Author Topic: NBA big men are extinct  (Read 3422 times)

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NBA big men are extinct
« on: June 08, 2017, 08:17:36 AM »

Offline KGBirdBias

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Bron has finally met his match and last night handed the baton over to a different NBA...super teams with no centers...the big man is dead. So if you have guys like Howard, Jordan, Drummond they better be like Cousins, Davis and Embiid or you might as well dump them for more versatile players. So Bron is going to end up being 3-5 or eventually 3-7 in Finals unless he finds a great deal of talent.

I'm sure Dan Gilbert is telling him..."I want loyalty, I expect loyalty."

The Warriors just keep constant pressure on you not to make mistakes or have lapses in play. If not for Irving making incredible shots, it's a blowout. Bron is NASCAR, the Warriors are Formula One cars. They are an Indy car that goes 240mph on curves and take no pit stops for fuel. If you make a pit stop or take your foot off the gas, you are getting lapped. You end up asking yourself,  how are they never taking pit stops to refuel?

PS: There is only one team that won a game vs these two teams. 😏🙄 I'm just saying you have to find a silver lining in these pathetic playoffs.

Re: NBA big men are extinct
« Reply #1 on: June 08, 2017, 08:25:14 AM »

Offline Tr1boy

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Confused about your message

Cavs might have kicked themselves in the foot by not having a legit big man...

Not to play alot of mins but in certain circumstances (block shots)

Warriors still start pachulia. And against a team that has a big center...he plays more min

Dont forget about embiid, davis, towns....

Guys like valenciunas are slowly being phased out...but doesnt mean "big" players are extinct

Re: NBA big men are extinct
« Reply #2 on: June 08, 2017, 08:26:10 AM »

Offline RLewis35

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Bron has finally met his match and last night handed the baton over to a different NBA...super teams with no centers...the big man is dead. So if you have guys like Howard, Jordan, Drummond they better be like Cousins, Davis and Embiid or you might as well dump them for more versatile players. So Bron is going to end up being 3-5 or eventually 3-7 in Finals unless he finds a great deal of talent.

I'm sure Dan Gilbert is telling him..."I want loyalty, I expect loyalty."

The Warriors just keep constant pressure on you not to make mistakes or have lapses in play. If not for Irving making incredible shots, it's a blowout. Bron is NASCAR, the Warriors are Formula One cars. They are an Indy car that goes 240mph on curves and take no pit stops for fuel. If you make a pit stop or take your foot off the gas, you are getting lapped. You end up asking yourself,  how are they never taking pit stops to refuel?

PS: There is only one team that won a game vs these two teams. 😏🙄 I'm just saying you have to find a silver lining in these pathetic playoffs.

It appears that way, but is there any doubt that shaq would be just as dominant now? Perhaps more so if all teams weren't rostered with a true big who could at least try to muscle up Shaq.  Duncan was super effective through the end of his career.  I firmly believe Olajuwon and Ewing would also succeed in today's NBA. Maybe some of those guys have more effective three point shots than they did then bc of practice but I don't think the big man is dead.  He's evolving and it does seem, for whatever reason, we haven't seen a true dominant big man in the 80s/90s center mold in awhile. There will be another.

Re: NBA big men are extinct
« Reply #3 on: June 08, 2017, 08:41:51 AM »

Offline KGBirdBias

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How is any NBA team NOT giving Jerry West a $10-15M contract? How can the Lakers hire magic over West? If I'm the Clippers I'm giving West whatever he wants and dump Rivers from both roles ASAP. Bob Myers is the GM but I have to believe West being a consultant that he's more involved than many would think. If he keeps Myers away from bad deals and bad players that's all you need.

He built this team
Curry - #7 pick
Klay - #11 pick
Green - 2nd round pick
Iggy - Trade
Durant -FA

There is no pattern or formula that stands out, the man just knows how to create chemistry, understands where the game is going and has a great eye for talent.

Ainge has to get these next 2 drafts right. He's had 22 picks and no all-stars.

Re: NBA big men are extinct
« Reply #4 on: June 08, 2017, 08:54:28 AM »

Offline obnoxiousmime

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Actually I think GMs would be happy if they were "extinct." The problem is the opposite, they're ubiquitous but they have no role the way teams are playing now! Just kidding, I know what you meant to say.

