Some people here care a great deal about the height of power forwards ("Terrence Jones is undersized at 6'9' in because of long neck!" "You need 6'11'' PFs to win in the West!" "Why does Maori always draft undersized PF?"). I've always thought that height is only one of many factor and there's nothing that says you must have huge size at PF in order to win. This year, in first round of the Western Conference playoffs, all 4 winning teams had shorter starting PFs than the team that they beat. Draymond Green vs. Anthony Davis Terrence Jones vs. Dirk Nowitzki Blake Griffin vs. Tim Duncan Zach Randolph vs. LaMarcus Aldridge Seems that 6'8'', 6'9'' guys (and shorter, in the case of Draymond) are doing just fine.
The game continues to evolve. 6'9" is fine for a PF in most cases. The Rockets frontline is not especially big.
Blake Griffin at 6'10 with his ridiculous vertical isn't undersized by any measure. Zach Randolph has the size (girth as I'm sure you'd love to call it) to physically dominate any pf. Only green and jones fit the definition. Meanwhile, Anthony Davis put up amazing numbers versus Green, a supposedly amazing defender. Then again, Davis would have put up those numbers versus anyone probably. I don't necessarily disagree with the assertion that a smaller PF is fine though. It just depends on their other skills.
How about other short PF's? Millsap, Faried, Haslem, Thaddeus Young If you ask me, the height is less important if you can demonstrate above average competency at a specific skill. I hate for this to turn into a TJ thread, but he still seems raw and undeveloped (especially compared to these guys).
I love how you isolate one factor and draw the conclusion. Green has the best backcourt in the league. Jones has Howard and Harden. Griffin has Paul. Randolph has Gasol. It's a team game.
Average draft measurements for PF positions. Avg PF height is 6-7.5 no shoes, 6-9 in shoes (rounded up to 6-9) http://ascreamingcomesacrossthecourt.blogspot.com/2013/05/average-draft-measurements-for-nba.html Can take that to mean the PF's taller than the average have better chance than PF's under the average. (Ex: 2 PF prospects, one is 6-6 the other 6-11, thats the average of 6-9, but one has definite height advantage,. Take the 6-11 guy over now undersized 6-6 guy) But then there can be a 6-7.5 guy with longer arms and higher Standing Reach than all of them, and quicker laterally, higher IQ and court awareness. Or he can fit a particular system better than others. A lot can go into it now (I never thought Terrence Jones was "undersized". He's right there in the average range PF Avg Standing reach: 8-11 T-Jones Standing reach: 8-11
Green 6'7.5, standing reach 8'9, 33 inch max vert Griffin 6'10, standing reach 8'9, 35.5 inch max vert Jones 6'9.5, standing reach 8'11, 34.5 inch max vert Suffice to say that Jones is 'bigger' than most posters on here give him credit for. Do we whinge about him being 'small' because Morey had drafted a bunch of other undersized PFs at around the same time? Jones is just a tad above prototypical PF size. He might have his issues, but size certainly isn't one of them... [don't have pre-draft measurements for ZBo)
None of those three are those actual heights. Green is severely undersized. And I disagree with your assertion that Jones is above prototypical PF height. That being said, however, you mention some good points (I was clearly wrong about Blake) that are worth thinking about.
if 6'11 centers have good height for their position, why is a 6'9 pf too short for his? the difference is two inches. if your pf is 6'11 then he's a tall pf. 6'9 is good height for pf. most are 6'9 6'10
I thought now the game has evolved to focusing more on bigs that can shoot. At least they should have a mid-range game.
Height gives you little to no advantage in post defense, it's all about your standing reach. You don't contest shots with your head, you do so with your hands. Being taller mainly gives you an advantage on offense. Example is McGrady, where his near 6-9 frame at SG allows him to easily look over defenders to make sharp passes or for him to easily shoot over defenders. There is a reason why even though Dwight is not very tall for a center, his long standing reach combined with his strength allows him to play bigger than a lot of other players. Dwight is a couple of inches shorter than guys like Tyson Chandler, Joakim Noah and Andrew Bogut, but his standing reach is taller than all three of these players.
It just depends, that's why certain teams match up well with others. Charles Barkley is and always was 6'4''.....same as it ever was.
