Ditch Digger Award- Joakim Noah
The Ditch Digger Award is something I created to reward an effective effort player who excels both on and off the ball largely because he works his tail off on the court. This is the Hoopscritic version of the Masters green jacket. The last two winners have been Gerald Wallace and Paul Millsap. This year’s winner is Chicago center Joakim Noah.
Noah had a big load to carry this season with the absence of Derrick Rose. Noah carried it and more. He’s excellent inside defensively as an active rim protector, a physical post defender, and a very good rebounder. The great bonus with Noah, and it’s a huge bonus in this era of the NBA, is his comfort with stepping out on the perimeter to defend an athletic big man. Noah has long arms he’s constantly using to obstruct passing lanes, moves his feet very well, and uses his physicality well without too much fouling. He lays his body out routinely and never stops working on the floor. I have an intense admiration not only for Noah’s skills, but the admiration runs that much deeper for his work ethic on the court. He’s grown his game very nicely in an expanded role and the Bulls will be that much better for it when they get Rose back next year.
The other two players on my radar screen were Houston center Omer Asik and Denver forward Kenneth Faried. Asik is one of the best defensive players in the league through brilliant positioning and tireless work. He’s the classic example that toughness doesn’t have to come with chest pumping and shouting after dunks. Faried is an energizer bunny who is constantly filling the lanes on breaks and rebounds like he’s going 90 miles an hour with his hair on fire. Faried still has moments where he struggles defensively, but it’s never because of effort.
Brian Geltzeiler is the executive producer and co-host of SheridanHoops Radio, and the editor of hoopcritic.com. His father, Burt, was an elite college basketball player for Newark Rutgers in the late 1940s and was drafted by the Tri-City Hawks (now Atlanta) in 1950 by GM Red Auerbach. You can follow Brian, who lives in Livingston, N.J. with his wife and 4 children, on Twitter.
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