Mar

12

Big Men Still Rule In The NBA

Posted by Kyle Stack under Main 

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There is one thing you can always count on in the NBA: big men will always dominate the league.Another wave of great big men is developing before us. These aren?t just the new age of Dirk Nowitzki-like 7-footers who live on the perimeter. These are the centers who receive the ball with their back to the basket.Orlando?s Dwight Howard and Phoenix?s Amare Stoudemire have already established themselves as perennial All-Stars, with Howard developing the all-around game (Amare can?t play a shred of defense) to possibly become an all-time great. Not coincidentally, Orlando and Phoenix are playoff-caliber teams.

Minnesota?s Al Jefferson is a monster of a player and has drawn comparisons to the great ? and vastly underrated ? Moses Malone. When Minnesota shopped Kevin Garnett last summer, they wanted a promising big man in return and they got him in Jefferson. Unfortunately for Jefferson, he might go unnoticed in the upper Midwest in the years to come as he will have stiff competition for the annual All-Star game. The Lakers? Andrew Bynum progressed rapidly this season, before going down with a knee injury in January. Assuming he fully recuperates, Bynum has shown the requisite skills to turn into a dominate post presence. Again, it?s no coincidence that the ascension of his game occurred simultaneously with the Lakers? improved standing in the Western Conference.

Portland?s Greg Oden could be the linchpin to the big man revival. If he fulfills his promise, then he and Bynum become instant rivals. Although L.A. and Portland play in separate divisions now, the two teams have had many great battles (1991 and 2000 Western Conference Finals being two of them). Both teams have talented, young rosters which seemed primed to be in playoff contention for the long-term. Of course, both team?s futures hinge, at least partially, on the knee recuperation’s of both players. Bynum?s has been explained. Oden had microfracture knee surgery before his NBA career began. His sophomore year will be his actual rookie year, so none of us really know how to evaluate his NBA game.

Nevertheless, the proliferation of young, talented back-to-the-basket centers is promising for the NBA. A little balance always helps sports leagues, and with number or young, talented perimeter players in the NBA, the rise of the big men is a welcome sight. Phoenix’s Shaq O?Neal and San Antonio?s Tim Duncan are have won eight of the last nine NBA titles. If Howard, Stoudemire, Jefferson, Bynum and Oden stay on the right rack, NBA teams will be carried by big men for years to come.



Comments

3 Responses to “Big Men Still Rule In The NBA”

  1. Russ Loede on March 12th, 2008 9:27 am

    I guess a guy that consistently puts up 22+ and 10+ a game to go along with a couple of assists and blocks is not considered among the best big men? One who spends the majority of his playing time in the post area dominating the offensive end is not one of the top big men? I see that you are dismissing the “truest” and most legitimate big man prototype of ‘em all?!?

    Thanks

    Yao

  2. Russ Loede on March 12th, 2008 9:44 am

    Big Men rule the paint in the NBA, but that’s it, not the overall game, that belongs to the Kobe’s and LeBron’s of the game, the guards so to say. With that being said, the game is changing to more of a faster, quicker, speedier up-tempo pace despite teams like the Suns adapting to the Spurs “bigger/tougher” stly of play.

    Where the game is decided the most is in the open court on fastbreaks with all these spectacular run ‘n jump athletes, that include the aforementioned “hybrid” PF/C’s. With PG’s like Chris Paul, Deron Williams, and others dictating the game with their outstanding/flashy play you have to embrace yourself for the Guards/Swingmen to DOMINATE the game and “rule” the NBA with the likes of KOBE and LEBRON leading the way, among others…

    The game has changed and there are no more HAKEEM’s, Shaq’s, Wilt’s, Lew’s (Alcindor), and Russell’s anymore, and the BEST big men left are either hurt way too often to make a difference/impact (YAO), can’t consistently play in the post against top-notch big men to be that “classic” dominate big guy (Amare), or they have no go-to-moves nor variety post moves like a HAKEEM, let alone a FT shot (DWIGHT Howard).

    Dwight is the BEST BIG in the Association right now and if he continues to get better he could win a couple of Championships, if of course he gets some pieces around him (depends on the Guards once again, esp. a PG for him) and improves his game in the Summer. The NBA has changed so that 1 dominate big guy cannot win a championship for his team, he needs Guards/Swingmen to make the “CLUTCH” shots under pressure, take over games, and get the job done, while he demands/draws double teams doing the dirty work.

    It’s a Guards league right now - but I don’t know if that’s a good thing and if it will last. With KOBE Bryant and LeBron James being the best players in the league, you could say it’s good for the league and I don’t mind it if those 2 are on the top going for titles during the next 5-7 years.

    You cannot say big men still rule the NBA whenwe don’t have enough well-rounded, balanced enough big guys that can control and take over a game at any given time, and it’s been that way since Shaq left the Lakers, Duncan/Robinson were w/ SA, and when The DREAM was with CLUTCH City back in the mid 90s for Houston. You see that Guards are getting the publicity, MVPs, and on top of that they are the most important pieces in the game 2day.

    Russ

  3. Kyle Stack on March 12th, 2008 12:11 pm

    In regards to your second comment, I agree that there are plenty of great wing players today. But here is some food for thought:

    The Celtics became a title contender again when they acquired KG. Now I understand he isn’t the prototypical post player in the mold of Ewing or Hakeem and I understand part of his impact stems from his intensity and leadership, traits he has passed on to the entire organization. But he is still a dominating defensive presence and rebounding force and has made that team tougher. Paul Pierce or Ray Allen couldn’t do that.

    The Lakers went from a solid playoff team with one of the two best players in the game (Kobe) to a possible title contender with the development of their Bynum, a prototypical center who rebounds and can receive the ball in the post. Once he went down, what did the Lakers do? They got Gasol. Again, I understand he isn’t a quintessential post player, but he still has post characteristics that have made the Lakers a frontrunner. He can run the pick and roll with Kobe, receive the ball near the basket, and with his length, he is disruptive near the basket on the defensive end.

    I love what McGrady is doing in Houston, but I’m afraid people are going to forget that the Rockets were already on a 12-game winning streak with Yao.

    Chris Paul is turning into a great player, but surely you can’t deny that the Hornets are a better team also because of Tyson Chandler’s growth. I realize Paul has been instrumental in Chandler’s development, but Paul needed a big man like Chandler to team with for the Hornets to rise in the standings.

    Portland was already a very talented team before drafting Greg Oden. They could have had Durant, but chose Oden instead for his defensive presence, rebounding skill, and physical toughness he would provide the team from his post underneath the basket.

    If you look at the past nine champions, four were won by the Spurs (obviously, Duncan was the center of that team), three by the Lakers (offense and defense focused around Shaq), one by the Heat (Shaq was important, but I admit Wade carried the team through those last 3 1/3 games of the Finals) and one by the Pistons (Ben Wallace was the heart and soul of that team and was the most intimidating defense force in the league, not to mention a great offensive rebounder).

    What I am getting at is when teams look to turn themselves into title contenders, they look to the post. Look at the great teams of the 80s. There were plenty of great running teams then, plenty of great wing players, but the teams that won championships had good, if not great, centers.

    Jordan was completely the exception to the rule. What LeBron is doing in Cleveland, taking his team to the Finals last year, is rare. Obviously Bron is a rare player. Kidd two years in Jersey and A.I. that year in Philly played out of this world. They couldn’t sustain that level of play for very long. They needed a dominating post guy, at least one with an outstanding defensive presence, if not all-around game, to win titles.

    Sorry for the rant, but I guess I didn’t say everything I needed to in my article.

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