood as one of the premier rim protectors in the NBA. While he never had a stable NBA role until this year, the seven-footer has always displayed that trait since his days with Marshall, where he averaged 5.4 blocks per game during his lone year in school.

In the weeks following his D-League call-up, Whiteside received an inconsistent amount of playing time, which included 11 DNP’s, his rise to prominence began once the calendar turned to 2015. In the first eight games of January, Whiteside averaged three blocks per game, which seems ridiculous when you look at him barely eclipsing the 20 minute per game plateau. That performance reached critical mass as he had a 12 block performance during a January 25th win over Chicago.

Although Whiteside will probably never have a game at the level of that Chicago performance, his reputation as one of the league’s best rim protectors has already been etched in stone. By utilizing the combination of size, athleticism and a freakish 7’7 wingspan, Whiteside has displayed an ability to either camp inside the paint or spread out and defend against more athletic forwards or wings. For somebody of his enormous size, Whiteside has incredible lateral quickness, which makes him an absolute menace for any player who comes within feet of the stud center.

Perhaps the most impressive part of Whiteside’s work on the defensive end is how he typically shies away from getting into any kind of foul trouble, as he’s currently averaging less than five fouls per 36 minutes. The solution behind that would how Whiteside is able to sprawl his long wingspan out out towards the direction of the opponent while he’s in the process of shooting. More times than not, Whiteside’s blocks comes from before the ball leaves the hand of the opposing shooter.

Rudy Gobert

Although Derrick Favors could definitely make his way onto this piece with his work as an imposing front-court defender, the continued excellence of Rudy Gobert has definitely out-matched anything that the former lotto pick ( or any other NBA player) has done this season.

Similar to Hassan Whiteside, Gobert immediately stands out as one of the more grandiose big men in the entire league, as he stands at 7’2 with an outstanding 7’8 wingspan.

Following a forgettable rookie season where he failed to eclipse 10 minutes per game, a dominant performance in the FIBA World Cup combined with Utah’s lack of front-court depth allowed him to have a more prominent role with the team.

Like Whiteside, Gobert was immediately to take advantage of the opportunity that he was given as his sheer presence has helped push the Jazz to become one of the best inside defenses in the entire NBA. While his incredible size has definitely had a positive impact on his skills on the defensive end, the 22-year-old Gobert shows some natural instincts that you typically don’t see from a 2nd year player.

Whether he’s squaring off in post-ups or fending off a cutter as a help defender, Gobert always seems to be in the correct position to make the necessary play. That ability has ultimately helped push the Jazz to be one of the premier inside defenses in the entire NBA.

Roy Hibbert

Among the five players profiled, Roy Hibbert is probably the most classic example of the typical “rim protector”. Unlike the other four players, Hibbert seems to be most comfortable with stalking deep in the paint as he waits for his prey. While that may not be the most entertaining thing to watch, Hibbert has perfected that art during his six-year NBA career.

With Hibbert’s perfection of that fine art of being a rim protector comes a reputation that has been etched alongside his name for the entirety of his time in the Association. While it’s definitely difficult to say anything unique about Hibbert that hasn’t already been said previously, that doesn’t mean that it’s not a joy to marvel at his performance on a game-by-game basis.

Perhaps the most awe-inspiring aspect of Hibbert’s work as a rim protector is that there really isn’t any wasted movement to his actions on the defensive end. Hibbert knows how to quickly be able to get in position, which is probably the main reason why he’s only fouled out twice during the current season.

Anthony Davis

Akin to Hibbert, Anthony Davis has maintained an established reputation as one of the finest defenders since his time with Kentucky. However, unlike the Pacers big man, Davis has been able to combine his lanky 6’10 frame with the kind of mobility and athleticism that you typically see from wings or guards to become perhaps the most dangerous defenders in the entire NBA.

That mobility and quickness is instantly on display when you see how he’s able to keep up with wing players that are penetrating to the paint. Davis looks extremely comfortable with working alongside the perimeter, which creates a huge disadvantage for the opposing player. Once the two makes their way towards the paint, it’s nearly impossible for the offensive player to create any sort of advantage because Davis can just use his 7’5 wingspan to fend off the shot attempt.

With opponents averaging a league-high 31 shot attempts per game from inside the restricted area when they square off against New Orleans, Davis has to basically fend off the opposition on a minute-by-minute basis. Although they currently don’t sit as the best defense from that particular category (we’ll talk about that top team soon), the Pelies sit comfortably in the middle of the pack, as opponents shoot 59% from inside the restricted area against the team, which would be a lot worse if it wasn’t for the presence of Anthony Davis.

Serge Ibaka

From inside the restricted area, the best defensive team is currently the Oklahoma City Thunder, thanks in large part to the defensive dominance of Serge Ibaka. In a similar mold to Anthony Davis, Ibaka’s able to be a fine defensive stopper by combining mobility with a 7’4 wingspan which allows him to defend against multiple positions.

The comparisons to Davis continue as they both defend in a very similar fashion. Both players share the same knack for: being able to stick with cutting wings, defending against the post-up and working as a help defender.

While both Davis and Ibaka have a lot of similarities with the way that they both play defense, the OKC big defends with much more uncontrolled aggression than Davis. Although that aggression is one of the biggest reasons why he’s featured in this piece, that approach has also lead to him being a foul machine. As of the time of this piece, Ibaka currently ranks 6th in the NBA in personal fouls with 161 personal fouls, which would round out to three PF’s per game.

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Besides the obvious example in Anthony, each one of these players stand as one of, if not the most valuable players for their given team. A prime example of the value that an excellent rim protector could bring is evident by Hassan Whiteside and the Miami Heat. Although they’ll never be considered as a contender, Whiteside has been able to keep the Heat within the midst of the Eastern Conference playoff hunt as Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade have both been battling different nagging injuries since the calendar turned to 2015.