Boris Diaw is 6-8

[Calispursfan11]

I'm not saying this is scientific, but this appears to be his listed height. I am baffled at the articles stating that BD addresses the Spurs' frontline height problems at 6-8 unless it has to do with his wingspan which I'm not certain of. But I guess 6-8 is tall relative to Pop's standard 6-3 Blair at Center gameplan. So perhaps it's just a relative thing and it's an improvement over the hobbit lineup that we've seen in the past.

[jjktkk]

Great thread.

[z0sa]

Spurs don't have a ton of size or shot blocking in the paint. These are things we know.

[Mel_13]

Chipotle

[Spurtacus]

Size matters not.

[timtonymanu]

Chipotle

:lol

[Mr. Body]

Don't have to be huge to be a decent post defender. Lower body strength is a major factor.

[8FOR!3]

People act like we don't have size, but Tim Duncan's 6'11, Tiago Splitter 6'11, and Matt Bonner's 6'10. Add in Diaw who's around the average size for a power forward and we've got decent size. The Lakers are supposed to be a big team, but without Jordan Hill who probably won't be playing much if any they're really not THAT much bigger than us. Size wise Duncan can matchup with Bynum, Splitter can matchup with Gasol, and Bonner is about the same size as Josh McRoberts. That leaves Troy Murphy, but it's not like he's been torching teams all year. I doubt him or McRoberts would put on too much of a show against Diaw who's just a few inches shorter. At the same time Diaw IS probably around 235 and shows decent knowledge about defensive positioning in the post.

[gambit1990]

Great thread.

:lol

[Legacy]

Thanks for the fun factoid. :elephant

[Dex]

Chipotle

:lmao

[Knoxxx]

What is his wingspan? Thinking 7+ his arms are out of proportion to his height.

[Manufan909]

Size matters not.

Is the gif in your sig from Prometheus?

[therealtruth]

People act like we don't have size, but Tim Duncan's 6'11, Tiago Splitter 6'11, and Matt Bonner's 6'10. Add in Diaw who's around the average size for a power forward and we've got decent size. The Lakers are supposed to be a big team, but without Jordan Hill who probably won't be playing much if any they're really not THAT much bigger than us. Size wise Duncan can matchup with Bynum, Splitter can matchup with Gasol, and Bonner is about the same size as Josh McRoberts. That leaves Troy Murphy, but it's not like he's been torching teams all year. I doubt him or McRoberts would put on too much of a show against Diaw who's just a few inches shorter. At the same time Diaw IS probably around 235 and shows decent knowledge about defensive positioning in the post.

Bonner is 6'10 with T-Rex arms. If you factor that in he's more like 6'8.

[Splits]

I barely knew Christine when she turned up at my door at around eight o'clock on the night of Halloween. We'd met for the first and only time three months earlier when my two roommates and I signed the lease on our apartment: Christine's aunt owned the place we were moving into, and she happened to be up from Delaware visiting at the time. But we'd only spent about five minutes together that day and we hadn't spoken much, and I hadn't thought of her since.
Yet here she was standing outside my door with a friend. And both of them were pretty tipsy.

She asked if she and her friend could come inside our apartment to change into their costumes. She couldn't change at her aunt's place, she said, because she was sleeping and she didn't want to wake her up. Would we mind if she used our bathroom instead?

It was a pretty strange request. Sure, weird stuff happens on Halloween, but I barely knew her, and it isn't every day that someone shows up at your front door and asks to change into their ladybug costume. But I told her it was fine and she was welcome to use our place to get ready.

It didn't take long before the two women—who'd clearly been drinking—were sitting on my couch, beers in hand, trying to convince my roommate and me to join them for a night on the town. Christine was in the holiday spirit dressed in her ladybug outfit. Her friend, who had a female pirate costume on, was much more quiet and reserved. She barely spoke all night.

It was a Wednesday evening, and my roommate and I hadn't been planning to go out. We both had to get up pretty early the next morning for work. But Christine was insistent that we join them, and she wasn't taking no for an answer. "Come on, guys! Let's go! Just throw something on!" she said.

The costume that I wore for the Halloween a year before—a boy scout's uniform that belonged to a friend—was still sitting in my closet. So that made it easy. But my roommate had no idea what to put on.

Christine immediately came up with an idea. She pointed to a cardboard box in the kitchen—the kind that 12-packs of Coca-Cola come in—and told him to cut a hole in the middle and put it on top of his head. We weren't sure what she was suggesting.

"You can go as a cokehead!" she said, bursting into laughter.

