NBA 2013-14: The top 5 defenses of the season so far

3. Oklahoma City Thunder

The imposing long handed front line of OKC along with Sefolosha are the pillars of thier defense.

When you have the long arms of Serge Ibaka and Kevin Durant at the forwards slots in your team, how can you not feature among the top defensive teams? That’s a question many people have questioned the team for and this season the team has answered ranking third on the defensive teams list.

Ibaka, currently averaging 2.35 blocks per game, but averaging over 3 blocks per games the past two years, has been a massive factor. Kendrick Perkins does not record any huge numbers on the box scores but brings size and toughness with him in the paint.

Thabo Sefolosha is the man on this team who guards the opponent’s best back-court player. He could cramp you for space, take you away from your sweet spot and make you shoot a tough jumper every possession. Although he doesn’t make this ranking or feature high on the NBA All-Defensive teams, it is no secret how good he is.

Another huge factor contributing to this team is that it has matured as a young team into one which understands the importance of defense and focuses its energy on that end of the floor as it is a very effective process which can create offense.