I still see this guy as more of a PF than true center. Last really good 6'9 center that started and won a championship with his team was Ben Wallace. That was a while back though. Small chance he'll become that sort of player I think. The team of course should give this guy a good look but I'm more intrigued in that 7ft guy Lucas. Maybe we can get both.
This is my thing. We have a lot of good wing players, but we need athletic front court players. Just draft Biyombo at 14 and Lucas (Bebe) at 23, then we can just see which of these 2 and Thabeet develop. Even if none of them do, athletic big men are always trade bait, i.e. Tyrus Thomas.
Bismack measured in at 6'7 3/4 without shoes. He does have a 7'7 wingspan and a 9'3 standing reach. 243lbs.
Well it sure isn't going to be Thabeet. Just watch how he moves -- its not just that he's slow, I can deal with a 7'3" guy being slow, its how stiff and non-fluid he is. The last Rockets player that moved that way was Eddie Griffin. Sure, Griffin was taller and more athletic than the 7'3" Thabeet -- but, relative to their size, each of them was stiff and overly deliberate every second they were on the court. Unless you are very smart or can shoot the 3 like Bullard then you just can't play in the NBA like that. Now Biyombo on the other hand....
Eddie Griffin was freaking awesome. Not stiff at all, extremely fluid and far tooooo talented for his own good.
I don't mean to make this the Eddie Griffin thread, but I am surprised to hear someone say this. The only time I ever saw Griffin play awesome was when he was playing Garnett -- for various reasons he just matched up real well against him and made Garnett visibly frustrated. (I think that is why when Houston got rid of Griffin that Minn. (still with Garnett) were one of the only teams eager to bring him on. Anyway -- go back and watch how he played. Watch how stiff his back is, how he's always overly upright, how his arms and legs seem mummyish in their movements. Then watch an explosive player of similar size. That's what Griffin and Thabeet lack(ed). Their movements are stiff and, because of this, always a fraction of a second too late or too short.
HamJam I agree with you. He had only one or two moves (turnaround jumper in the post or a hook shot) or would shoot the three pointer. He struggled changing directions with fluidity. He actually reminds me of Jordan Hill but with a better jumper and better shot blocking ability. (still speaking of Griffin). Thabeet has a better chance to develop because, while he's stiff, he's also 7' 3". 7'3" has two jobs: rebound and block/change shots.
i want him. I didnt know what i wanted from this draft until now. Those saying they dont want a 6'9" center, think what our center's height is now. And then think about his back up. We can use this boy now.
Ideally, you want him as your PF. Pairing him next to a a shotblocking center (Dalembert, for example) would make us that much better defensively.
That's without shoes. No one in the lg plays with no shoes. If you were gonna say that then you could've said Biyombo is 6'7, cause that's what he measured. Howard though, was young coming into the NBA and grew some. This guy is says he's 18 but like a poster said before in this thread, he could be older. No more 6'6-6'8 centers. Lets get a true center.
No, his actually 6'7.75, basically 6'8(w/out shoes) and 6'9 w/shoes and until proven other wise, his 18yrs old. Also let me add this, height is irrelevant without length, prime example Brad Miller. Brad Miller is a legit 7'0(w/shoes) but plays as though his 6'8 due to his short wingspan. Biyombo on the other hand measures the same or greater than most other center's in length(wingspan and standing reach). Meaning that no one is going to be going to go over the top of him for an offensive rebound, like the way they do with Chuck. He may be 6'9, but due to his wingspan and standing reach he plays like a 7'0. If anything Biyombo actually has an advantage in that he measures as long, if not longer than most center's, but also has great lateral quickness and explosiveness that no other center can really match up with. BTW Here are some bigs that have an equal or lesser standing reach than Biyombo.. Tyson Chandler: 9'3 Emeka Okafor: 9'2.5 Andre Bogut: 9'2.5 Marcin Gortat: 9'2 Spencer Hawes: 9'2 Greg Monroe: 9'0.5 Al Hordford: 8'11 Joakim Noah: 8'10.5 http://www.draftexpress.com/nba-pre-draft-measurements/ There's more, but this just to show you that Biyombo has a higher reach then big's that are considered as some of the most effective center's in the league. Lack of size will never be problem with Biyombo, if anything the other center's will struggle to match up with his quickness and explosiveness.
With all the hype and chatter going on recently about Biyombo, i'm starting to think he will be picked in the lottery before the 14th pick.
Can't see the stats anywhere right now, but were only 9-10 blocks, not 12. I recommend watching the game, his 2nd half is a joke.
Yeah I'm pretty sure it was 10 since he got the trip dub near the end of the game. But this was my first time watching him play and i'm impressed. Especially by his athleticism and explosiveness. I think he has a physical tools to be a solid defensive big in the league.
You keep mentioning how he would have a quickness and explosiveness advantage over most other centers. But how is that really an advantage when he isn't good on offense. I could see how his quickness could help stay in front of a player but what use will all that reach be when he gets backed down under the rim against bigger guys like Bynum and Howard? He would be best at the PF spot, a lot like Taj Gibson imo. But we already have TOO many of them.