This is why I don't understand the frequent posts here proposing deals for centers that aren't versatile enough to play against the good teams. First off, Horford is going to be playing center. What they need is a SF/PF that can defend 3/4/5, rebound a little, and hopefully shoot 3s or at least long 2s so our spacing isn't ruined. Basically, they need a LeBron, Draymond, Kawhi, Anthony Davis, Giannis, or young Millsap type. Yes, I realize the names I just listed are basically some of the most untouchable top players in the league.

We do need a competent traditional center sometimes, mostly for the regular season. However, to invest too much in one is a waste of resources considering he will not be able to get on the court for starter's minutes against a team like the Warriors. I'd rather sign a cheap backup center than pay a veteran market price these days.

So please no more proposals for guys like Jahlil Okafor, Alex Len, Deandre Jordan, Andre Drummond, Greg Monroe, etc. I would include Vucevic but he's actually on a cheap deal for only two years so I'd consider that depending on what we'd have to give up.


Re: NBA big men are extinct
« Reply #5 on: June 08, 2017, 09:10:45 AM »

Offline GreenCoffeeBean

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How is any NBA team NOT giving Jerry West a $10-15M contract? How can the Lakers hire magic over West? If I'm the Clippers I'm giving West whatever he wants and dump Rivers from both roles ASAP. Bob Myers is the GM but I have to believe West being a consultant that he's more involved than many would think. If he keeps Myers away from bad deals and bad players that's all you need.

He built this team
Curry - #7 pick
Klay - #11 pick
Green - 2nd round pick
Iggy - Trade
Durant -FA

There is no pattern or formula that stands out, the man just knows how to create chemistry, understands where the game is going and has a great eye for talent.

Ainge has to get these next 2 drafts right. He's had 22 picks and no all-stars.

Curry was drafted before Jerry West was involved in the team. Klay was drafted about a month after Jerry West joined. Larry Riley is the one usually credited with drafting Curry and Klay. It's basically been about a decade of front office excelelnce between West, Myers, and Riley.

Re: NBA big men are extinct
« Reply #6 on: June 08, 2017, 09:20:18 AM »

Offline indeedproceed

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The notion that big men in the NBA are extinct is an undeniable fallacy.

Big men in the NBA who aren't skilled are becoming extinct, but that's mostly true for all 5 positions. Are you a guard who can't shoot? Enjoy your 'should we trade this guy for a guy who can shoot' complimentary breakfast buffet card. Are you a traditional inside scoring and rebounding 4 who can't switch on a pick and roll and doesn't close out well? Well, you might carve out a bench role somewhere.

But big men who have the right skills are flourishing. Jokic. Porzingis. Gobert. And bigs who can defend multiple positions and can make the right play more often than not, and shoot a little, those guys are gold now.

Admittedly, the days of the plodding 5 who is a high usage guy that can't score outside of 10 feet and shoots 60% from the line and can't defend anyone out on the perimeter, those guys' roles are diminishing, even if their production is not. Greg Monroe is a great example of this.

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Re: NBA big men are extinct
« Reply #7 on: June 08, 2017, 10:29:16 AM »

Offline manl_lui

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How is any NBA team NOT giving Jerry West a $10-15M contract? How can the Lakers hire magic over West? If I'm the Clippers I'm giving West whatever he wants and dump Rivers from both roles ASAP. Bob Myers is the GM but I have to believe West being a consultant that he's more involved than many would think. If he keeps Myers away from bad deals and bad players that's all you need.

He built this team
Curry - #7 pick
Klay - #11 pick
Green - 2nd round pick
Iggy - Trade
Durant -FA

There is no pattern or formula that stands out, the man just knows how to create chemistry, understands where the game is going and has a great eye for talent.

Ainge has to get these next 2 drafts right. He's had 22 picks and no all-stars.

Curry was drafted before Jerry West was involved in the team. Klay was drafted about a month after Jerry West joined. Larry Riley is the one usually credited with drafting Curry and Klay. It's basically been about a decade of front office excelelnce between West, Myers, and Riley.

right, i would also like to add, we do have a great front office in Danny Ainge, but I hope he also hires better scouts so it can be more like GSW or the Spurs, a big chunk of their team are drafted by them, and i think that is more sustainable long term contract wise than just trying to sign max FA out right.

