[festar35Participant]

It may just be me, but I feel the NBA big man has drastically changed again in the last few years.

Firstly we went away from the traditional low-post scorers, Jahlil Okafor is a prime example of this.
Now it appears those rim protecting, lob catching bigs are being becoming less desirable as well. I mean a few years ago the Dwight Howard was an absolute beast, you had Andre Drummond who was going to be the next great big with all the tools of Howard. Adams, Capela & Jordan are all good bigs, but they don’t offer shooting or playmaking that is required to be a reliable winning C in today’s game. Rudy Gobert is another, but due to his elite defensive abilities he is still an extremely valuable talent. Just being able to run end to end, protect the rim & guard the post is slowly becoming less of a requirement to be a C.

Look at guys like Jokic, Embiid & Horford who can shoot from outside as well as run the offense through them. Guys like Brook Lopez & Myles Turner who protect the rim well, but more importantly are good outside shooters on top of this.

I guess I’m asking will we see the Adams’, Capela’s & Jordan’s of the world dying out somewhat? What does this mean for the future of guys like Mitchell Robinson?

[The GoatParticipant]

If everyone starts standing around the 3 point line, these guys getting easy buckets inside will start becoming more playable again. I think big guys will always have value as long as they can defend. The way they play offense will only determine how many minutes they get if they are weak defensively.

[220Participant]

 The big athletic guys who can defend well aren’t likely to go away. Teams need someone who can try to defend guys like Jokic and Embiid. That being said they may not be the most desired players, but there are rarely many elite big men so teams have to get who they can get.

[sweaterflexParticipant]

I think to some extent you will see the salaries of Steven Adams and DeAndre Jordan types fall. I wouldn’t worry about Mitchell Robinson, as he has shown the necessary signs of being able to switch effectively. He and JJJ are more likely to be the best defensive centers of their generation as the effectiveness of pull up 3 point shooters like Harden and Curry make drop scheme centers less effective. 

Drummond has the athletic ability but has probably put on too much weight to ever switch effectively, and while his passing has improved, you wouldn’t run a top 10 offense through him. Capela has switched well at times, but was played off the floor this year and is more limited in other ways.

Ayton may have the lateral agility to switch, but his frame looks like he’ll add another ~25 pounds, he’s likely to be more valuable on the offensive end, reminds me of Brad Daugherty. Wendell Carter has better defensive instincts but has less agility, he will need to show Horford-like passing and shooting chops.

[celtics1982Participant]

 Your super slow guys like Greg Monroe are hard to play. Yet as teams go small bigs that can score and rebound are useful. Look at Nurkic, he isn’t a great athlete or very quick. Yet he can score, rebound, and defend the paint. There will always be a place for guys like him.

Still a place for guys like Howard and Jordan on the right team. First off they are getting old, talking more about players like them. Just not a ton of teams that have the fire power to play then big minutes. They don’t shoot or pass well, all their value is D and rebounding. At the minimum you’d want a guy that can shoot FTs well, something that has really hurt those guys. Your also seeing smaller line ups and more switching, something those guys don’t do well. So yea the new breed seems to be smaller, quicker, more athletic bigs. Yet then you run into trouble if a team has a big that can score down low.

I just think it will go in cycles, like look at the Finals both teams have traditional bigs, first time you can say that in what three years? 

The good teams will have both your traditional bigs and your small ball bigs. Frankly I want my Celtics to get a low post scorer to abuse the teams that don’t have bigs that can guard the paint. Like you can really mess with teams that go small if you have that. Look at Harrell on the Clippers, or a guy like Randle.

[KIP BallerParticipant]

 As teams start to go smaller I can see the traditional post scorer become more valuable especially if he has the skill to take advantage of smaller players and passing ability to set up 3’s. The biggest transition to the center position is their ability to defend switches onto guards for short stretches. No longer can they just sit in the paint, sag and defend the rim. 

[timinator1Participant]

you are talking about finding Centers or PF who are complete players, rather than one or two dimensional athletes. Unfortunately, those complete players don’t often come in 6’10-7’4" frames, so the coach that maximizes those bigs can still play them anytime they want.

Greg Monroe could play in a Princeton style offense like the Kings ran in the early 2000s, just no one is running that system. 

[celtics1982Participant]

 Greg Monroe is just too slow, no system can hide him on D. He even struggles to score and rebound in the post now because of the quicker more athletic players. He does his 15 second moves and guys strip him or he loses the ball. Guy just came into the league ten years too late.

[Memphis MadnessParticipant]

 Nic Claxton should probably be the first center drafted.  Can dunk, defend, block shots, handle the ball, and pass some. And had a great combine.

[The GoatParticipant]

I think the prototype center prospect you’ll see each year at the top of the lottery going forward is something resembling a 20 year old Al Horford (mobile, can defend and shoot) to once every 5 years getting an Embiid type monster. The other traditional back to the basket guys or straight up stretch 5s will still exist, they just will go lower cos they will project to play less minutes.

[Author]

Posts