With our costume situation sorted out, we headed to South Street, where lots of bars in Philadelphia are located. Half an hour later, the four of us were seated at a table and knocking back beers.

It really didn't take very long for Christine to make her move. She'd grabbed my hand on the way from the apartment to South Street, so I can't say I was totally surprised when she leaned in to kiss me soon after we arrived at the bar.

I could tell when we first met that Christine was older than me. I was 25, and although I never asked her age, I'd have guessed she was in her early 30s. It was only recently that I found out her real age and learned she was in her late 30s when we hooked up. There's a 14-year gap between us, but she looks good for her age. I don't think I'd heard the word "cougar" yet at that point, but that's probably what I'd call her.

Aggressive is another word I'd use to describe her. At the bar, she confessed to me that her aunt really hadn't been sleeping. She hadn't even gone to her apartment to check, she said. She had remembered me from our five-minute meeting the previous summer, and used the story about her aunt as an excuse to knock on my door. She'd set her sights on me from the beginning.

Christine was pretty intense, and she was pretty outspoken that night, but we didn't talk politics much. Her aunt had told me that Christine ran for Senate a year earlier and had lost, so I knew a bit about her background. But the most political she got that night was when she said she attended lots of events in Washington that attracted congressmen and senators. "It would be nice to have a good-looking young man to attend those with me," she added.

We'd probably knocked back five Heinekens when Christine leaned over and whispered in my ear that she wanted to go back to my place. Before we could go, though, she told me to ask her friend if she'd mind if I drove Christine home later that evening. That was odd. I guess Christine didn't want to come across as a slut in her friend's eyes for going home with me, so she wanted me to bring it up her friend first.

I did what I was told and asked her friend if she had any objection to me hanging out with Christine a little longer provided I took her home later on in the evening. She didn't, and a few minutes after that, we were all headed back to my apartment. Christine's friend got in her car and went home. My roommate went to his bedroom and went to sleep. And Christine and I got cozy on the couch and popped open another beer.

Things got physical on the couch pretty quickly. It wasn't long before we'd moved from the living room to my bed.

I won't get into the nitty gritty details of what happened between the sheets that evening. But I will say that it wasn't half as exciting as I'd been hoping it would be. Christine was a decent kisser, but as soon as soon as her clothes came off and she was naked in my bed, Christine informed me that she was a virgin.

"You've got to be kidding," I said. She didn't explain at the time that she was a "born-again virgin." She made it seem like she'd never had sex in her life, which seemed pretty improbable for a woman her age. And she made it clear that she was planning on staying a virgin that night. But there were signs that she wasn't very experienced sexually. When her underwear came off, I immediately noticed that the waxing trend had completely passed her by.

Obviously, that was a big turnoff, and I quickly lost interest. I said goodnight, rolled over, and went to sleep. It was almost four o'clock in the morning. I had to get up at 6:30 to go to work.

Christine wasn't in the best of shape when my alarm clock went off three hours later. I was hungover and exhausted and we'd both had about the same amount to drink, so I'm guessing she was feeling even worse. I got up and started to get dressed and told Christine she'd need to get up, too. But she clearly didn't want to budge, and even after I'd reminded her a few times, she was still under the covers. Did she think I was going to leave for work and let her sleep in my bed?

When she finally did get up and dressed and we got in the car, Christine couldn't remember exactly where her friend lived. We circled around for about 20 minutes before we found it, and I dropped her off in the parking lot next to her car, as she asked me to. We said goodbye and exchanged phone numbers and email addresses. But there wasn't a whole lot of back and forth. I didn't even try to give her a kiss goodbye.

I wasn't planning on contacting Christine after our night together. Things hadn't gone so great—especially the part that took place in my bedroom—and I didn't see any reason to try and see her again. But two or three days later, she emailed me to ask me if I wanted to hang out again. I made an excuse. But she didn't take a hint and emailed or called a few more times over the next couple of weeks before I was forced to make it clear to her that I wasn't interested.

Things worked out for the best, though. A few weeks later, Christine started dating my roommate. They went out for over a year, and it was a little awkward the first few times Christine came over to visit him at our apartment and we all had to make conversation in the living room. But that passed pretty quickly. And in case you're wondering, he never had sex with her either, as far as I know.

[BackHome]

I have seen some side by side pictures and he maybe 6"8 but it is a legit 6"8 not like Blair who is 6'6. In fact to me he looks a legit 6'9...which is good for a PF...

[Spurtacus]

Is the gif in your sig from Prometheus?

