[ESPN]The New Breed of NBA Big Men

There are hardly any post scorers. Atleast much less than it used to be.

I am not an insider, but i would like to read it.

I always dislike the fake latin names used in these articles. they are not funny.

 

True. And the new big men are not very good post defenders neither as a consequence. Yao/Shaq would've dominated right now.

 

Spoiler

Illustrated Big Man Archetypes

The idea of categorizing the NBA's big men by their skills began, as so many brilliant breakthroughs do, in Las Vegas. As the Insider hoops team watched marathon summer league sessions, doubled down on every 11 and even enjoyed a Sim Bhullar-sized cut of meat, the conversation often drifted to the brilliance and versatility of budding superstar Anthony Davis of the New Orleans Pelicans. It seemed to us that Davis appeared capable of fulfilling every responsibility entrusted to a modern big man. And, in an age of increasing specialization, those roles are diverse and plentiful.

So that got us thinking about the league as a whole and the universe of big men. How many different skills could we dissect? Which players were the most versatile? Which jobs were the most important? With those questions in mind, we launched our study. We first settled upon eight jobs for big men, four at each end of the court. After coming up with statistical criteria to objectively place post players in each category (they had to rank in the top quartile of players who saw at least 1,000 minutes of action last season), we used lineup data from NBA.com/Stats to determine the performance of lineups with and without each skill.

The result is a reasonably comprehensive taxonomy of the NBA's power forwards and centers (97 of them), along with new insight on the importance of their varied roles. (And another testament to the creative magnificence of Vegas.) Check out the chart at the bottom of the story to see every post player who qualified.

Note: The chart is not a ranking, but rather a grid showing into which categories every post player (who qualified for the study) fit.

Facilitators

Measured by: Assist rate and elbow touches per game (via NBA.com/Stats)
Examples: Marc Gasol, Joakim Noah, Josh McRoberts

You know those bigs who catch the ball at the elbow, wheel on their pivot foot and find a cutter off a gorgeous, backdoor pass? Those are facilitators, and their presence in the NBA is growing. Last season, five big men (Noah, Kevin Love, McRoberts, Blake Griffin and Marc Gasol) averaged at least 3.5 apg, as their teams counted on them to initiate much of the offense. Those are the high-profile facilitators, but by combining assist rate with elbow touches -- one of the new statistical gems that SportVU's player tracking data has produced -- we uncovered several more.

Sure enough, playing a big man who can pass tends to improve a team's offense. Lineups featuring at least one facilitator posted a 108.7 offensive rating, compared with 107.9 when that player was off the court. And their teams were better defensively, too, giving up 1.1 fewer points per 100 possessions with that facilitator on the floor. The fact that some of the league's best defensive bigs, starting with Noah and Marc Gasol, fall into this category certainly helps explain the results on that end of the floor. But the offensive influence is legit (lineups with facilitators assisted on 60.3 percent of their field goals, as compared with 57.8 percent for all others), and there's no question that the success of these elbow-based operators is clearing the way for future generations of big men with a soft touch.

Finishers

Measured by: Field goal percentage within 3 feet (via Basketball-Reference.com)
Examples: Chris Andersen, Blake Griffin, Brandan Wright

Scoring around the basket is seemingly the simplest skill for big men, but when it comes to finishing, they're not all created equal. Some players (such as Wright) utilize soft touch to score over equally large defenders, while others (such as Griffin and teammate DeAndre Jordan) are able to finish through them with a powerful dunk. One or the other is crucial for pick-and-roll basketball, which has become the default offense for modern NBA teams.

Lo and behold, finishers have more positive impact on their teams' offenses than any other offensive category. Lineups with at least one finisher on the floor averaged 110.5 points per 100 possessions last season, as compared with a 107.4 offensive rating for all others, while improving 2-point percentages from .481 to .507. So if someone describes a big man as "just a dunker," that might not be an insult.

