Why there's a shortage of quality big men
by Charley Rosen
While NBA rosters are crowded with guards and forwards of every size and description, back-to-the-basket, tough-hombre centers are the league's most endangered species.
Consider, for example, the plen ude of variously accomplished big men who prowled the lanes from 1977 to 1988: Hakeem Olajuwon, Moses Malone, Bob Lanier, Elvin Hayes, Patrick Ewing, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Artis Gilmore, Kevin McHale, Robert Parish, Willis Reed, Nate Thurmond, Wes Unseld, Bill Cartwright, Joe Barry Carroll and Bill Walton.
On the other hand, the very best of today's equivalents include Yao Ming (who's injured and whose future is uncertain), Tim Duncan (who has many more good years behind him than ahead of him), Shaquille O'Neal (definitely on his last legs), Zydrunas Ilgauskas (going, going and almost gone), and Dwight Howard (who's still a work in progress).
Why, then, is there such a shortage of prime-time bigs these days?
* Because many young big men watch endless highlights of NBA action and busy themselves playing basketball video games. Plus, they're primarily interested in fancy handling, dunking, shooting 3-pointers and blocking shots.
* This limited vision of what bigs can and should do is reinforced when they see 7-footers like Andrea Bargnani and Dirk Nowitzki play like small forwards.
* Besides, most fledgling centers don't want to bang around in the paint or learn the footwork specific to effective low-post play. Practice, after all, is boring,
* Most importantly, there's a dearth of talented big-men coaches at the high school, AAU and college levels.
Let's examine the best of the NBA's young (under 30) centers to try to determine which — if any — of them might blossom into the type of fire-eating, Bogarting big man that can dominate the middle like the greats of yesteryear.
* Al Jefferson (24 years old) doesn't play much defense and isn't interested in passing but has the most developed, the most ornery and the most versatile low-post game of his peers. If only Jefferson played for a better team than the T-Wolves he'd certainly be a headline performer.
* Kendrick Perkins (24) has evolved to the point where he can use his massive body to great advantage in the pivot. Plus, the young man just loves to bang at both ends of the court. However, will the presence of Rasheed Wallace dramatically curtail Perkins' playing time and rate of development?
* Pau Gasol (29) isn't young anymore and is more of a tricky low-post scorer than a forceful one. Yet because of the paucity of his rivals, he nevertheless belongs near the top of this particular list.
* Emeka Okafor (27) is as good as he's ever going to be — a somewhat forceful role player with limited offense.
* Nene (27) certainly has the goods. He's a powerhouse with a surprisingly good touch, but he needs to be more consistent. The fact that he doesn't get sufficient touches to get into a prolonged groove is decisive in this regard.
* Andrew Bogut (24) is perhaps the most savvy of the young bigs and also possesses very good hands. But he makes too many mistakes with the ball, is injury-prone (he's missed over 21 percent of Milwaukee's games in the past three seasons) and he lacks the kind of top-of-the-line talent that can boost him to the apex of his position.
* Amare Stoudemire (26) is a face-up and a screen-and-roll player who rarely ventures into the low post. Indeed, his modus operandi resembles a power forward more than it does a true center.
* Tyson Chandler (26) doesn't scare opponents when he has the ball in his hands unless he's about to throw down a putback dunk or a lob pass. In addition to his offensive limitations, Chandler is a magnet for personal fouls. In any event, he's found his niche as an erratic role player.
* Andris Biedrins (23) has the same strengths (rebounding, help defense and blocking shots) as Chandler and is even more of a liability on offense. Also, Biedrins only plays with his back to the basket on defense.
* Eddy Curry (26) has the inside skills and the bulk to be an effective post-up scorer. However, his inability to rebound, defend or pass will prevent him from becoming a dreadnaught big man.
* Darko Milicic (24) has all of the necessary tools to excel at this position, but waiting for him to realize his potential is like waiting for Godot.
* Chris Kaman (27) has an effective — if robotic — drop step and jump hook that he can use going either right or left. He's also an above-average rebounder and shot-blocker. Too bad he's athletically challenged.
* Greg Oden (21) has the power to succeed, but his offense is still sloppy and limited. Moreover, he can't seem to play defense without fouling, which curtails his playing time and slows his development. However, since young bigs normally require three seasons to either reach their NBA maturity or prove to be unsalvageable busts, it's still possible — though not probable — that Oden can become a monster in the middle.
* Brook Lopez (21) is another young player who has a considerable upside. But, because he plays for the woeful Nets, Lopez will be allowed to develop his game without the pressure that Oden has. It could even happen that Lopez will — later than sooner — catch and surpass Oden.
* Andrew Bynum (21) has perhaps the most potential of all the young centers, but after four years in the league, he remains a stranger in paradise.
On the other hand, it's quite possible that the NBA game will eventually become a haven for small-ball and small-ballers — where triple-X-sized players will only be required to defend, set screens, block shots, rebound and shoot layups.
Or perhaps in 10 years, the league will be chock full of 7-foot point guards.
Why did the writer ignore the BIGGEST reason?
