Centers: The Dying Breed of Basketball

P.s. I’m totally aware it’s spelled Pau Gasol. =)

Don’t worry Mex, we know you know what you are doing. I say take it off to see how many people don’t get it.

Even if he disappoints, we still have that Paul Gasal guy, I hear he’s supposed to be o.K.

Good stuff.

although i might disagree with you a little bit. there are some quality big men; it’s just that today’s big superstars are perimeter players and point/combo guards. the only real superstar center is dwight, and he’s really nothing compared to the likes of olajuwon, ewing, robinson, and shaq of the 90s.

there are a handful of legitimate centers in this league today, but they are not of the superstar caliber, which i think you are trying to point out in your post. other than howard, we have bynum, andrew bogut, brook lopez, and chris kaman. these are the legitimate “centers” and not the power forwards who can play centers such as chris bosh, al horford, amar’e stoudemire, etc. etc.

But I have to argue about the heavy weight battles. The last good one was Bowe vs. Holyfield the trilogy in the 90’s.

Loved the boxing analogy (puertorricans sure love some boxing). Altough, maybe is not that the centers of today are less talented, maybe is because the “little guys” have evolved so much, combine with the rules and the speed of today’s game that makes it harder for the “big guys” to showcase their talent

He has plenty of time to learn arrogance and laziness. But for now, he plays with a main they call the Black Mamba, so he’s not allowed to get arrogant.

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don’t compare to the past. I think it is overblown the gulf between the number of big men. There has always been a shortage of them. We can sit here and talk about Wilt/Russell, but in reality who else was in the league at the time who dominated just as they did. In 50 years there have only been a handful of bigs you can look at as extremely skilled that were dominant at their position. Whats happened more or less is that wings have gotten much better/more athletic and rules have made it more friendly for them to drive so that they don’t have to worry about being punch and slapped and kicked and shoved in mid-air as defense. I don’t think thats a bad thing, but I think it has severely limited the big man who can still be crowded and punched and slapped and kicked because their size is supposed to make them immune to it. I think thats what we’re seeing here is that we have more big men who can be less effective because of the rules, but the number of solid big men if anything has always been a shortage.

I wouldn’t want to see a dirty league either. I wouldn’t want to see guys getting pushed in the air, that’s pretty frightening to get moved while you have no control of your body. However, like you said, a lot of times I see the big men today stepping aside so as to not have any contact with the smaller players who only have the nerve to go straight into a guy that has a hundred pounds on them because they know they’ll get the benefit of the whistle.

The idea is to push perimeter players to work on other things like shooting strokes and fundamentals to be able to succeed in the league and not just raw ability. If you’re playing against a center that you know does not allow easy lay-ups, chances are that more than likely you’re not going to want to drive. If you do, it’s his job to stand or jump in your way with his hands straight in the air and form a wall that you, as a smaller guy, are not going to blow through. If you make the decision to run into a wall, it’s your fault you fall hard and/or get injured.

The centers of today have been conditioned to be “nice” to the perimeter players because as I said before, those dunks and fast breaks look prettier than two men fighting for every inch under the rim. I think that part of the game is a bit subjective and since I never had the chance to experience it first hand, I feel like I missed out.

 I think there’s a balance that can be found between the current league and the past leagues that would make for an even more beautiful product on the floor. One where players learn the fundamentals of the game, learn the mechanics of a simple free-throw, learn the nuances of the game, and use that to become more efficient and creative on the floor. They say necessity is the mother of invention and in that sense I think it’s possible to have a league where the past meets the present somewhere in the middle and creates a better game. You can use Kobe as a prototype for what I’m talking about. The way he considers himself old-school, but mixes that up with new school ideas, it turns the game into an art and I think it would make it more fun to watch.

Great stuff. My favorite line was:

I give Dr. Jerry Buss an A+ for his forwards-by-going-backwards vision.

I believe that the 90"s was the last decade that physical players existed in the NBA. Since Malone is going to be inducted into the HOF NBA TV has been showing a special on him. OMG! That man was a beast and on top of that he had a sweet mid range Jumper which another lost art.