Post scorers

Measured by: Points scored on post-ups per 36 minutes (via Synergy Sports)
Examples: Nikola Pekovic, Al Jefferson, Zach Randolph

Zach Randolph
Layne Murdoch/NBAE/Getty Images
Zach Randolph is an example of a big who thrives in the post.
There is no more enduring image than this one: Big man posts up. Big man receives pass with his back to the basket. Big man executes a move and scores. And although the NBA grows more consumed with the pick-and-roll and the corner 3 with each passing season, this species of big will never disappear. In fact, teams should still covet these guys.

Last season, teams with a post scorer put up a 109.4 offensive rating, the best of any of the eight archetypes. That output dropped to 107.7 with the post scorer off the floor. That group includes some of the best, most versatile bigs in the league (Davis, Love, Dwight Howard, Dirk Nowitzki), so it's little surprise that they also made an impact on defense (107.2 defensive rating on the court, 108.5 off the floor). Post play might be on the decline, but that's just because skilled, back-to-the-basket scorers are hard to find. If you've got one, you're in good shape.

Stretch bigs

Measured by: Shots from beyond 15 feet per 36 minutes (via Basketball-Reference.com)
Examples: LaMarcus Aldridge, Ryan Anderson, Dirk Nowitzki

No skill for big men is more in vogue than the ability to space the floor with outside shooting. The stretch 4 is the new hotness in the NBA, which makes it surprising that statistically, this skill grades out as something of a wash. Players we categorized as stretch bigs saw their teams perform 0.8 points per 100 possessions better on offense, as expected, but not as much as finishers or post scorers, and gave up that value on the defensive end of the floor.

One difficulty with defining stretch bigs is figuring out how to factor players such as Aldridge and Jason Smith, who specialize in long, 2-point jumpers. We settled for including them, but using 3-point attempts per 36 minutes yields a slightly different list. That stricter definition of stretch bigs yields more offensive improvement ... but also more defensive decline. Bigs who shoot 3s still rate as a net neutral. So it's worth asking whether we've overrated the value of shooting for big men.

Mobile defenders

Measured by: Points per play against pick-and-roll (via Synergy) and steal rate
Examples: Chris Bosh, Draymond Green, Anderson Varejao

The NBA is a pick-and-roll league, and stopping that play has become the top priority of a defensive game plan. And nothing makes that task easier for a coach than being able to utilize a versatile, athletic big man. These guys excel at showing and recovering against ball screens, enabling them to cut off a point guard's path to the basket while still keeping track of their own man. Mobile bigs are also the guys you want chasing stretch 4s off the arc, and they use their quickness to deflect entry passes to force steals.

Our study paints a less-than-flattering picture of their impact, though. While the presence of a mobile big does marginally improve a team's defense (from 108.3 points per 100 possessions off the floor to 107.7 on it), they seriously injure the offense (minus-1.3 net points per 100 possessions). Their 107.1 offensive rating is also the lowest of any of the eight archetypes and leads to several questions. Chief among them: Have coaches gone too far in valuing speed over size? And, outside of a pure shot-blocker, does it really make sense to utilize a defensive specialist, given the other sacrifices involved?

Post defenders

Measured by: Points per play against on post-ups (via Synergy Sports)
Examples: Omer Asik, Kendrick Perkins, Tiago Splitter

Omer Asik
Scott Cunningham/Getty Images
Omer Asik has carved a niche as a post defender.
As long as post play remains a part of offenses, there will be a need for post defense. The ability to counter opposing behemoths in the block is a large part of why Perkins remained a starter through last season and the Collins twins (Jarron and Jason) played a combined 23 years in the NBA.

Surprisingly, the numbers suggest that post defense is still a crucial skill. Lineups with at least one post defender allowed 0.7 fewer points per 100 possessions and were more effective at the offensive end -- possibly because of the overlap between good post defenders and good post scorers. Howard, Jefferson and Love were some of the stars who qualified for both categories.

Rebounders

Measured by: Defensive rebound percentage
Examples: DeMarcus Cousins, Reggie Evans, J.J. Hickson

As the name suggests, these guys are entrusted with one job on defense: Finish a stop by securing the board. Sure, plenty of top bigs combine strong defensive rebounding with other skills, from shot-blocking to post D, but there are also plenty of one-trick ponies in this group, too, such as Evans and Hickson.