Yes.

[vander]

he seems to do a good job of throwing his weight around on defense though

I liked watching him push Gasol around with that ample torso

[Mugen]

I liked watching him push Gasol around with that ample torso

I'm sure you did.

[007nites]

People act like we don't have size, but Tim Duncan's 6'11, Tiago Splitter 6'11, and Matt Bonner's 6'10. Add in Diaw who's around the average size for a power forward and we've got decent size. The Lakers are supposed to be a big team, but without Jordan Hill who probably won't be playing much if any they're really not THAT much bigger than us. Size wise Duncan can matchup with Bynum, Splitter can matchup with Gasol, and Bonner is about the same size as Josh McRoberts. That leaves Troy Murphy, but it's not like he's been torching teams all year. I doubt him or McRoberts would put on too much of a show against Diaw who's just a few inches shorter. At the same time Diaw IS probably around 235 and shows decent knowledge about defensive positioning in the post.

Dude Boris is like 260 pounds

[100%duncan]

Chipotle

:lmao

[vander]

I'm sure you did.

I phrased that a bit wrong

[Mugen]

I phrased that a bit wrong

:lol

[Knoxxx]

Well he must go about 250 at least but his wingspan remains a mystery. I will guess 7 foot 4 inches

[TheSkeptic]

People act like we don't have size, but Tim Duncan's 6'11, Tiago Splitter 6'11, and Matt Bonner's 6'10. Add in Diaw who's around the average size for a power forward and we've got decent size. The Lakers are supposed to be a big team, but without Jordan Hill who probably won't be playing much if any they're really not THAT much bigger than us. Size wise Duncan can matchup with Bynum, Splitter can matchup with Gasol, and Bonner is about the same size as Josh McRoberts. That leaves Troy Murphy, but it's not like he's been torching teams all year. I doubt him or McRoberts would put on too much of a show against Diaw who's just a few inches shorter. At the same time Diaw IS probably around 235 and shows decent knowledge about defensive positioning in the post.

Size isn't exclusively determined by the roster. Bonner has height but he's not a big and our 6'11 guys didn't play together at all even before we got Diaw. The Lakers play their biggest bigs together and simply because Bynum is huge by himself I don't think it's inaccurate to describe them as a big team.

Since he does a great job of guarding bigs and throwing his weight around, Diaw goes a long way towards mitigating San Antonio's problems on that front although it'd be nice to have another legit 7 footer or two imo. That said, Spurs have a legit chance to win it all with this frontcourt. Diaw's a quality player and (most importantly), he's *way* better than Blair.

[TampaDude]

People act like we don't have size, but Tim Duncan's 6'11, Tiago Splitter 6'11, and Matt Bonner's 6'10. Add in Diaw who's around the average size for a power forward and we've got decent size. The Lakers are supposed to be a big team, but without Jordan Hill who probably won't be playing much if any they're really not THAT much bigger than us. Size wise Duncan can matchup with Bynum, Splitter can matchup with Gasol, and Bonner is about the same size as Josh McRoberts. That leaves Troy Murphy, but it's not like he's been torching teams all year. I doubt him or McRoberts would put on too much of a show against Diaw who's just a few inches shorter. At the same time Diaw IS probably around 235 and shows decent knowledge about defensive positioning in the post.

Jordan Hill? He's going to be playing for the California Penal League real soon. :lol

[Richard Simmons]

Don't have to be huge to be a decent post defender. Lower body strength is a major factor.

Hence chuck hayes. Baffles me how blair lacks in such a category though

[Calispursfan11]

So what's the verdict? Does Boris have Kawhi wingspan or T-Rex arms?

[Juventini]

I don't care if he's 6'8 or not. Our team need him back next year, he's solid in every aspect of the game. His stats won't wow you ever but he's one of the guy who does little things to make the team better. He box out, always know where his man is on defense, set solid screen, his positional defense was superb, etc. I could go on and on about this guy.
He's the ultimate teammate. Watching this guy play, make you wonder how could a guy like Stoudemire get paid more than he is... Number doesn't mean everything in basketball. The Bobcats made a huge mistake letting this guy walk.

[mathbzh]

The Bobcats made a huge mistake letting this guy walk.

I am not sure about that. Diaw is a great teammate. But if he is your best player you are in trouble. Diaw can become very frustrating when he refuses to force things even if his team need it.

[racm]

I am not sure about that. Diaw is a great teammate. But if he is your best player you are in trouble. Diaw can become very frustrating when he refuses to force things even if his team need it.

