This topic contains 18 replies, has 7 voices, and was last updated by AvatarAvatar mopo 8 years, 8 months ago.

  • Author
    Posts
  • #60672
    AvatarAvatar
    ChicagoCasey
    Participant

    All I’ve been hearing the past two months is how the NBA has officially changed and it’s no need for a center because it’s all about the " small ball movement ". Ever since the Golden State Warriors won the championship the topic of conversation has been about the small ball movement. Now every " expert " and sports media sites now writing how teams should ditch centers and follow the Golden State fomula to win the championship, I would say why?

    Let’s go back to the playoffs and play a game of "what if". What if Mike Conley and Tony Allen been healthy the entire series versus the Warriors and they would’ve beaten the Warriors. Would the national media being claiming everybody should go small ball because it’s the only way now that you can win. I would say nope. The national media and fans would be claiming that " you can’t win with just being a jump shooting team " and " you need a big man to win a championship ". That ‘s all what if’s though. 

    You have to win with your own style of play and you can have a dominant big man and still be a successfull team in the league. You don’t have to follow the trend to be successfull because trends change. 

    This discussion is one of the main reasons that I believe the 76ers have a steal in Jahlil Okafor. Simply because I believe will be a dominate post player that creates easy buckets for his teammates and the fact that he will command a double team. 

    This who thing about the "  New NBA " wouldn’t even be a discussion if a series happen to have a different outcome.

     

     

     

     

    0
  • #995394
    AvatarAvatar
    Memphis Madness
    Participant

     Red Aurbach started the "New NBA" when he acquired the athletic freak Bill Russell to block shots, rebound, and defend his way to a dynasty.

    Maybe that is what they hope Nerlens Noel can be.  Or even a poor man’s version of Bill Russell.  Let Okafor score and box out like a modern day Don Nelson.  

    Mobile, athletic centers have won titles. Not only Bill Russell, but also a young Wilt, young Kareem, healthy Walton, Hakeem, and David Robinson.  Or, take the bruising big approach with Okafor like George Mikan, old Wilt, Willis Reed, Moses Malone, Shaq, and Tim Duncan.  

    Embiid gives you the promise of a Twin Towers approach like the Rockets finalist, the Spurs title winners, or the 3 headed big man squad of the ’86 Celtics.  

     

    0
  • #995251
    AvatarAvatar
    Memphis Madness
    Participant

     Red Aurbach started the "New NBA" when he acquired the athletic freak Bill Russell to block shots, rebound, and defend his way to a dynasty.

    Maybe that is what they hope Nerlens Noel can be.  Or even a poor man’s version of Bill Russell.  Let Okafor score and box out like a modern day Don Nelson.  

    Mobile, athletic centers have won titles. Not only Bill Russell, but also a young Wilt, young Kareem, healthy Walton, Hakeem, and David Robinson.  Or, take the bruising big approach with Okafor like George Mikan, old Wilt, Willis Reed, Moses Malone, Shaq, and Tim Duncan.  

    Embiid gives you the promise of a Twin Towers approach like the Rockets finalist, the Spurs title winners, or the 3 headed big man squad of the ’86 Celtics.  

     

    0
  • #995406
    AvatarAvatar
    NBAexpert82
    Participant

     You need a rim protector, an allstar point guard or facilitator, a second star and a shooter.

    for example the Clippers: rim protector- d. Jordan, facilitator- c. Paul, second star-b. Griffin, and shooter-j.j. Reddick.

    no matter what trends occur from year to year this is what you need now in the NBA. 

     

     

    0
  • #995263
    AvatarAvatar
    NBAexpert82
    Participant

     You need a rim protector, an allstar point guard or facilitator, a second star and a shooter.

    for example the Clippers: rim protector- d. Jordan, facilitator- c. Paul, second star-b. Griffin, and shooter-j.j. Reddick.

    no matter what trends occur from year to year this is what you need now in the NBA. 

     

     

    0
    • #995411
      AvatarAvatar
      ChicagoCasey
      Participant

       I didnt know you had the blue print to building a championship team.

      0
    • #995268
      AvatarAvatar
      ChicagoCasey
      Participant

       I didnt know you had the blue print to building a championship team.