Defensive and Offensive 3 second rules. No handchecking, no arm stiffs anymore
The rules have changed to allow more scoring, specifically for the perimeter players by forcing the Centers to leave the lanes.
Brook Lopez is already better than Oden.
Pivotal year for Bynum.
If he's pretty healthy for the year, it's going to be Bynum and Dwight.
If he injures his knee again, that's pretty much it.
agreed
Nonsense. He's only been cut once and even then it wasn't blown.
That's old school thinking. Ligament injuries used to be serious, if not career ending. Now, there isn't one that can't be fixed, and completely healed, unless you're talking all 3 ligaments and nerve damage like Jay Williams or Shaun Livingston.
Cartilage, OTOH, can only be shaved/smoothed or removed, never fixed. The cushion between the femur and tibia is never quite the same. That leads to hot spots on the bone, and voila, you're a micro fracture candidate.
It's bad to lose cartilage as young as Bynum has. If you gave me the choice of torn cartilage or a torn ligament or two, I'd take the latter, because you can completely recover.
I'm as big a Bynum fan as there is.
But if he does happen to have 3 years in a row of serious knee problems, that's too much to be a coincidence. Just being realistic.
However, I do think his injuries were a fluke and nothing more... he'll be fully healthy this year, and then it's just good times.
Did he intentionally stop at 88 so he didn't have to mention Robinson?
I think we all know the reason Herr Rosen stopped at 88.
The Lakers stopped winning les, at least for a dozen years they did.
And a certain HOF center began his career in 89.
You know the center position is at an all-time low when bum ass scrubs like Bynum are being mentioned near the top of the list this year. In the 80's and 90's he may not have made it in the NBA. I think Dwight Howard would have been a bench player at this point in his career also.
You could also look back into the 80s and see a plethora of big men with no appreciable skills at all -- guys who wouldn't even be able to be on the court today were starting back then.
The game is much faster, not necessarily by pace, but by the power and athleticism with which guards operate on average today. Teams can no longer afford to throw a 7'2" guy out there with no hands and no purpose other than to rebound because they'll be eaten alive.
& you never missed a beat in matching us.
What's all this have to do with Bynum?
Oden will be universally recognized as one of the top 3 centers in the league by the end of this coming season. He only goes up from there.
You do know he had cartilage removed, right? Your post? The one I quoted? Ringing a bell?
tee hee
Seriously, I don't recall that. Do you have any supporting evidence, or, are you just squattin' on the land?
And if yer going to tee, hee, make sure to lodge the >,< twixt the tee & the hee, ya damnable infernal bag, you.
out of the bolded list, brook lopez will be the best all around big man. he has many qualities that are duncan-like.
Bynum might equal Dwight this year... LMFAO!!!!!
Come the on Allanon..... now I've ing heard it all from Laker fans.... no ing way can they get more ing goty for their team members.
If Bynum stays healthy all year AND IF he can put up the same numbers that he put up for 3 months 2 SEASONS ago.... he'll be a servicable big man in a perfect situation on the Lakers to take advantage of his skills.
Put him on another team and he's struggling to be a starter.
Bynum = Superman my ing ass...
Last edited by phyzik; 09-18-2009 at 12:40 AM.
http://www.nba.com/2009/news/02/01/L....html?rss=true
"The 7-0, 285-pound Bynum's injury brought back bad memories of last season for the Lakers. He went down in mid-January and was expected to be sidelined 8 to 12 weeks after bruising a bone in his knee and briefly dislocating his kneecap.
Instead, he missed the final 46 games of the season, as the Lakers lost in the NBA finals. He underwent arthroscopic surgery May 21 to remove some cartilage debris and smooth some rough spots on the underside of his kneecap."
Spot on. Unlike Rosen to miss something so obvious... unless it involves DRob.
Of course he is.
So what, anbother injury and he'll retire aged 21?
Unlikely.
When it comes to big men, I am your man. I have played as a back-to-the-basket centre for 20 years, have hooks, drop-steps and up-and-unders with both hands, an effective fadeaway against slow guys, money from 15ft, play solid position defence, etc.... man, I understand the position.
Watching the big man disappear from the NBA game has been one of the great sadnesses of the NBA for me. Watching David/Hakeem/Shaq/Patrick go at each other for most of the 90s was an absolute pleasure, but you very rarely see a quality big man duel these days... about the closest we've had recently was Tim vs Shaq or KG. I really miss the big man.
Ok, bag, Jr., but, what has that got to do with Dr X and his bag prognosis, you damn stinkin' bag, you.
Learn to ing read, Spurfan. I never said Bynum=Superman. I said it would be Dwight and Bynum.Bynum might equal Dwight this year... LMFAO!!!!!
Come the on Allanon..... now I've ing heard it all from Laker fans.... no ing way can they get more ing goty for their team members.
If Bynum stays healthy all year AND IF he can put up the same numbers that he put up for 3 months 2 SEASONS ago.... he'll be a servicable big man in a perfect situation on the Lakers to take advantage of his skills.
Put him on another team and he's struggling to be a starter.
Bynum = Superman my ing ass...
If Bynum stays healthy this year, Dwight & Bynum will be the two best Centers in the NBA.
You can quote me on that end of the year .
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