Quality of NBA big men

[big daddy russ]

Shaq's a shell of his former self. Duncan and Garnett might break hips before the playoffs are over. Dirk's still good. Amare is the Shawn Marion of big men--no true offensive game but benefits from being a freak who plays with a PG good enough to exploit his natural advantages. Bosh is a big man version of Dominique Wilkins--a perennial All-Star who'll never be the centerpiece of a contender. Pau Gasol is Bosh with a Kobe.

The only franchise bigs in the NBA today are Dirk and Dwight Howard.

Sow long before the NBA's shortage of quality big men ends? Will we ever get back to the quality of big men we saw back in the 80's and 90's? Thoughts?

[icu812]

Originally posted by big daddy russ
Shaq's a shell of his former self. Duncan and Garnett might break hips before the playoffs are over. Dirk's still good. Amare is the Shawn Marion of big men--no true offensive game but benefits from being a freak who plays with a PG good enough to exploit his natural advantages. Bosh is a big man version of Dominique Wilkins--a perennial All-Star who'll never be the centerpiece of a contender. Pau Gasol is Bosh with a Kobe.

The only franchise bigs in the NBA today are Dirk and Dwight Howard.

Sow long before the NBA's shortage of quality big men ends? Will we ever get back to the quality of big men we saw back in the 80's and 90's? Thoughts?

I wouldn't call Dirk's game "big" as he doesn't have much of a post up game and can't defend. Howard is only a great defensive big. Amare is better than he gets credit for but I agree no truly great bigs like in the 80's & 90's.

[LE Dad]

I thought Oden could possibly be the begging of a new era of big men, but he, thus far, is a major bust. I think Howard is the only true post up and shove down your throat big man in the league. I think the game has changed and passed the bigs by. Teams are using 6' 8" guards who are getting continuation from the top of the key and are allowed to pick up their dribble without fear of traveling being called. I hope the bigs come back to play, but I don't think it's gonna happen.

[Astrosdawg07]

Yao

[Z-RO]

Originally posted by Astrosdawg07
Yao

is horrible

[venomous tat2]

When Yao comes back if he's healthy he is the closest thing to a great post . And ya'll have to understand the game has changed in the last 20 years . The style of play for the big man has changed , teams use to start their offenses with the big man now they seem to start with the wing /small forward . 20 years ago and longer big men were just that big and not real fast but Hakeem changed that with his speed and versatility and there are not too many big men that have the whole package like he did .

[big daddy russ]

Originally posted by icu812
I wouldn't call Dirk's game "big" as he doesn't have much of a post up game and can't defend. Howard is only a great defensive big. Amare is better than he gets credit for but I agree no truly great bigs like in the 80's & 90's.
I'd agree with all that, but Dirk "technically" plays a hybrid forward position that leans more towards a post game (similar to KG's old spot with the Wolves, but with added range, less defense, and less rebounding ability).

I've said for a long time that Howard is David Robinson without an offensive game. Still, he's the only legit big man today.

I'd agree with the Amare comment, but would he average 20 per game on the Heat? Still, maybe the third- or fourth-best big today.



Originally posted by Astrosdawg07
Yao
I'm holding off judgment on Yao until he comes back. Injuries like this have a funny effect on careers. Ask Grant Hill and Brad Daugherty.

[eagles_victory]

Originally posted by LE Dad
I thought Oden could possibly be the begging of a new era of big men, but he, thus far, is a major bust. I think Howard is the only true post up and shove down your throat big man in the league. I think the game has changed and passed the bigs by. Teams are using 6' 8" guards who are getting continuation from the top of the key and are allowed to pick up their dribble without fear of traveling being called. I hope the bigs come back to play, but I don't think it's gonna happen. Biggest misconceptions of the NBA in the end of this post. Continuation is called correctly 90 percent of the time you must not know the rule. Traveling has been called several times throughout this playoffs do they miss it sometimes sure but it is not near as bad as the sterotype that is out there.

[TheDOCTORdre]

Howard is the only one and will prolly be the only one for a while

[Farmersfan]

Originally posted by big daddy russ
Shaq's a shell of his former self. Duncan and Garnett might break hips before the playoffs are over. Dirk's still good. Amare is the Shawn Marion of big men--no true offensive game but benefits from being a freak who plays with a PG good enough to exploit his natural advantages. Bosh is a big man version of Dominique Wilkins--a perennial All-Star who'll never be the centerpiece of a contender. Pau Gasol is Bosh with a Kobe.

The only franchise bigs in the NBA today are Dirk and Dwight Howard.

Sow long before the NBA's shortage of quality big men ends? Will we ever get back to the quality of big men we saw back in the 80's and 90's? Thoughts?




Dirk is not a big. His skill set makes him a hard cover for other teams because he can beat the bigs and shoot over the smalls. but the reverse is also true. Dirk can't defend the bigs nor can he defend the smaller players. I am beginning to see that his defensive liability is greater than his offensive contribution. Especially how he effects his fellow players. The greatest defensive player in the league would soon become a jump shooter if allowed to play with Dirk any significant time.

[LE Dad]

Originally posted by eagles_victory
Biggest misconceptions of the NBA in the end of this post. Continuation is called correctly 90 percent of the time you must not know the rule. Traveling has been called several times throughout this playoffs do they miss it sometimes sure but it is not near as bad as the sterotype that is out there. Continuation will be correctly called when it is called equally for all players. Today it is who you are that gets you that call.