duncan228
11-19-2009, 07:00 PM
Ask Kareem: Why Do Big Men Struggle? (http://www.hoopsworld.com/Story.asp?story_id=14402)
By: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
HOOPSWORLD is proud to bring one of the greatest players in NBA history to the site, in a series called "Ask Kareem" – each month we'll pose two questions to NBA great Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for his thoughts on a variety of NBA topics.
This month we asked Kareem which centers he thought didn't get enough credit and why it seems so difficult for young big men to translate into the NBA.
Who do you consider the most underrated NBA centers of all time?
Tim Duncan in my opinion is one of the best players of his era and the only center that was better than Tim was Shaq. However Shaq was not as consistent as Tim, so in my opinion Tim Duncan is the most underrated player of his era.
Bob Lanier was a consistent performer throughout his career and never got the opportunity to play with a team that had the chance to go all the way.
Nate Thurmond was one of the finest defensive players ever and a hard working team player who never was on a team that had potential to go all the way.
Also, Alonzo Mourning - the critique on Alonzo was that "he was undersized." He had to overcome the loss of a kidney but he was able to get the job done for the Miami HEAT on a consistent basis.
Why is that NBA Big Men seem to take so much longer to adjust to the NBA game than guards?
NBA Big Men have a totally different job than the guards. Everybody pays attention to the abilities of a guard because a guard has to initiate play and defend against opposing guards who are attempting to initiate play. But the Big Men are more often finishers of plays both offensively and defensively. They have to get the key rebounds, make the key defensive play or score a crucial basket after the guards have initiated the play. It takes them longer to adjust because Big Men have more important responsibilities because they are dealing with the final moments of crucial situations.
This is not to say that guards are not a key factor at key moments but the most important space on the court is that space which is closest to the basket where the Big Men Rule.
By: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
HOOPSWORLD is proud to bring one of the greatest players in NBA history to the site, in a series called "Ask Kareem" – each month we'll pose two questions to NBA great Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for his thoughts on a variety of NBA topics.
This month we asked Kareem which centers he thought didn't get enough credit and why it seems so difficult for young big men to translate into the NBA.
Who do you consider the most underrated NBA centers of all time?
Tim Duncan in my opinion is one of the best players of his era and the only center that was better than Tim was Shaq. However Shaq was not as consistent as Tim, so in my opinion Tim Duncan is the most underrated player of his era.
Bob Lanier was a consistent performer throughout his career and never got the opportunity to play with a team that had the chance to go all the way.
Nate Thurmond was one of the finest defensive players ever and a hard working team player who never was on a team that had potential to go all the way.
Also, Alonzo Mourning - the critique on Alonzo was that "he was undersized." He had to overcome the loss of a kidney but he was able to get the job done for the Miami HEAT on a consistent basis.
Why is that NBA Big Men seem to take so much longer to adjust to the NBA game than guards?
NBA Big Men have a totally different job than the guards. Everybody pays attention to the abilities of a guard because a guard has to initiate play and defend against opposing guards who are attempting to initiate play. But the Big Men are more often finishers of plays both offensively and defensively. They have to get the key rebounds, make the key defensive play or score a crucial basket after the guards have initiated the play. It takes them longer to adjust because Big Men have more important responsibilities because they are dealing with the final moments of crucial situations.
This is not to say that guards are not a key factor at key moments but the most important space on the court is that space which is closest to the basket where the Big Men Rule.