It shouldn't be a surprise that the impact of rebounders is minimal. After all, they don't make the play on defense. They finish it. And even the most skilled rebounder can't compel a missed shot to bounce his way. The stats showed that rebound specialists improved a team's defense by only 0.2 points per 100 possessions; their impact on offense was nearly identical (0.3 points per 100 possessions). Even worse, lineups with rebounders were only marginally better on the defensive glass at the team level, improving their rate from 74.5 percent of available defensive boards to 75.0 percent. Rebounds are important, but forcing a missed shot in the first place matters more.

Rim protectors

Measured by: Combination of block rate and opponent field goal percentage at the rim (via NBA.com/Stats)
Examples: Roy Hibbert, Serge Ibaka, Larry Sanders

With improved floor spacing and the rules interpretation limiting contact on the perimeter making it easier for guards to drive the paint, it's never been more crucial to have a 7-footer in the paint capable of protecting the rim like a goalie. By giving us new ways to measure rim protection beyond merely the occasionally misleading block statistic, SportVU player tracking has enhanced the visibility of these players.

The lineup numbers back up the value of rim protection. Lineups with at least one protector are far stingier, allowing 2.5 fewer points per 100 possessions than all other lineups. As expected, these lineups cut down dramatically on opponent 2-point percentage (.472 vs. .491). So while rim protectors have a slightly negative offensive effect, they still rank as the most valuable defensive category.

Enjoy...

 

Dmo has yet to play with authority (power) given his size and weight. Doesn't he like outweigh Dwight by 5lbs? Yet still doesn't have a power game.

 

Hakeem would fit all 8 if he wanted to. Although I think he's not much of a mobile defender in practice because his job is moer to protect the paint.

 

Odd they don't use Kevin Love as the prototype Stretch 4. Instead they use Aldridge then proceed to say he's not really the prototype because he shoots long 2s.

Aldridge is a classic PF, imo, just not a banger. He's like Garnett and Rasheed. Why can't they describe that type of PF? Weird.

Also, finisher is not really a type, it's a skill. Josh Smith is both finisher and stretch (at least he thinks so) then. That's were they are getting into bad descriptions. Get rid of the finisher type and make two Post Player Types like we've been using for years.

High Post vs Low Post style...duh.

The High Post Aldridge/Rasheed/Garnett type vs the Low Post Jefferson, Zach.

 

LOL, could you imagine Cousins trying to guard Yao. Technical foul every possession, lol.

 

The last published report I could find was from a year ago and stated that D-Mo weighed 259 pounds. By my eye test he is one huge man.

D-Mo will never have the explosiveness of Howard. His defense is in the Asik category. And he is getting very good at it.

D-Mos offense will probably come around. He has great form on his shot, it just is not falling. He still has the quickness to be a dangerous post threat, but it takes a lot of work to perfect the entry pass.

 

What does "in the Asik category" mean?

You appear to be the biggest Donatas homer on the board.

 

so where is Dwight Howard?

 

By their definition Hakeem was far more mobile than any of the three names on their list.

Of all the bigs I have seen in the last quarter of a century, imo, Kevin Garnett is the only other one that could have possibly covered the perimeter like this. (Notice the lateral movement, the sudden change of direction and the timing)

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nik vuc is a top post scorer

 

Should be in Rebounders and Rim Protectors

 

He left LA so he doesn't exist unless it's a negative article about him.

 

I'd also put him under rebounders, rim protectors and finishers

That's 5 out of 8 categories with a narrow miss in the mobile defender category only because we need him the paint so damn much

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Side note, one of the reasons I wanted Josh McRoberts this offseason (as a homeless man's Bosh) is because he can facilitate and stretch the floor. Thankfully, Papa is filling in that role very nicely.

 

The Tariq Black type got snubbed.

 

Just wait until Thon Maker arrives. A center with the ball handling, shooting, and passing skills of a point guard .

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That's just full of ****. Last time I checked for the past 20 years it's been shaq, hakeem, and ducan that dominated the championships. None of those shoot threes. That mythicsl stretch 4. Keep looking for him.There is the exception of lebron and ****ing Michael jordan.