I really hope Danny nails the draft with Brown and this year's first, and i hope that kid will be Fultz, and also I hope we keep Smart for years to come

Re: NBA big men are extinct
« Reply #8 on: June 08, 2017, 10:32:30 AM »

Offline Evantime34

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The duties big men are responsible for have changed. So the big men archetype that was taught to most of us when we first learned about the game are extinct.

In today's league, big men need to be able to shoot the 3, protect the rim, and/or defend the perimeter. Bigs that can't do at least one of those things are becoming extinct.
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Re: NBA big men are extinct
« Reply #9 on: June 20, 2017, 09:30:35 PM »

Offline KGBirdBias

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Well when I wrote this a few weeks ago, it looks like it was right.

No one wants centers anymore...two of them dealt in one day....Lopez and Howard

Re: NBA big men are extinct
« Reply #10 on: June 20, 2017, 09:38:27 PM »

Offline Scintan

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If a Shaq, Chief, Kareem, or the like were available today, they'd be dominant players, and this talk about being extinct would be laughed at.  As to why we're not seeing those players, we haven't been seeing them for a while, and they were always a lot more rare than people's memories tell them.


When people are free to do as they please, they usually imitate each other.

Re: NBA big men are extinct
« Reply #11 on: June 20, 2017, 09:40:27 PM »

Offline Kuberski33

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The way the game is right now, if you're a 7 footer who's slow afoot and can't make 3's you'd best forget about playing professional basketball

Re: NBA big men are extinct
« Reply #12 on: June 20, 2017, 09:42:25 PM »

Offline mctyson

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The notion that big men in the NBA are extinct is an undeniable fallacy.

Big men in the NBA who aren't skilled are becoming extinct


Wasn't this really always the case though?

I think what we are seeing is a result of people doing a deep-dive into NBA history, both from the draft and from trades/free-agency, in looking at the worst picks and worst signings.

There is no doubt in my mind that there has been height bias in the NBA for decades.  Just look at Isaiah Thomas.  His production was probably far superior to most people drafted before him and playing more than him.  Yet even after scoring 30 pts a game this year and making 2nd team All NBA (basically top-10 player in the world) people still talk about his height.

Now that is an extreme example in a thread about big men but it is the same premise.  You get a college kid or even a high school kid who is tall and long and that is all you see.  You don't look at what he has actually done in games, whether he is any sort of athlete, whether he can survive the rigors of an 82 game season, etc...all you see is height.  And in basketball that is always presumed to be best trait.

Well, we have a game now that no longer needs that, where it has been proven that this isn't what necessarily wins championships.  However, that doesn't mean that an ELITE big man isn't the best prospect you can have.  I still think Anthony Davis is the best future player in the NBA and it is because he is tall and long, but also can do everything else.  That also means that he is rare and that teams cannot find another player like him, so they need to find another way. 

That's where we are today.

Re: NBA big men are extinct
« Reply #13 on: June 20, 2017, 10:29:50 PM »

Offline KGBirdBias

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Someone needs to tell the Pelicans...you can't win with two big men in this NBA. They would serve themselves to trade one (AD). I'm just saying :-)

Re: NBA big men are extinct
« Reply #14 on: June 20, 2017, 10:54:12 PM »

Offline liam

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How is any NBA team NOT giving Jerry West a $10-15M contract? How can the Lakers hire magic over West? If I'm the Clippers I'm giving West whatever he wants and dump Rivers from both roles ASAP. Bob Myers is the GM but I have to believe West being a consultant that he's more involved than many would think. If he keeps Myers away from bad deals and bad players that's all you need.

He built this team
Curry - #7 pick
Klay - #11 pick
Green - 2nd round pick
Iggy - Trade
Durant -FA

There is no pattern or formula that stands out, the man just knows how to create chemistry, understands where the game is going and has a great eye for talent.

Ainge has to get these next 2 drafts right. He's had 22 picks and no all-stars.

Rajon Pierre Rondo (born February 22, 1986) is an American professional basketball player for the Chicago Bulls of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He is a four-time NBA All-Star, and a four-time NBA All-Defensive Team member. He also led the NBA in steals during the 2009–10 season, and assists during the 2011–12, 2012–13 and 2015–16 seasons. He began his professional career with the Boston Celtics, winning an NBA championship in 2008. He ranks fourth in Celtic history in assists, and third in steals.[1] He briefly played for the Dallas Mavericks during the 2014–15 season before joining the Sacramento Kings in 2015 and the Chicago Bulls in 2016.