Not only that, Paul Silas' philosophy didn't exactly have him buying in.

[TheSkeptic]

Not only that, Paul Silas' philosophy didn't exactly have him buying in.

I could buy this somewhat except that even in Phoenix Diaw wasn't the most aggressive of players iirc.

He won't completely mask the mistakes of teammates and he won't carry a team into the playoffs by the sheer force of his skill and willpower, but if you play him with good players he'll make your team better by making smart plays and facilitating for everybody else while holding his own on defense. In that respect I think he's a conduit of sorts.

There's nothing wrong with that and I do believe that every championship contender needs a guy like that on the roster. He's a great addition to our team and everything but I just highly doubt that Paul Silas is the reason why Diaw doesn't like to force things when he's out there. Granted he does look more motivated here so there's that.

[Juventini]

I am not sure about that. Diaw is a great teammate. But if he is your best player you are in trouble. Diaw can become very frustrating when he refuses to force things even if his team need it.

That's what I was referring to. It is in his nature not to force things and the coach need to realize it. He has his strengths and weaknesses.

[spursfaninla]

Diaw is taller than blair, a better passer and overall defender than bonner, and a better outside shooter than Splitter.

Primarily because he compliments Duncan, and because he plays poorly next to Blair, he is perfect as a starter.

However, against really big front lines, giving Splitter more minutes is necessary, regardless of who "starts."

[BRs.Ganso]

Diaw is taller than blair, a better passer and overall defender than bonner, and a better outside shooter than Splitter.

Primarily because he compliments Duncan, and because he plays poorly next to Blair, he is perfect as a starter.

However, against really big front lines, giving Splitter more minutes is necessary, regardless of who "starts."

good point, agreed! :toast

[Juventini]

Diaw is taller than blair, a better passer and overall defender than bonner, and a better outside shooter than Splitter.

Primarily because he compliments Duncan, and because he plays poorly next to Blair, he is perfect as a starter.

However, against really big front lines, giving Splitter more minutes is necessary, regardless of who "starts."

Splitter started against the Lakers front line proved to be more useful. On the other hand, Diaw showed that he defended P.Gasol really well and arguably better than splitter did.
Granted, Splitter is taller than Diaw but his lower body strength is weaker than Diaw and it's so frustrating to see him always has his hands down when Gasol just rise up and shoot over him.

[Knoxxx]

So what's the verdict? Does Boris have Kawhi wingspan or T-Rex arms?

Swishscout.com has a decent piece on this. You have Kawhi checking in at #3 on their list for freakish wingspans, 7'3". Blair #9 at 7'2". I think Blair could improve by learning to more effectively use that, than crazy running layups and the like.

Back to Boris, pretty sure we are getting a barefoot height on him. That means he is as tall as plenty of players listed at 6'10" in shoes, the standard NBA method of reporting height.

What is hard to come by for Boris are any measurements on wingspan and standing reach. I have some anecdotal evidence that Boris may have a 7'1" wingspan which sounds believable. That would place him on the high end of "above average." If he measured 7'4" as I first guessed, that would place him in the "Freakish" category, top 10 or so in the league.

However, I heard Rondo is 6'1" with a 6'10" wingspan. If true, that would give him the title of most freakish wingspan in the league. The couple guys ahead of Kawhi are nobodies, Maxiell and Biyombo.

So we can see why Diaw is plenty tall enough to play power forward effectively, though actual measurements are not officially out there. Also we have a lot of guys out there with similar missing data, but Swishscout gives us a better idea of what is average and above.

[SpursIndonesia]

There's a pic in the MySA article recently showing Duncan, Splitter, and Jack, in close proximity. From that pic, Tiago seems a bit taller than TD, atleast by an inch, and Jack looks like a legit 6'8" guy (which makes TD @ ~6'11" and Tiago @7' tall peeps).

So, how was Boris compared to those guys relatively ?

[Wild Cobra Kai]

I was trying to look him up on DX, and he was never measured at any NBA pre-draft camp. Wonder if the Spurs were trying to hide him...

[Knoxxx]

Actually I think Splitter is 6-10 and Duncan 6-11. Pau Gasol is noticeably taller than Splitter, not so much Duncan I always thought. Maybe Tiago just slouches. Those are my barefoot height estimates, add at least an inch for shoes if not 1.5.

[Wild Cobra Kai]

Actually I think Splitter is 6-10 and Duncan 6-11. Pau Gasol is noticeably taller than Splitter, not so much Duncan I always thought. Maybe Tiago just slouches. Those are my barefoot height estimates, add at least an inch for shoes if not 1.5.

