Hightop fade, active hands, and engaged on the defensive end. These are the things that should come to mind when you think of Iman Shumpert. He’s proven himself to be a great asset, and Cleveland’s best perimeter defender.
In this video, you’ll see him swipe the ball away quicker than you’d expect. Shump himself has said that he thinks steals are an overrated statistic, because often times he corrals a loose ball without doing anything, and gets awarded with a steal. In light of that, I don’t know if many of these plays are listed as steals, but they certainly pass an eye test where he positively impacted the team’s defense. He’ll hound you, chase you, and harass you into making a mistake. Just pay attention to the way he keeps the opponents of balance. He’ll ruin their rhythm by bodying them, then contorting himself to avoid them. His style (on and off the court) is unique, and that made him one of the more interesting players to watch this past season.
Note: YES, I know he was a defensive force during his earlier years with the Knicks, but it was hard to get substantial clips from those days. Maybe if they surface, I can do one from then, but we'll all just have to live with this one for now.
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