      0
  • #995417
    AvatarAvatar
    Bed Head
    Participant

    Whether the trend towards "small ball" represents some sorta seismic shift or just, like, a blip on the radar screen. (See what I did there?) Though I do think the increased value GMs place on versatility (to create more "diverse" lineups) will definitely continue into the future.

    Wait, Don Nelson played in the NBA?! Seriously? The same dude who coached the Mavs? Wow. He must have really let himself go. Because his physique doesn’t exactly scream "former professional athlete". In fact, he’s kinda built like Boris Yeltsin*, actually.

    * RIP

     

     

     

    0
  • #995274
    AvatarAvatar
    Bed Head
    Participant

    Whether the trend towards "small ball" represents some sorta seismic shift or just, like, a blip on the radar screen. (See what I did there?) Though I do think the increased value GMs place on versatility (to create more "diverse" lineups) will definitely continue into the future.

    Wait, Don Nelson played in the NBA?! Seriously? The same dude who coached the Mavs? Wow. He must have really let himself go. Because his physique doesn’t exactly scream "former professional athlete". In fact, he’s kinda built like Boris Yeltsin*, actually.

    * RIP

     

     

     

    0
  • #995427
    AvatarAvatar
    Rip255

     The new NBA isn’t really that complicated….It’s really 3 main things

    Way more 3’s

    Way more Pick & Roll action (and less post-ups)

    Versatile defenders who can guard multiple positions.

    Unfortunately, Okafor cant contribute in any of those areas. 

    He’d be a crappy roll man, cant space the floor, and cant guard anyone. So what’s to love here?

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    0
  • #995284
    AvatarAvatar
    Rip255

     The new NBA isn’t really that complicated….It’s really 3 main things

    Way more 3’s

    Way more Pick & Roll action (and less post-ups)

    Versatile defenders who can guard multiple positions.

    Unfortunately, Okafor cant contribute in any of those areas. 

    He’d be a crappy roll man, cant space the floor, and cant guard anyone. So what’s to love here?

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    0
    • #995433
      AvatarAvatar
      ChicagoCasey
      Participant

      I don’t why you said " he would be a pretty crappy roll man " because he was exeptional at that at Duke. He completed over 97% in PnR there so I don’t know why he would be crappy. I know because the media only talk about his post ups and not his all around game. They don’t really talk about his PnR offense and his jump shot from about 10-15 ft. So many don’t believe he have that in his game.

      There’s a lack of post up attempts because there’s no one who can post up, Memphis post up because they got 2 post up players, Houston who offense basically is three pointers and PnR throw it down. Teams that don’t post up do not have nobody to throw it down to. San Antonio play big and they still throw it down to Tim Duncan. Guess what? They won the championship last year. 

      You said Okafor doesn’t fit in with the NBA going with more 3’s. I would say that Okafor does help that mostly because he will draw tons of double teams that would get 3 point shooters open. See Dwight Howard when he was with the Orlando  Magic. He force teams to double and opened up the Magic 3 point shooters they made it to the finals.

      And you can learn how to play defense. Ask Marc Gasol

       

       

       

      0
    • #995290
      AvatarAvatar
      ChicagoCasey
      Participant

      I don’t why you said " he would be a pretty crappy roll man " because he was exeptional at that at Duke. He completed over 97% in PnR there so I don’t know why he would be crappy. I know because the media only talk about his post ups and not his all around game. They don’t really talk about his PnR offense and his jump shot from about 10-15 ft. So many don’t believe he have that in his game.

      There’s a lack of post up attempts because there’s no one who can post up, Memphis post up because they got 2 post up players, Houston who offense basically is three pointers and PnR throw it down. Teams that don’t post up do not have nobody to throw it down to. San Antonio play big and they still throw it down to Tim Duncan. Guess what? They won the championship last year. 

      You said Okafor doesn’t fit in with the NBA going with more 3’s. I would say that Okafor does help that mostly because he will draw tons of double teams that would get 3 point shooters open. See Dwight Howard when he was with the Orlando  Magic. He force teams to double and opened up the Magic 3 point shooters they made it to the finals.

      And you can learn how to play defense. Ask Marc Gasol

       

       

       

      0
  • #995333
    AvatarAvatar
    Illadelph
    Participant

     Over the last few years, the NBA has made some rule changes which favor offensive players and contribute to the rise of the "New NBA".  For example outlawing hand-checkingin 1994, and then banning the use of the forearm 1997, etc…  The old physical, big man dominant NBA is a thing of the past.  People who keep harping on how Jahlil Okafor is god, and the future, and everything else just don’t understand that the NBA of 2015 is different from the NBA of 1995.  

