The butterfly effect: JaVale McGee morphs into defensive stalwart

Maybe we didn’t notice JaVale McGee’s defensive prowess because he toiled away on a horrible Washington Wizards team for the first three and a half years of his career but now that he is with the Denver Nuggets, Denver’s interior defense has been much improved.

McGee has taken his athletic, high-energy game and caused fits for the Los Angeles Lakers’ All-Star center Andrew Bynum. While Bynum has been productive in this series, he hasn’t been the offensive or defensive presence many thought he would be and that can be directly contributed to McGee’s presence in the middle.

Now granted we have seem McGee have some great games as a member of the Wizards. McGee never had the chance to play in any meaningful games in Washington which may be why his stellar play has caught people’s attention. It also helps to explain why the Nuggets were so willing to trade center Nene to Washington.

There is one thing that stands out from McGee’s time in Washington though; his on-court antics. McGee has had more than a few immature moments this season. During his time earlier this season with the Wizards, his poor decision-making seemed to divert people away from his on-the-court accomplishments.

Like when he threw himself an alley-oop off of the backboard during a fast break and dunked it with the Wizards badly trailing the Houston Rockets. His coach promptly sat him on the bench after that one.

Watch McGee's alley-oop dunk:

Then there was the time when he was one point away from a triple-double during the end of a game and started hoisting up shots to get him over the hump. He then celebrated the triple-double like it was some great accomplishment despite the fact that the Wizards had put the game away long before he completed his garbage-time triple-double.

Watch McGee's infamous triple-double:

And there have been other times this season where his lack of judgment has gotten him a seat on the bench or ridicule from the fans and media. The Wizards wanted to put an end to the selfish, immature play of McGee and his former teammate Nick Young which is why they traded both at the trade deadline.

Under George Karl’s leadership though, McGee has gotten more focused. He has been using his athleticism to become a disruptive force in the post which is something the team has lacked since Kenyon Martin took his skills to China during last year’s lockout.

Sure the Nuggets miss Nene’s scoring in the post but Nene wasn’t nearly as effective on the defensive side of the ball as McGee has been. Plus McGee has shown that he has the potential to be an offensive threat also.

McGee had 21 points and 14 rebounds during his Game 5 matchup with Andrew Bynum and posted 16 points, 15 rebounds, three blocks and two steals in Denver’s 99-84 road win in Game 3. McGee has been very effective despite Coach Karl on playing him 24 minutes-per-game this series.

So Denver may have gotten a steal by trading away aging veteran Nene for the 24-year-old McGee. As long as Karl and his coaching staff can continue to develop McGee and keep the old-McGee from showing up in games then Denver will be just fine.

Roosevelt Hall is an NFL Blogger for The Sport Mentalist and an NBA Blogger for The Sport Mentalist 2. He is also a Sports Reporter for Pro Sports Lives. He can be contacted at RHall_TPFB@Yahoo.com and be sure to follow him on Twitter @sportmentalist.

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