Defense Grade: C+
Again, let’s take a look at his performance at Pepsi Center. In his 15 minutes he grabbed 6 rebounds, 1 block, and 2 steals. That’s contribution. He picked up 3 fouls in that amount of time; not great but it shows that he is being really active of the defensive end. His season averages don’t come near that sample size, but it’s a great ceiling to have.
Boban can be a liability on defensive end in today’s stretch-big era of the NBA, but he’s trying. Trying goes a long way and in a lot of ways has been the identity of this team. You’d be hard pressed to find another team this year to embrace the “next man up” mentality and refuse to just give up despite the odds. Bobi’s heart and effort is just that, and based on what we saw in Denver, he won’t let his defensive shortcomings stop him from playing as hard as he can on both ends.