NBA Mid-Season Awards: Is Defensive Player of The Year Award Tyson Chandler's to Lose?

Tyson Chandler, Larry Sanders, Serge Ibaka and Tony Allen are the league's premier defenders.

New York City.  The Big Apple abuzz as the fans flock to the MSG to see their Knicks who are having one of their best seasons in a long time.  Some might give the credit to Carmelo Anthony, some the coaching of Mike Woodson or the bench depth.  While all of these are contributing factors, Tyson Chandler is New York's unsung hero.

The DPOY award goes to the player whose defense most contributes to their teams success.  The New York Knicks currently sit comfortably in the 2nd spot in the East, much do to their defensive anchor; Tyson Chandler.  Before Chandler signed as a free agent, NYK was one of the worst defensive teams in the league, and remained in that position after Chandler joined under the D'Antoni system.  With D'Antoni being fired, Mike Woodson stepped in and started to draw up defensive sets that allowed Chandler to show what he was signed for.  This season, New York is a great defensive team, all do to Tyson Chandler who holds down the middle, and blocks and alters shots.

Serge Ibaka is the second coming of Dikembe Mutombo.  Both Congonese, both incredible shot blockers.  Ibaka leads the defense of one of the premier teams in the league, and averages almost 3 bpg.  Ibaka has an uncanny ability to send opponents shots into the bleachers, and puts the thought in opponents heads, modfiying their shot taking and confidence.  Oklahoma City Thunder has the number 6 Defensive Rating in the NBA and this is almost all due to Serge Ibaka's incredible shot altering and defensive presence.

The Milwaukee Bucks have made incredible leaps in the past year, as has their young big Larry Sanders.  Leading the league in blocked shots with 3.05 bpg, and his defensive progress is one of the major reason for the teams recent success.  Larry Sanders plays only 25 minutes per game, but still leads the NBA in blocks, showing off his defensive and shot blocking prowess.

"Grit! Grind!"-Tony Allen on his style of play.  Allen's tenure with the Memphis Grizzlies is riddled with defensive plays and highlights and yes, lots of grit, and lots of grind.  The Grizzlies 2-guard is definitely not the flashiest player, nor is he very flashy at all, but he always plays to the best of his abilities and plays hard and passionately.  While Allen doesn't lead the league in steals or blocks, his defense changes the game more than anybody else's.

The Verdict:

While this is a four horse race, and will be fairly close in the end, it will be a photo finish between Tyson Chandler and Larry Sanders.  Chandler and Sanders are the players whose defense has the most effect on their team, and have helped their teams make the greatest strides since upping the ante on defense.