Undersized Big Men

I am pretty much intrigued by these kinds of players playing well below their initial position… It shows that they have passion for the game no matter how small they are for their size… Take for example DeJuan Blair… Personally, I thought he looked good in a Bulls uniform but the Bulls decided not to take any risk knowing he doesn’t have ACL’s left… (I told you Chicago, he is going to be a monster!) There should be undersized big men in all teams because they bring that certain energy to your team… Isn’t it unusual that you mostly find them in the second rounds of the drafts? (probably except for Barkley) Here are some of the players that I take my hats off…

Carlos Boozer- 6’8 250 lbs… The former Blue Devil fell way behind the second round… Kinda funny because I always thought Booze was a monster down low… He showed it when he was with Cleveland and now he’s proving his case with the Jazz… A lot of teams should be coveting his services next season…

David Lee- A rebounding machine for the Knicks who plays at center despite his size of 6’9… Who cares? He can drop 20 and 15 on a guy 3 inches taller… He deserves some notice…

Ben Wallace-6’9 with afro but only 6’7 without it… The aging Defensive Player of the Year has slowed down but coming back to Motown allowed him to really get back on track and be a defensive force like his before..

Leon Powe- He has a sad story in the past but looking at him now, you got nothing but respect for the kid for how hard he worked just to get by his poverty. His performance with the Celtics was phenomenal… He’s definitely undersized at 6’6 and playing at the 4 spot, but his toughness is immeasurable… Proof of that was the 21 point output and a display of dunking barrage in Game 2 of the 2008 NBA Finals…

DeJuan Blair- How did this guy fall back at 37 in the 2009 NBA Draft? I always thought he has first round talent. A hardworking athlete who rebounds hard and I do mean hard… He’s 6’6 and 270 lbs but hard work allowed Blair to make it in the NBA. Not to mention his 28 and 21 against OKC and the 22 and 23 in the Rookie Game… 29 other teams have lot of explaining to do…

Paul Millsap- Oh boy… The Jazz sure like to collect undersized 4 right? They just signed Millsap to a 4 year $32 Million Dollar deal… When Boozer goes down, Millsap is there to fill the void doing what Boozer is supposed to do… He’s a guarantee back-up for Booze and could be a starter once Boozer fails to come back. At 6’7, 240 lbs, you gotta admire this double-double guy…

Brandon Bass- Bass took a hit this year. After a solid performance during his tenure with the Mavs, his numbers(and minutes) came tumbling down with the Magic but you can’t argue that when he’s on, he’s nearly unstoppable… His 6’7 physique is hard to pass up…

Glen Davis- 6’8 265 lbs playing at power forward position… Big Baby was a blessing in disguise for Boston during its KG-Pierce-Allen era… He comes off the bench and relieve their main guys… He is still a missing piece this year. He needs to come off quickly or else the C’s are in trouble…

Craig Smith- He’s a Rhino… This 6’7 280 lbs mastodon usually is the strongest guy on the court. He’s not a freak athlete but he’s a hard worker which makes up for the lack of athleticism…

Carl Landry- Wow… I never expect Landry to be traded from Houston because he has been such a factor… A big time rebounding demon who, despite his 6’9 size, can play among the seven footers… He’s strutting his stuff in Sacramento now which should be good for the Kings…

PS: Contribute other players I forgot to mention…

Charles Barkley is probably the greatest undersized big man of all time…