Is Marcus Camby underrated or overrated (or neither?)

[EarthBall]

Random topic here (which I am usually known for):

Is Marcus Camby underrated or overrated?

I've debated over this question for years, but for the life of me, I cannot come up with an answer.

He puts up a unique set of statistics. Great at rebounding and blocking shots. Not a good scorer, but not horrible at free throw shooting for a big man (percentage in the low 70s the last 6 years, but he doesn't go to the line that often). He's like a poor man's Ben Wallace or Dikembe Mutumbo (or is he pretty comparable to these players?).

But he's had the injury bug his whole career (only played 70 or more games in a season 3 times). And he played on some really bad teams in Toronto, New York, Denver and now LA. He was on the good Knick teams in the late 90s, but he was a backup.

I think he is overrated because of his impact on fantasy teams.  He is picked 30th on average in ESPN fantasy leagues, yet no way is he the 30th best NBA player. In fact, he's never made an all-star team.

But he may be underrated because he may be one of the top 5 defenders in the league. He's been on the all-defensive team the last 4 years. Since defense doesn't get as much love as offensive, his game seems overlooked. Also, he seems to be more effective as a complementary player to a superstar or two (like what he had in Denver over the last few years). Since he has been on really bad teams over the years, maybe his career hasn't been what it could have been.

So if his career ended today, how would you think of Camby?   

[Redz]

His finest achievement still came in college (on the court).

[cornbreadsmart]

i view him as a perennial  all star level player whether he makes that 12 man cut or not.

[Donoghus]

This will definitely be an interesting debate.

     I guess it depends on what your expectations have been for him.  Coming out of UMASS and being the 2nd overall pick, the expectations were quite high for Camby.  IMO, I thought he underachieved in Toronto.  In my own eyes, I thought he could've been better than he was.  He had a great playoff run for the Knicks in '99 and was a huge part of why they even made it to the Finals.  Besides that Finals run, I'd say his days were mediocre.

     You also start having to point at his injury troubles when discussing his career. Look at the early part of this decade, Camby only played in 29 games in back to back seasons.  I think, at that point, a lot of people wrote off Camby.  I certainly didn't anticipate him going on for another 6 years and counting.

     My expectations for him have definitely been toned down for the better part of his days in Denver.  This is when I think he developed a bit of a rejuvenation. He's stayed on the floor more consistently and turned into a great defender and rebounder.  At this point, though, he's a roleplayer and as long as he's that, I think he's doing fine.

     So I guess to answer the question, in the early part of his career Camby underachieved in my eyes.  In the latter part of his career, my expectations for him dropped and he's seemed to take on the persona of a solid roleplayer.  In that aspect, if he's healthy, he's meeting my expectations.  I don't see him being overrated, perhaps, slightly underrated.

[cordobes]

Incredibly overrated as a defender, especially in the past 2 years or so. Not even close to all-defensive team material, particularly as a low post 1on1 defender. But also his screen/roll defense, that used to be one of the bests in the game, has been mediocre for a while.

Yeah, reading this thread with everybody calling him a great defender, I'd say he's very overrated.

[Who]

Grossly overrated

Camby is a slightly above average defensive player who should never have been mentioned for a All-Defensive team, nevermind win DpoY which was an utter disgrace. He was the fourth best post defender amongst Denver's four bigs last season. He was their worst screen and roll defender (awful). His help defense outside of weak side shotblocking was ordinary. His one-on-one defense was poor. He did one good thing on the defensive end and it's valuable .... but too many holes elsewhere to ever be mentioned as a All-Defensive player. Camby is what I'd call a selfish defensive player, he'd rather play for a block than make the simple defensive play that works out far more often.

Camby's rebounding is also overrated because he never boxes out. He gets fantastic individual rebounding numbers but so do his opponents, and his team gets nowhere near the advantage you'd expect by looking at his individual rebounding stats. How many times in the last 6 or so years has Camby's team even had a positive rebounding differential? He had good help in Denver, and now in LAC, too.

Offensively, over the last few years, he's become a shadow of himself. He's been better so far this season but I'm going to wait and see if his decision making holds up, or whether he falls back into those awful habits he developed in Denver. Such as (1) His instance on taking low percentage jumpshots hurts his efficiency in a big way. (2) His lack of cutting in the halfcourt, and lack of running in the open court, have limited his easy hoops.

Since he doesn't move in the halfcourt and can't hit jumpshots at a high enough clip, and since he stands at the high post instead of going inside, he's very easy to defend and to help off of, making life more difficult for his teammates.

So from a reputation standpoint, I think Camby is grossly overrated. From a contract standpoint he's in the right ballpark.

I think Camby played his best seasons in NY. I think he's been declining since then. It's unfortunate he only really had one season as a starter there. What Camby was as a defensive player under JVG was special ... but that was a long time ago and before he let his defensive skills slip so badly.

[cordobes]

hehehe... I endorse Who's spanking of Camby.

IMO, Camby's defensive prowess was very reliant on his quickness and extraordinary agility for a big man. Once he started to slip on that department, he was done as a top defender.

[wdleehi]

He went from being underrated to being overrated because of the lack of perimeter defense that was being played in Denver.  It allowed him to got shot block crazy.

[indeedproceed]

He's def not underrated.

[moiso]

His rebounding is great.  That can't be argued.  But, yes, he is an overrated defender because he blocks a lot of shots, but he can really be pushed around, and he really doesn't stay between the offensive player and the hoop.

[jambr380]

All I know is I am always amazed at his stats (especially rebounding) at the end of the night. I always picture him as a Patrick O'Bryant type, but his stats are off the chart. Maybe he isn't the best team defender, but he sure has sick stats.

[celticmaestro]

He went from being underrated to being overrated because of the lack of perimeter defense that was being played in Denver.  It allowed him to got shot block crazy.