Splitter doesn't stand up straight. He's taller than Duncan on the few occasions where he does.

Pau 7'0"
TS 6'11"
TD 6'10"

[TheSkeptic]

Splitter doesn't stand up straight. He's taller than Duncan on the few occasions where he does.

Pau 7'0"
TS 6'11"
TD 6'10"

I think TD's taller than Bonner though...

[Bruno]

IIRC, Splitter was measured at 6'11"1/2 few years ago.

Regarding Diaw, he should be around 6'9". He isn't a big PF but he isn't really undersized for that spot. He can do a decent job against biggest player. In hsi Phoenix period, eh even has some success defending Yao.

Last year, Spurs were a small team especially on the perimeter. This year, this isn't the case. Spurs have good size at every spot.

[Juventini]

What I notice is that Splitter's wingspan is really short compare to other players on our team.

[Knoxxx]

According to the predraft measurements Splitter is 6'10.25" barefoot and Duncan is 6'11". That jibes with what my eyes tell me on the court, but possible Splitter may have grew since 2004 and the aforementioned slouching. I think Duncan slouches a bit too though.

http://www.draftexpress.com/nba-pre-draft-measurements.php?page=&year=All&source=All&sort2=ASC&draft=0&pos=0&sort=1

Also no issue with short arms on Tiago, with a 7'2" wingspan and Duncan supposedly an inch or two longer than that.

Just saying it appears to me Duncan is the "bigger" big man. 6-11 barefoot is no joke, and of course it helps when the basketball is like a grapefruit in your hand.

[Knoxxx]

Bonner by the way is listed at 6-8.5", the 6'10" is a height in shoes. Also his wingspan is poor, at 6-8.75". A decent wingspan needs to be several inches more than a players' height. Now we see why Diaw can play big at 6'8". Look at Elton Brand, 6-8.25", freakish 7-5.5" wingspan.

As far as Splitter, with a 32' vertical there is no lack of athleticism, I think he is injury prone so he does not want to play as far above the rim as he could, sort of like Duncan. Remember when D Rob pulled his back on an alley oop dunk and was never quite the same afterwards.

Also we have two of the players with the most freakish wingspans in the league, Leonard/Blair. That would make Tiago appear to have shorter arms when he is in fact more in the normal range.

[Legacy]

Bonner is 6'10 with T-Rex arms. If you factor that in he's more like 6'8.


:lol

[TwelveGs210]

Bonner is 6'10 with T-Rex arms. If you factor that in he's more like 6'8.


Kevin Willis does not appreciate his description being used on other players..

[yavozerb]

Bonner by the way is listed at 6-8.5", the 6'10" is a height in shoes. Also his wingspan is poor, at 6-8.75". A decent wingspan needs to be several inches more than a players' height. Now we see why Diaw can play big at 6'8". Look at Elton Brand, 6-8.25", freakish 7-5.5" wingspan.

As far as Splitter, with a 32' vertical there is no lack of athleticism, I think he is injury prone so he does not want to play as far above the rim as he could, sort of like Duncan. Remember when D Rob pulled his back on an alley oop dunk and was never quite the same afterwards.

Also we have two of the players with the most freakish wingspans in the league, Leonard/Blair. That would make Tiago appear to have shorter arms when he is in fact more in the normal range.

Blair's armspan = 7'2
RJ's armspan= 7'0

I believe there are more players who have entered the NBA with armspans > than actual ht who have failed on the NBA level. Does the extra armspan help, I believe it does, but without motivation and heart to play at the NBA level it does absolutly nothing for majority of players in my opinion. Oh, I listed Blairs armspan cause so many posters seem to think that his armspan would compensate for his lack of ht, I think this conversations is now finally over...

[z0sa]

Where does Bonner get the t-rex arm shit? I only ever see/hear that on ST. I agree he runs kind of funny but his arms are the normal size for a 6'10 dude.

[Knoxxx]

Bonner height and wing span about same which is below average and he is 6-8.5 barefoot. Decent position defender though.

[timvp]

Where does Bonner get the t-rex arm shit? I only ever see/hear that on ST. I agree he runs kind of funny but his arms are the normal size for a 6'10 dude.

http://www.draftexpress.com/nba-pre-draft-measurements/?year=All&sort2=DESC&draft=&pos=&source=All&sort=3

Out of all players 6-foot-10, I only see two players with shorter wingspans. And those are shorter by just .25 inches.