The 'All Inexplicably Voted for All-Defensive Team' Team

On Monday, the NBA announced their 2013-14 All-Defensive teams and, while you may quibble with one or two names, the ten men honored on the first or second team are surely deserving of recognition.

However, as you scan the list of players "also receiving votes," a handful of names stand out, in the worst way possible. With 123 media members and broadcasters voting, there are sure to be disagreements. The pool of players receiving votes for the 10 spots could have justifiably been, say, 40 players deep.

Instead, however, it was 63 players deep. That means that some voters were selecting players for the first or second team who would not have made someone else's 13th team. There simply should not be that much separation in opinion when people who theoretically watch and analyze basketball for a living.

Some of the votes were downright stunning. So, in the spirit of "teams," here is the All How-Did-He-Possibly-Get-A-Vote Team.

THE STAR: James Harden

James Harden is one of the NBA's most talented offensive players, which also happens to be the nicest thing you can say about his defense. His shortcomings on that end are well-known, except, apparently, to the two-voters who tabbed him for the second team.

Harden being sub-par defensively is completely justifiable. He expends a great deal of energy carrying the load on offense and never projected as much of a stopper physically. The degree to which he's embraced his role as a de facto designated hitter, however, is ludicrous. The fact that a 12-minute video of his defensive miscues even exists should preclude him from All-Defensive Team consideration.

While the Rockets' performance on the defensive end doesn't back up Harden's ineptitude - they allowed exactly 103.1 points per 100 possessions, with or without him - he also played 77 percent of his minutes with Dwight Howard, 51.5 percent with Patrick Beverley and 44.4 percent with both. As a result, Harden ranked 397th of 437 players in the league in ESPN's Defensive Real Plus Minus metric.

THE CAPTAIN: David Lee

David Lee is so bad defensively that Grantland's Kirk Goldsberry erupted a room at the 2013 MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference when he used Lee - known as "The Golden Gate" - as an illustration of how the NBA's new SportVU camera system could help us better identify, well, terrible defense.

Lee may not be the league's worst interior defender - he ranked 101st in Defensive Real Plus Minus, not bad at all - but like with Harden, he benefited from playing alongside a great defender in Andrew Bogut (63.7 percent of his minutes). The Warriors' defense was better with Lee on the floor than off of it and opponents didn't shoot the lights out with Lee protecting the rim (49.3 percent), but he definitely didn't belong on the All-Defensive Team ballot.

THE ROOKIE: Michael Carter-Williams

So, here's the thing: Michael Carter-Williams posted the 20th-highest steals per game rate in league history for a rookie, grabbing 1.9 per outing, good for sixth in the NBA. Unfortunately for MCW and 76ers, steals don't necessarily equate to good defense.

[Courtesy CSN]

That's a successful steal, sure, but look at how open Carter-Williams left his man to help down and gamble for it. A couple of inches difference on that pass and the Heat would have had an open look from three. This was the standard for the Rookie of the Year, and he was part of the reason the Sixers owned the fourth-worst defense in the league, one that was actually worse with him on the floor.

It's not all bad for Philadelphia, though, as Carter-Williams profiles as an above-average defender eventually. The awareness and decision making just needs to catch up with the length and athleticism.

THE FREE AGENT: DeMar DeRozan

DeMar DeRozan is listed as a free agent because he may not be long for this list, having taken major strides forward on the defensive end this season. In fact, DeRozan was so much better that he ranked first in isolation defense according to Synergy Sports, proof positive that those statistics should be taken with a grain of salt.

Part of his success was thanks to head coach Dwane Casey, who has earned a reputation as being able to scheme better defense than his talent would suggest was possible. For example, DeRozan rarely checked an opposing team's top-scoring wing, leaving that job to John Salmons or Terrence Ross. That didn't always work, however.

It wasn't just the Joe Johnson's of the world who carved up DeRozan on occasion, but names like Gerald Henderson, too.

The end result was DeRozan grading out as about an average defender overall, having a slightly negative impact on an above-average defense and ranking 252nd of 437 players in Defensive Real Plus Minus.

THE THIEF: Monta Ellis

Like with Carter-Williams, Monta Ellis gives off the impression of defensive presence by piling up steals - he ranked ninth in the league with 1.7 a game, has averaged 1.7 for his career and is 24th among active players in total steals despite having played fewer games than all but one player in the top-40.

His case is also muddied by playing alongside Jose Calderon, a notoriously poor defender, and Shawn Marion, a notoriously strong one. The net result was that the Mavericks were 5.9 points per 100 possessions worse on defense with Ellis on the floor, continuing a career-long trend for the 28-year-old.

[Courtesy CSN]

That's just one example, and you could find something similar for most players, but Ellis' occasional lapses and lack of size for the two make him a minus (he was 336th in Defensive Real Plus Minus). Not a bad player, but not even in the realm of All-Defensive Team honors.

SIXTH MAN: Danny Granger

Why did we add a sixth man to this team, and why is it Danny Granger? Because, no matter how good he was defensively, he only played 847 minutes all season! The exclamation point is necessary, as much as we hate to use it. How does someone justify voting a player who ranked 291st in the NBA in minutes as one of the 10 best defensive players of the season?