[USATODAY] Top Center = Boris Diaw

the only reason up there is because of the win percentage category and his durability

 

Just look at the ranking at the end of the article, the author is plain stupid. There is no other way to put it.

 

Are you bleeping kidding me. We may be a tad bit overly exicted about Yao because he may not be able keep up his incredible production. But this notion that he's less valuable because the center position sucks and is transforming with smaller, athletes is insane. Fact: If Yao keeps up his current production for the next few years, the league is F***ed.

And the only reason why Yao isn't higher on this list is because he's missed a bunch of games and the Rockets have a poor record as a result. Not to mention the fact that their methodology in determining the best center is essentially using Fantasy points. Players with a wide range of stats gets a higher ranking than a guy that's superior in one or two categories.

This article tells us nothing.

 

Its funny that they say that Pau Gasol is the leads centers in ppg, but then they have Yao ranked above him on the chart.

The fact that Yao and Shaq are ranked last in those ratings means these guys are morons. Yeah, I am sure that every GM in the league would take all those players over Shaq and Yao

Also they should take into account how many of their teammates it takes to guard the opposing center. Diaw might think hes a badass for keeping Yao below his averages but he needs the help of 2 other guys to do it.

 

wow... that is sooo much crap.

 

A far better thing to do is looking at how he ranked it. Here's Diaw: he's 9th in the league (among centres) in PPG, 16th in blocks, 5th in steals... 4th in win % (which isn't adjusted for games missed btw)

So he's total score is 9 + 16 + 5 + ... + 4 = 78. The lowest overall ranking score.

I have to say David DuPree takes making false conclusions with stats to a whole new (and probably a never achievable again) level. I think it's pretty safe to say he's a moron.

 

It only means Yao is that much more of a mismatch for other teams. Incidentally, I think this is basically BS. They name Yao, Ilgauskas and Shaq as the only traditional centers in the league, as if historically centers were all 7'2"+ 300 lbs +. I don't know when people started thinking that, but it must have been when everybody started gravitating towards gargantuan centers to try to put a stop to Shaq. Pre-Shaq, it was Hakeem, David Robinson and Ewing, all of whom were 6'10-6'11 and around 250 pounds. And if you look at all of the greatest centers of all time, only Shaq and Kareem were taller than 7 foot. Bill Russell was what? 6'8? George Mikan was like 6'10 or 6'11 too if I'm not mistaken.

Anyway, there are plenty of traditional centers in the league. Most of them aren't that great, but they're traditional centers anyway. For whatever reason, most of the star players that would have been centers 10 and 15 years ago are playing power forward now, and some of them, like Dirk and Kevin Garnett, are definitely launching some threes, but not all of them. Tim Duncan, Jermaine O'neil, Dwight Howard, Amare Stoudamire and Chris Bosh are all examples of guys who would have been centers 15 years ago, and none of them would have been considered undersized if Shaq never came along.

That's my opinion anyway.

 

This article does tell us something... "The author is stupid, the rating is stupid too"

 

Formatted stats:

Code:

Name	PPG	Blk	Stl	Ast	Reb	FT%	FG%	3FGM	Durab	Win%	Total
Diaw	9	16	5	1	16	10	12	4	1	4	78
Gasol	2	5	8	3	9	16	22	5	1	8	79
Wallace	21	4	1	5	1	30	15	7	1	1	86
Big Z	5	8	9	13	14	2	17	7	10	7	92
Camby	7	1	2	6	2	11	23	6	27	12	97
Okur	4	19	13	4	8	5	26	2	1	17	99
Kaman	12	11	15	15	6	8	9	7	15	6	104
Miller	6	26	4	2	13	1	18	3	18	17	108
Yao	1	10	14	9	4	4	16	7	27	19	111
O'Neal	3	7	22	8	7	29	1	7	26	5	115 

 

And that is why stats are over rated.

 

Let see, we will trade Boris D. to another team without S. Nash or the Matrix, or the offensive set of the Suns, & see if he can be truly be the best center in the league. I DOUBT IT!!!!!

 

...the author's ranking is assinine (misspelling intended)

I'll take a true center like Yao/Shaq/Ilgauskas over Diaw any day, especially in a 7 game series.

 

The way they rank the players is kinda moronic, isn't it?

3FGM is a factor of ranking the centers? ROFL

And who is authoritive enough to grade the durability of each player?

Winning % of his team...I think they also count the games in which the players didn't even play in due to injury. Is it kinda stupid?

 

Steals and 3PT field goals are not important center stats. The author of this article was trying to use statistics that would make his article seem relavent. I don't buy any of it.

However, Diaw does deserve more credit. He's making the best of a bad big-man situation for Phoenix.

Yao ranked 9th and Shaq 10th? At center? And you want me to believe that your stats are well researched and useful? Oldgunrules, thanks for letting us read an example of how not to write a sports article.

 

I dont know a human being could be stupid like this.

And Boris Diaw is not playing center. There is no center position ever in this Phoenix lineup.

 

Ridiculous. Would the Suns trade Diaw for Yao? In a heartbeat. That's all you need to know.

 

A tad excited? Still, I don't know why I enjoyed your post so much. But I did.

 

Those categories should have been weighted to better reflect their individual importane for the center position. Saying that rebounding and three point percentage is of equal importance for a center is ridiculous. Being on a team with a poor record shouldn't drag a player down. They don't completely control that.

 

These guys must be talking about fantasy basketball. That's the problem with fantasy sports. I like them and I'm in a couple of leagues, but you can't judge players by their fantasy stats.

I doubt these guys even watch the games.