In our third and final NBA installment of Witnessing
Greatness for 2012, were going to talk about (literally) the biggest position
in major American professional team sports, the centers. As the league has
evolved to an inside-out offensive league, with the rules more favorable toward
speed, agility, and finesse over physical play than in years past, the dominant
big man is a shrinking breed.
During the heydays of Hall of Famers Hakeem Olajuwon,
Patrick Ewing, David Robinson and future Hall of Famer Shaquille O’Neal, the
NBA always had a half dozen or more dominant, game-changing centers. Today,
there are two (true) centers meeting that description: Dwight Howard of the
Orlando Magic, and Andrew Bynum of the Los Angeles Lakers. Everyone else at the
5 position is just a big utility player more valued for defense than offense.
Here are our future, possible, and aspiring Hall of Fame NBA
centers.
SLAM DUNK
Tim Duncan, F/C, San Antonio Spurs
Though not a true center over the course of his career,
Duncan filled the role in a dominant manner in part-time relief of and
(eventually) full-time replacement of David Robinson. Today, Duncan primarily
plays the 4 position, with undersized but overpowering DeJuan Blair assuming
the primary center duties. However, as suggested in the "forwards" installment of Witnessing Greatness, Duncan would be evaluated as a center.
That said, other than Kobe Bryant, there is not a more
bulletproof projection for the Hall among active players than Duncan. Two
league MVP awards (2002-2003), four NBA championships (1999, 2003, 2005, 2007),
three Finals MVP awards, 13 All-Star Game appearances, NINE TIME first team All-NBA member…very
little brainpower will be needed when voting on Duncan for the Hall.
Duncan, at age 36, is slowing down. In 2012, he failed to
make the All-Star Team for the first time in his career, snapping a streak of
13 consecutive All-Star Game appearances going back to his rookie season.
Still, his position among his peers is impeccable. Duncan is the NBA’s active
career leader in blocked shots, second among active players in career rebounds,
third in total career field goals made, and fourth in career free throws made.
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| How do you stop a seven foot guy who can make that fadeaway? |
ON TRACK
Dwight Howard, Orlando Magic
Eight years into a brilliant NBA career, Dwight Howard is on
the streets paved of gold to Springfield, Massachusetts. While Howard’s trade
demand drama has dominated the sports headlines over the past year and possibly
soiled his brand, his value on the court is unquestionable.
Prior to 2012, Howard never missed more than four games in a
season, with “perfect attendance” of 82 games played in five of his eight NBA
seasons. He averages 18 points, 13 rebounds, two blocked shots and a steal per
game for his career, and his rebound numbers are improving, eight years in.
Howard, an Eastern Conference champion in 2009, has appeared
in the last six NBA All-Star games and is a three time NBA Defensive Player of
the Year (2009-2011). He is actively riding a string of five consecutive
Associated Press First Team All NBA awards.
Howard will probably not play for Orlando this season and
certainly will not be in 2014. At the moment, his probable destination is the Houston
Rockets, with the Brooklyn Nets and Los Angeles Lakers being longshots to land
his services this coming season. Howard
is on a Hall of Fame track but is bound to have a plethora of distractions
regarding his long-term future in the coming months.
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| It's just a cape. He isn't really flying. 2 |
POSSIBLE BRIDESMAIDS
Pau Gasol, F/C, Los Angeles Lakers
It is tough for me to put Pau in this category because I
have been a big fan ever since he was traded to the Lakers from the Memphis
Grizzlies in 2008. Averaging 19 points, nine rebounds, three assists, and two
blocked shots per night for his career, Gasol is as steady, consistent, and
reliable a big man as there is in the league.
Gasol is no longer a “true” center, as Andrew Bynum has assumed
those duties all but full time. But he has played the majority of the minutes
of his career as a center and will likely be used as such once he and Bynum are
no longer on the same team (which appears to be more probable with each passing
day). Hence, I will include him in the big men’s discussion.
Gasol is a two-time NBA Champion (2009-2010) and a four-time
All-Star. He is also 10th in rebounds per game among active NBA
players with a minimum of 5,000 career rebounds. Gasol’s hurdles for the Hall
can be broken down into two categories: limited individual achievements and
negative intangibles.
Gasol has never dominated in any major statistical category,
in spite of being “very good” to “irreplaceable to his team” with his
contributions. He has never been in the MVP discussion. He can make a jumper
from anywhere on the court but has never been lethal to the opposing team from
the field or the line. In short, he has walked the line of greatness, but never
clearly crossed it.
Gasol also has a streakiness about him that extends beyond
the box score. There have been critical moments in key games, particularly
during the last two seasons, in which his head does not seem to have been
completely in the game. This is perplexing, considering that the Lakers do not
win three consecutive Western Conference Championships without Gasol and
considering that Gasol in an 11 year veteran. If this pattern continues, it
will stick in the mind of Hall of Fame voters and delay or deny Gasol’s bid for
the Hall.
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| Boom, boom, PAU! 3 |
FUTURE HOPEFULS
Andrew Bynum, Los Angeles Lakers
It sounds odd to describe a seven year veteran as someone
with a “bright future”. However, Bynum entered the NBA out of high school at
age 18 and did not start the majority of his team’s games until he his fourth
year in the NBA. Since then, his star has risen up…up…up!
Like Dwight Howard, Bynum has also suffered from the public
perception of a maturity deficit. What he does not suffer from is a performance
deficit. Bynum is coming off of the best season of his career (19 PPG, 12 RPG,
2 BlkPG). A 7’0” center who can drill a 16 foot jumper, Bynum is an absolute
nightmare to opposing defenses when he is dialed in.
“When he is dialed in” is Bynum’s only Achilles heel. Most
of the time, Bynum is dialed in. However, the times he has not had his head in
the game have often come when the spotlight is brightest, such as playoff games
or the fourth quarter of nationally televised regular season games against high
profile opponents.
Still, lost in the media clouds of criticism is that 2012
was far and away the best year of Bynum’s career.
Bynum made the All-Star team
for the first time last year, was second in the NBA in total rebounds and sixth
in total blocked shots. He is only 24 years old and has plenty of time to “grow
up”. Lakers management has demonstrated infinite patience with Bynum, as they
did with some other player once criticized for his maturity, “Kobe” something
or other.
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| Not the easiest player to box out. 4 |
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1) Image from http://48minutesofhell.blogspot.com
2) Image from www.thefrontofficenews.com
3) Image from www.thenolookpass.com
4) Image from www.mysanantonio.com
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