    Nowadays, the game is tilted toward a fast-moving offense, that attacks, or one that shoots a ton, or both.  The three point shot is all the rage because… well… you can score 50% more points than a two point shot.  More points per possession means more points per game and that means more wins.  Pretty simple.  Passing to a "traditional", or "throwback" center like Okafor as a main strategy is not going to win you a championship.  The age of the dominant center is over because defenses cannot beat up the guards anymore with suffocating hand checks and forearms.  Good shooters are getting lots of clean looks and that has changed the game.  It is now a guard’s game with a good center being the supporting cast.  If anything, the center is more valued as a rim protector than a scorer a la WCS. 

    0
    • #995585
      AvatarAvatar
      mopo
      Participant

      Having an unguardable player, at any position, gives coaches a massive advantage. The Warriors can drive defenses crazy because nobody can guard Steph. The Heat were able to take advantage of LeBron being unguardable for a pair of titles. 

      A post player who needs to be doubled means someone’s open. Surround with shooters and pick your poison

       

      0
    • #995442
      AvatarAvatar
      mopo
      Participant

      Having an unguardable player, at any position, gives coaches a massive advantage. The Warriors can drive defenses crazy because nobody can guard Steph. The Heat were able to take advantage of LeBron being unguardable for a pair of titles. 

      A post player who needs to be doubled means someone’s open. Surround with shooters and pick your poison

       

      0
  • #995476
    AvatarAvatar
    Illadelph
    Participant

     Over the last few years, the NBA has made some rule changes which favor offensive players and contribute to the rise of the "New NBA".  For example outlawing hand-checkingin 1994, and then banning the use of the forearm 1997, etc…  The old physical, big man dominant NBA is a thing of the past.  People who keep harping on how Jahlil Okafor is god, and the future, and everything else just don’t understand that the NBA of 2015 is different from the NBA of 1995.  

    Nowadays, the game is tilted toward a fast-moving offense, that attacks, or one that shoots a ton, or both.  The three point shot is all the rage because… well… you can score 50% more points than a two point shot.  More points per possession means more points per game and that means more wins.  Pretty simple.  Passing to a "traditional", or "throwback" center like Okafor as a main strategy is not going to win you a championship.  The age of the dominant center is over because defenses cannot beat up the guards anymore with suffocating hand checks and forearms.  Good shooters are getting lots of clean looks and that has changed the game.  It is now a guard’s game with a good center being the supporting cast.  If anything, the center is more valued as a rim protector than a scorer a la WCS. 

    0
  • #995367
    AvatarAvatar
    apb540
    Participant

    Basketball is awesome because eight teams from each conference make the playoffs after 82 games and each series is best-of-seven. So in a vacuum (no injuries, suspsensions, my-knee-hurts-because-I-beat-my-kids-type situations, etc.) the best team always comes out on top. It doesn’t matter what style you play, just as long as you do it better than the 29 other teams do their style of play.

    Don’t forget how cyclical the NBA, sports, and life in general, is. The NBA has been at a point in a cycle where there are no dominanat big men in the likes of Hakeem, Shaq, or even the loser I referenced in the previous paragraph in his early days with the Magic. The days of having 7 foot brusing white dudes as backup centers is gone, thankfully, but that doesn’t mean that you can’t win with a big man as your best player.

     

    0
  • #995511
    AvatarAvatar
    apb540
    Participant

    Basketball is awesome because eight teams from each conference make the playoffs after 82 games and each series is best-of-seven. So in a vacuum (no injuries, suspsensions, my-knee-hurts-because-I-beat-my-kids-type situations, etc.) the best team always comes out on top. It doesn’t matter what style you play, just as long as you do it better than the 29 other teams do their style of play.

    Don’t forget how cyclical the NBA, sports, and life in general, is. The NBA has been at a point in a cycle where there are no dominanat big men in the likes of Hakeem, Shaq, or even the loser I referenced in the previous paragraph in his early days with the Magic. The days of having 7 foot brusing white dudes as backup centers is gone, thankfully, but that doesn’t mean that you can’t win with a big man as your best player.

     

    0

You must be logged in to reply to this topic. Login