The Atlanta Hawks have relied on their big man Clint Capela to be their defensive leader. He has transformed the Hawks’ defense from one of the worst in the NBA last season to one of the better ones this season.
He is the voice behind his perimeter defenders which led to the Hawks having the third-best perimeter defense in the league this season. They held their opponents to 34.9 percent from deep which, in this perimeter focussed league was a big reason for the Hawks being in the position that they were.
The Hawks perimeter defenders were also able to play their opponent closer knowing that if they were beaten off the dribble, the Swiss pivot was there to stop their player. When an offensive player came into Capela’s world, they were blocked or seriously altered their shot. Capela even had a triple-double which included ten blocks.
The Atlanta Hawks pivot Clint Capela deserved more votes in the DPOY award.
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For those who are unaware of how the Defensive Player of the Year is voted on, there are 100 people who award first, second, and third-placed votes. Each first-place vote is worth five points, second place is worth three points, and third place is worth one vote.
Rudy Gobert, the winner of the award had 84 first-place votes, 14 second-place votes, and two third-place votes which gave him a total of 464 votes. Ben Simmons had 15 first-place votes and Bam Adebayo was the only other player to receive any first-place votes with one.
Capela finished sixth in the award, receiving one second-place vote and seven third-place votes. This gave him a total of ten votes which, considering how well he defended is not a reasonable indication of where he should have been in the voting.
While Gobert may have been the deserved winner, the fact that the NBA did not get to see Capela on a national stage very often could have impacted his results. Now that the Hawks are showing how good they are, Capela should see a better result in the voting next season.