It is very possible that the NBA has reached a point that truly elite, back-to-the-basket centers are no longer viable building blocks.
This is certainly not a new concept. Shaquille O’Neal, on multiple occasions, claimed that he was the last true center. A few players have come into the league to challenge that assessment—namely Andrew Bynum, Roy Hibbert, and Marc Gasol—but all fall short in one way or another.
Bynum is probably the closest player in today's NBA that plays like a traditional center utilizing a sophisticated, though oftentimes methodical post game. Well, that is when he actually plays. Bynum’s struggles with his knees are well documented and it remains a possibility that the big man misses the entire 2012-13 campaign.
Hibbert has struggled offensively this season shooting a pathetic 40 percent from the field thanks to a recently revealed wrist injury. But when he’s right, the 7’2, 275-pounder has an incredible short range game which includes a deadly hook shot with either hand. And he’s transformed himself into a defensive stalwart, anchoring the League’s stingiest defense.
Gasol has the size, girth, and skills to be a dominant offensive force down low, but he has instead crafted his game to be the glue that holds the Memphis Grizzlies together. Much like he did on the Spanish National Team, he has taken a back seat in the scoring department, instead, making it a point to guard the paint, facilitate on offense, and rebound.
That said, none are cornerstones for any franchise. Bynum's injuries make it impossible for a franchise to reliably build a team around him. Before his current knee issue, he was already half the athlete he had been earlier in his career, any further loss of athleticism will only exacerbate issues with his game I laid out before the season began.
Hibbert has learned how to ably anchor a team defensively, but because of his lack of mobility, he'll never be the transformative defensive presence that Tyson Chandler is. Likewise, Chandler, while historically one of the most efficient offensive players to ever play, is not the type of center who can consistently create offense for himself or for others.
As for Gasol, Gasol is a Gasol after all. Meaning, he has all the talent to be a franchise cornerstone (like his brother), but lacks that particular assholeness necessary to claim alpha dog status.
The other top big men in the league have all taken after the previous three in some shape or form. Al Jefferson is arguably the best offensive low post player in the Association, but his slow feet make him a liability on defense. Brook Lopez is another dynamic offensive player who struggles to defend due to a lack of lateral quickness and athleticism. Furthermore, neither player is considered a franchise player. No team can win with either of these guys as the centerpiece.
Bynum is probably the closest player in today's NBA that plays like a traditional center utilizing a sophisticated, though oftentimes methodical post game. Well, that is when he actually plays. Bynum’s struggles with his knees are well documented and it remains a possibility that the big man misses the entire 2012-13 campaign.
Hibbert has struggled offensively this season shooting a pathetic 40 percent from the field thanks to a recently revealed wrist injury. But when he’s right, the 7’2, 275-pounder has an incredible short range game which includes a deadly hook shot with either hand. And he’s transformed himself into a defensive stalwart, anchoring the League’s stingiest defense.
Gasol has the size, girth, and skills to be a dominant offensive force down low, but he has instead crafted his game to be the glue that holds the Memphis Grizzlies together. Much like he did on the Spanish National Team, he has taken a back seat in the scoring department, instead, making it a point to guard the paint, facilitate on offense, and rebound.
That said, none are cornerstones for any franchise. Bynum's injuries make it impossible for a franchise to reliably build a team around him. Before his current knee issue, he was already half the athlete he had been earlier in his career, any further loss of athleticism will only exacerbate issues with his game I laid out before the season began.
Hibbert has learned how to ably anchor a team defensively, but because of his lack of mobility, he'll never be the transformative defensive presence that Tyson Chandler is. Likewise, Chandler, while historically one of the most efficient offensive players to ever play, is not the type of center who can consistently create offense for himself or for others.
As for Gasol, Gasol is a Gasol after all. Meaning, he has all the talent to be a franchise cornerstone (like his brother), but lacks that particular assholeness necessary to claim alpha dog status.
The other top big men in the league have all taken after the previous three in some shape or form. Al Jefferson is arguably the best offensive low post player in the Association, but his slow feet make him a liability on defense. Brook Lopez is another dynamic offensive player who struggles to defend due to a lack of lateral quickness and athleticism. Furthermore, neither player is considered a franchise player. No team can win with either of these guys as the centerpiece.
There are also the defensive-minded bigs like Chandler, Omer Asik, and Joakim Noah. And while all of them contribute on the offensive end, Chandler and Noah in particular, none of them can carry an offense the way Patrick Ewing used to.
The rest of the elite big men in the league are either freak athletes (JaVale McGee, Andre Drummond, DeAndre Jordan) or are converted power forwards (Kevin Garnett, Tim Duncan, Chris Bosh).
And this is where the crux of my argument comes into play. Many teams are finding success with shorter, more agile players who excel at finishing and playing defense and are above anything else—versatile.
The rest of the elite big men in the league are either freak athletes (JaVale McGee, Andre Drummond, DeAndre Jordan) or are converted power forwards (Kevin Garnett, Tim Duncan, Chris Bosh).
And this is where the crux of my argument comes into play. Many teams are finding success with shorter, more agile players who excel at finishing and playing defense and are above anything else—versatile.
