HOOPSWORLD | Basketball News & NBA Rumors

If the music industry were the NBA, Outkast’s Speakerboxxx/The Love Below would be earning its Grammy for "Best Album" any day now.

That’s because NBA awards—particularly those associated with defense—are dispensed on the basis of reputation, and there tends to be a lengthy lag time. Who knows, maybe recently inducted Hall-of-Fame swingman Tom Sanders could still add an All-Defensive First Team selection to go with the Second Team selection he earned in 1969*.

Anyway, the All-Defensive Teams were published today and more than a few eyebrows were raised by the presence of Lakers guard Kobe Bryant on the first team. Yes, he may have deserved each of his eight previous selections, but Bryant has essentially stopped guarding opponents’ top perimeter scorers during the regular season. At the very least, it’s hard to argue that Bryant had a better defensive season than Grizzlies guard Tony Allen, who was chosen to the second team.

In any case, here are the All-Defensive Selections:

(*—If you don’t know, Sanders’ defense was so good that Celtics coach Red Auerbach brought John Havlicek off the bench for the first half of the legend’s career, which was more or less the birth of the "sixth man." Sanders was famous for defending greats like Jerry West and Oscar Robertson, and that’s why the Celtics retired his No. 16)

(**—With one more selection, Bryant and/or Garnett would pass Michael Jordan and Gary Payton for most All-Defensive First Team honors in league history)

{AUTHOR_BOX}What’s in a Name?

The University of Washington had two big names at the Nets Scouting Combine on Sunday, but their faces might be somewhat unfamiliar to national basketball audiences. Point guard Isaiah (not, Isiah) Thomas and his Huskies teammate Justin Holiday (who is the older brother of 76ers point guard Jrue) each began the pre-draft process by attempting to dispel perceived myths about their games.

For Thomas the mission was to prove he was tall enough for the NBA at just 5-8.

"I feel like you could put me against anybody, I’ll show you I’m not small," Thomas told HOOPSWORLD.

Obviously, the perception that Thomas is too small followed him throughout his three years in Seattle.

"People say that but I don’t think so," Holiday told HOOPSWORLD about his collegiate teammate. "He’s shown he can do things against certain players and I think today, against bigger players, he showed he can be a point guard. He didn’t really shoot as much, which he did in college, but at this next level, he’s going to be a point guard and pass it around and get guys the ball. He did that well today."

For two seasons at Washington, Thomas was primarily concerned with getting his own shots. He averaged 16.9 PPG as a sophomore despite facing taller opponents every night, but Thomas changed his game before his junior year.

This past season Thomas embraced the point guard role, and even though his scoring average fell just a tenth of a point, he improved his assist average from 3.2 in 2009-2010 to 6.1 in 2010-2011. Essentially, last season was Thomas’ chance to prove he wasn’t a shooting guard in a point guard’s body.

"You can say that," he said. "My big thing was just about making the right play. Coach [Lorenzo] Romar and the system we have, he gives you the green light to do what you want as long as you’re making the right play. So I mean, I have a lot of shooters around me, they can put the ball in the hoop, they did that and I found them."

And even though Thomas admits that playing with strangers at the Nets facility was difficult, he feels he continued to show his point-guard skills on Sunday.

"I just wanted to come in and get other guys the ball because in this kind of setting, guys want to shoot and score and impress guys by scoring and my job now is to really get others the ball," Thomas said. "I had a good shooter on my team in [Ohio State guard Jon] Diebler and I was just finding him and just finding open guys. At the end of the day I just got to make the right play."

Just as he refuses to let his height be a hindrance on offense, Thomas has studied other shorter players to learn how to effectively defend taller opponents.

The secret, Thomas says, is knowing where you are in the court. He understands that he has a speed advantage for about 65% of the floor’s surface area, but Thomas’ chances for success begin to dwindle inside the 3-point arc.

"Make him play more outside the key and get in him," Thomas said of defending bigger players. "Pick up full court and make him turn. Make him make a play. I know when he gets toward the paint, it’s more to their advantage. The more they get outside the paint, the more I have an advantage."

Fortunately for Thomas, he’s had a very good mentor when it comes to surviving in the NBA south of six feet.

"Damon Stoudamire," Thomas said. "He was about the same height, left-handed, could shoot it from everywhere. He was a great point guard in the NBA so I model my game after him.

"We have a good relationship," the Tacoma native continued. "I spoke with him a few days ago and he said go out there and play hard and have fun."

Holiday, of course, has his own unique mentor in the draft process: little brother Jrue.

"Only thing he told me is just to go out and play my game," said the 22-year-old Holiday. "’I hit him up, and was like, "I’m going to have a workout. I don’t know what they’re going to have me do.’ He said, ‘Just go play your game and play as hard as you can and whatever happens from there, at least you know you did your best.’"

As far as similarities between the two, most scouts have drawn a comparison between 6-6 Justin and his 6-4 brother’s defensive abilities.

"I tried to show a little bit of that today," Holiday said of his defense. "The main thing is going to be defense."

Holiday added that he "hit the shots he was supposed to hit", which is good considering he spent his first three seasons at Washing shooting under 46% from 2-point range. That figure jumped to 54.8% as a senior as he also managed to push his 3-point accuracy to a career-best 35.9%.

"It’s hard work," Holiday said of improving his shot. "I just took reps, and then translating that and having confidence. Having confidence was my main thing. I didn’t have it at the beginning of my college career. And toward the end I had confidence, and with that, I guess that’s how I got here."

Holiday is also working to improve his ball handling, which along with his 185-pound frame, promises to be his biggest area of improvement heading into this year’s draft.

"I think I’m doing well with ball handling," Holiday said. "I’m handling it every day. I’m doing it well enough to play at the next level, but at the same time I want to be the best player I can be. So if I can get my handle to wear everything’s perfect, it can’t be perfect, but that’s what I’m striving for."

And even if he doesn’t become Michael Jordan with a basketball in his hands, Holiday could very well carve out an NBA career for himself. The quiet professionalism of his brother will reflect positively on him, and teams are very willing to spend a second-round pick on someone if he can come in and perform a specific task, like defending an athletic wing player.

"I hear if you defend, you’re going to be okay," Holiday said. "And that’s what I’m going to try and do. That’s my main thing, my bread and butter."

Thomas and Holiday aren’t going to be first-round picks, but either one could have a future if they could master specific roles. Maybe Thomas can run an NBA offense, or perhaps Holiday can defend a premiere scorer for 10 to 15 minutes per game. The point is, they have every chance to make a name for themselves before this June’s draft.

Rondo Will Probably Play

To the dismay of elbows everywhere, Boston point guard Rajon Rondo is probable tonight against the HEAT because an MRI didn’t show any breaks. Rondo famously bent his arm in the wrong direction during Saturday’s Game 3 win, and will try to help the Celtics even the series at home with the primary use of just one arm.

Despite having his elbow popped back into place on Saturday ("popped" is a bad work because it sounds painless and fun), Rondo still finished with 11 assists in the 97-81 win. Tonight’s game tips off at 7 p.m. and will be broadcast by TNT.

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