Centers no longer central By David DuPree, USA TODAY Where, oh where, have all the centers gone? The players have gotten bigger, stronger and faster, yet the NBA seems to have evolved from a game dominated by centers. (Related item: Tonight, Shaq vs. Yao)Today, instead of game-controlling centers such as Wilt Chamberlain and Bill Russell battling in the post, an NBA game is more likely to feature converted forwards playing on the wings, with no one in the paint. Spurs MVP-winning big man Tim Duncan. By Robert Hanashiro, USA TODAY "The center position has changed because there aren't enough skilled guys who can play with their backs to the basket," says Hall of Famer Jack Ramsay, who coached two centers of the most opposite type imaginable — Bill Walton and Bob McAdoo. Walton, who led Portland to the 1977 title, was a classic low-post center, a great passer with great inside moves. McAdoo, with the Buffalo Braves, led the NBA in scoring three years in a row (1974-76) as a converted power forward who faced the basket, getting most of his points on short jumpers. There are a number of reasons why the center position as we know it is fast-tracking toward extinction: The abundance of foreign players who play a more skillful game. Young big players who think it's cooler to play like a guard. A lack of fundamentals being taught to young players. Zone defenses, which make it vital that a center be more versatile and make it easier for teams to get by with smaller lineups. Without dominant centers, teams are switching from dumping the ball inside to keeping the middle open and using a more slashing, motion-type offense. And they're taking advantage of the post-up game by using a quicker big forward who can handle the ball and shoot from the outside. Pointing out centers Center has become the lowest-scoring position in the league. Among the starters on the 29 teams, only nine centers average at least 10 points a game. In contrast, 21 of the 29 power forwards, 22 of the 29 small forwards, 20 of the 29 point guards and 24 of the 29 shooting guards average 10 or more points. The position-by-position point breakdown for the 29 starters: Points per game C PF SF PG SG 20+ 1 6 5 4 10 17-19.9 1 5 7 4 3 14-16.9 2 6 7 6 5 10-13.9 5 7 3 8 6 7-9.9 13 5 6 7 3 5-6.9 6 0 1 0 2 0-4.9 1 0 0 0 0 C: centers; PF: power forward; SF: strong forward; PG: point guard; SG: shooting guard. Super 7-footers Seven-footers used to get shoved into the low post and told to play center — no dribbling or jump shooting, please. Not anymore. David DuPree selected his USA TODAY 7-foot team from the 47 7-footers in the league: Power forward: Tim Duncan, 7-0, San Antonio (Mr. Fundamentals) Small forward: Vlade Divac, 7-1, Sacramento (As clever a passer as there is) Center: Shaquille O'Neal, 7-1, L.A. Lakers (Who can guard him?) Point guard: Kevin Garnett, 7-0, Minnesota (Probably his best position anyway) Shooting guard: Dirk Nowtizki, 7-0, Dallas (Will jack it up from anywhere — and make it) Players in that mold include Chris Webber of Sacramento, Tim Duncan of San Antonio, Dirk Nowitzki of Dallas and Kevin Garnett of Minnesota. Being able to go one-on-one and run the pick-and-roll have become essential for NBA players today, and centers who can pass and step out, run the pick-and-roll and shoot a 15-footer are highly valued. If a center can't do that, his team is likely to use in his place a forward who can. "The foreign influx certainly does have a lot to do with how the center position is played today," New Jersey general manager Rod Thorn says. "The foreign big guys have skills. They can shoot and pass, and they don't just put them in the post and tell them to dunk. Over here, we're not teaching guys to play with their backs to the basket. They just try to overpower people, and that doesn't work unless you're Shaq." The first NBA team to win the championship with a role-playing center rather than a dominant one was Golden State, with Clifford Ray in '75. Ray was a physical, pick-setting center and emotional leader but averaged only 9.4 points, fifth on his team, and the offense certainly didn't go through him. It took 16 years for a team without a dominant center to win the title again. The Michael Jordan-led Chicago Bulls won in 1991-'93 with center Bill Cartwright averaging 7.9 points and 5.1 rebounds, and in 1996-'98 with center Luc Longley averaging a modest 9.8 points and 5.5 rebounds. In contrast, on the other 50 championship teams, the starting centers averaged 19.0 points and 14.2 rebounds. Over the years there have been fewer and fewer teams with the classic, dominant center as the focal point of the offense. This season Shaquille O'Neal of the Los Angeles Lakers, Zydrunas Ilgauskas of Cleveland and Yao Ming of Houston are the only ones in the league. Most teams use converted power forwards such as Brian Grant of Miami, Kurt Thomas of New York and Dale Davis of Portland, so-so centers such as Erick Dampier of Golden State and Michael Olowokandi of the Los Angeles Clippers or role players such as Theo Ratliff of Atlanta. The teams with the five best records — Dallas, Sacramento, New Jersey, Indiana and Detroit — have different types of centers, yet none is a dominant force. Dallas' Raef LaFrentz is known for his outside shot more than anything and has taken 301 three-pointers in 102 games over the last two seasons. Sacramento's Vlade Divac is an excellent passer, fourth on the team in assists at 3.9 a game, but only sixth in scoring (9.7). Jason Collins of New Jersey averages only 4.2 shots. Brad Miller of Indiana has the most impressive statistics at 14.2 points and 8.2 rebounds, but he usually stays out of the middle so power forward Jermaine O'Neal, the team's leading scorer (19.9) and rebounder (10.1), can post up. Clifford Robinson of Detroit is really a forward who faces the basket, shoots jumpers (12.9 points a game) and gets only 3.7 rebounds a game. Shaquille O'Neal (fourth) and Ilgauskas (35th) are the only centers among the league's top 50 scorers. No center in the league leads his team in scoring, and the average starting center is only his team's No. 5 scorer. With teams allowed to double-team centers and play zone defenses, the three-point shot becomes a weapon. "The rules have made it so you don't necessarily need a traditional center," says Philadelphia 76ers general manager Billy King, who in the offseason traded 7-2 center Dikembe Mutombo, when healthy perhaps the most dominant center in the East, to New Jersey for 6-10 forward Keith Van Horn and a serviceable center, Todd MacCulloch. "It's a different game now."