Take a look around the league at all of the top teams. The Miami Heat have been utilizing the 6’10 Bosh at center. The Clippers have two athletic marvels on their front line in Jordan and Blake Griffin. The Spurs have Duncan and Tiago Splitter. The surging Nuggets have McGee. The Thunder have Serge Ibaka. The Warriors are using the mobile and active Festus Ezeli and David Lee to great effect.
As I’ve written before, Hawks center Al Horford is the poster child for this movement. He has no skill set weakness and has formed a dynamic front court with Josh Smith for an Atlanta team that has surprised those who weren’t paying attention.
Athleticism, speed, quickness. These are all valued much higher in today’s NBA than sheer size, power, and post skills.
That’s how the Raptors have gone on a wild run since installing the 6’9 Amir Johnson and the 6’10 Ed Davis into their starting lineup (a lot of Jose Calderon distribution skills have assisted, as has a complete absence of Andrea Bargnani). That’s why Milwaukee’s big offseason addition, Samuel Dalembert, has been collecting cobwebs on the bench as the uber-athletic 6’10 Larry Sanders, the athletic 6’10 Epke Udoh, and the lengthy, springy 6’11 John Henson have sucked up all the front court minutes.
This outcome was inevitable really, with how the league has been trending towards speedy guards and with how those guards are given free reign to blow by defenders thanks to a long series of rules over the past 20 years that have changed the game.
Hand checking was eliminated in 1994. Using the forearm to defend players facing the basket was done away with in 1997. Two years later, the league eliminated contact by a defender with his hands and forearm both in the backcourt and frontcourt. In 2001, the league legalized zone defenses, but instituted the defensive three-second rule which prohibited big men from camping out in the paint away from their man. That same year, the league also put in place the five-second back-to-the-basket or “Mark Jackson Rule” which eliminated offensive players with the ball from posting up for longer than five seconds. In 2004, more rules were introduced to further prohibit hand-checking, clarify blocking fouls, and further identify defensive three second violations.
All of these new rules have cleaned up the hacking, mugging, and pro-wrestling-style basketball of the 90s that was not only unsightly (thanks Pat Riley for the Knicks and Heat), but increasingly became more dangerous for the high flyers. Check out the Spurs or Clippers and see how much more fluid and beautiful the game has become.
But along the way, there were some casualties. What these rules have also done is largely eliminate the low post game.
Many in the basketball world are marveling at the Association’s point guard revival, but the truth is, the rules that have been implemented over the past two decades have made it much easier to excel as a point guard.
And with how fouls are called today, it is much more important to have a mobile bigman who can show on the pick and roll (Anderson Verajao and Nick Collison are the best in the business) than it is to have a guy like Jefferson who can fake you out of your boots and drop 20, but who couldn’t show on a P&R to save his life.
Want to know why the Lakers have struggled the past few years? It’s not because Pau Gasol is a horrible player. Sure, he’s lost a bit of his star power as he’s aged, but there is still an all-star caliber player there. He’s ineffective because he’s being asked to play the power forward position.
In today’s NBA, Gasol’s gangly, sometimes clumsy movements are the opposite of well suited to guard perimeter shooters like Kevin Love, Ryan Anderson, and Kevin Garnett—let alone luminary athletes like Lebron James, Kevin Durant, and Carmelo Anthony, who have all excelled at playing the four this season.
Want to know why the Lakers have struggled the past few years? It’s not because Pau Gasol is a horrible player. Sure, he’s lost a bit of his star power as he’s aged, but there is still an all-star caliber player there. He’s ineffective because he’s being asked to play the power forward position.
In today’s NBA, Gasol’s gangly, sometimes clumsy movements are the opposite of well suited to guard perimeter shooters like Kevin Love, Ryan Anderson, and Kevin Garnett—let alone luminary athletes like Lebron James, Kevin Durant, and Carmelo Anthony, who have all excelled at playing the four this season.
No matter how athletic Howard is (and his athleticism is more Clark Kent this year than ever before), two guys who need the post simply can’t play together for long stretches. Especially when those two guys have a defensive turnstile like Steve Nash as their point guard.
In fact, the teams that have been trying to utilize a traditional center have all struggled this year. The Jazz, a pleasant surprise playoff team last season, are struggling with Jefferson as their focal point. Yes, they are sorely missing Mo Williams (or any kind of point guard), but the team gives up 10 more points with Jefferson on the court, then when he's sitting. The Nets with Lopez, Dallas with Chris Kaman, the Kings with DeMarcus Cousins.
I understand that these trends are not in a vacuum. The Nets have struggled because Deron Williams and Joe Johnson have been unable to acclimate themselves to each other. I understand the Mavs are just not well constructed. I understand that the Kings organization is probably the worst run in the NBA and has collected players with talent, but has failed to give them any sort of consistent direction.
That acknowleged, Lopez is being paid like a franchise player. The Mavs continue to give Kaman the second most shots on the team. And the Kings are desperately holding onto Cousins instead of trading away the headcase because of what he is capable of—like his 31-point, 20-rebound, 4-assist demolition of the Raptors last week.
It's a new world in the NBA today.
A world full of agile, athletic, mobile big men.
A world where the versatile Anthony Davis will someday be the type of center all other teams are trying to get.
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