The NBA announced the 2016-17 All-Defensive First and Second Teams on Monday. No Detroit Pistons made the list. However, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope did earn one vote. Here’s a look at his 2016-17 season on defense.
Detroit Pistons‘ shooting guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope received a single vote for the 2016-17 All-Defensive Second Team. He didn’t make the cut, and was the lone Piston to receive a vote. Detroit hasn’t had an All-Defensive team selection since small forward Tayshaun Prince was named to the Second Team back in 2007-08.
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But that shouldn’t be a knock on the Pistons’ 24-year-old guard. Caldwell-Pope is the team’s best defender. There’s no question about it. When paired with Reggie Jackson up top, he will always cover the better of the two opposing guards. Jackson’s defensive flaws are minimized by Caldwell-Pope’s presence.
What makes Caldwell-Pope so valuable is his discipline. He committed a career-low 1.6 fouls per game last season and only 118 total. Perimeter defenders have their work cut out for them in today’s NBA. Hand-checking was outlawed by the league over a decade ago in an effort to boost scoring.
Defenders now face a small margin of error. Simply playing hard doesn’t cut it anymore. You have to play smart. Which makes Caldwell-Pope’s 1.2 steals per game average even more impressive. Now that probably doesn’t sound like much. But the NBA’s leader in steals last season, Draymond Green, finished with 2.0 per game.
In four seasons, Caldwell-Pope hasn’t made an All-Defensive team. Frankly, he hasn’t been good enough. He’s not an elite defender just yet. It’s going to take some time. Eight-year veteran Danny Green was named to his first All-Defensive team yesterday at the age of 30.
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Will Caldwell-Pope have to wait another six years? Probably not. He’s improved (offensively and defensively) each year he’s been in the league and shows no signs of slowing down. One measly vote this year might seem insignificant. But that lone vote could be the first of many for Kentavious Caldwell-Pope.