We're talking about Centers in the league here mate, not PFs. But on the subject of Duncan, hes no't underrated at all. Hes one of the best PFs of all time and everyone knows it.
It's kind of funny hearing how "overrated" a 7ft tall, long, athletic and skilled 20 year old is on the same forum filled with people who think a 6'7", 25 year old, second year Power Forward is the next Barkley, Webber, Kemp etc.
If there are people who think that, they are a minority in this forum. I don't think anybody sees Landry as the second coming of Charles Barkley, save perhaps for Buddy Baker.
Curry never had that big of an upside? He was drafted as an 18-year-old unproven high schooler. By that logic you're drafting the guy based almost entirely off of upside alone. Plus, he was drafted higher than Bynum as well. Now, whether those scouts were correct or not is a different issue. Talent was never an issue with Curry. He has a polished post game and a couple decent moves that are VERY effective & difficult to defend. The problem? He doesn't rebound or block shots plus he's your classic "Goes 5/6 in the first quarter then disappears the rest of the game" type of player. He has the type of size and bulk to be a force around the basket but instead plays like a fat mummy wrapped in Charmin. Talent-wise it's debatable who has/had more talent. At the age of 20 Bynum's 13/10/2 is better than Curry's 15/6/1 but Curry's offensive game is/was far more advanced than Bynum's both at that point in his career and especially now. Despite all of Curry's detriments he's already averaged 20 PPG in a season and much unlike Bynum, is actually capable of playing a full season. I also think weight is going to be an issue with Bynum the same way it is with Curry, which is another reason I like this comparison. Sure, Curry has the cardiac issues but there's absolutely no way imaginable you could convince me Curry's a gym rat that genuinely cares about improving or the game of basketball in general. Bynum needs to silence the critics regarding the work ethic concerns and prove he's willing to work hard, control the weight and earn every dime of whatever contract he ultimately gets. Reason #3 I like the Curry comparison is he's making fair market value for a player like Bynum that's due to be paid: $9-11M/year. There were the whispers about Bynum wanting the max and what not. No way. If he proves this season he can handle the load for 82+ then he's worth the $9-11/year ballpark.
I hear what you're saying and it makes sense. It's just that (for whatever reason) I gave up on Curry early and pegged him as a lazy loser after his 3rd season. I never saw enough to think "this guy can be special". He has enough tools to be effective but not like Bynum IMO.
As usual for most on this board, the guy is pretty good and @20, will get a lot better. Health is his biggest nemesis, but from a skills and now production point, he's good. He's a natural and good athelete who plays long. He holds the ball high, natural rebounder and shot blocker. Of the young bigs, he has probably the highest upside. If anyone got to watch him before being injured, he was coming on strong.
I think he is over rated. Any player thatis rated highly ed on potential is over-rated in my mind. Alot of Laker fans on the net, talk about this guy as if he is a sure thing, instead of a possibility.
This is a moot point but the only reason Duncan started playing power forward was because he started next to David Robinson. He definitly has the game to play both positions but compare him to say KG, and I think he is definitely more of a center. If they put him in at PF he can create matchup problems and wont ever get into foul trouble. Ralph Sampson played PF alongside Akeem at center during the mid 80s, so I guess he was the best 7'5 PF ever to wear a Rockets uniform.
Good player that knows how to feed off Kobe and put points on the board. He's got good skill sets and could be a number 2 option on the court behind Kobe, and possibly even surpass Gasol within a couple of years. I do think he is a product of feeding off Kobe that would do well without him but wouldn't look as good or receive the same kind of praise he is getting now. Sort of like Landry who is a very talented player in his own right, but wouldn't shine as well without feeding off McGrady's passes. You have to give due credit to those players that know how to finish and get to open spots on the court though. Surprisingly not a lot of NBA players know how to do that. I will say this though. He only played well for roughly 6 weeks and is being touted as better than the likes of Yao and even Howard on Lakersground. It is still baffling to me to see that Yao who has been a 20/10 guy for a few years now still get discredited as being inferior to a player that only played well for 2 months tops, and was once ordered to be traded by Kobe because of his poor work ethic. Talent only goes so far, and without being whipped into shape, he could have been and might very still end up being one of those players who could have had a very prosperous career if he had the work ethic to stick with it. Kobe has really done wonders for the kid in that department.
This guy is highly over rated i do not think he is even a top 10 center for many reasons he does not affect the game without the ball he does not have great hands he cant shoot his defence is advarage at best he only scored 13 points a game with being the 2nd option on that laker team and pretty much getting open looks all day which he will not get anymore with him being the forth option and dont forget he is comming off an injury so who knows if he can stay healthy All-Star no way
He averaged 7 RPG last year so clearly he has. I recognize your sarcasm and your point. Don't think for one second i'm defending Curry or players like Curry. All i'm saying is the comparison is still out there. Bynum is the real deal but he could also very easily fall down the same "lazy" path that Curry did. That's all i'm saying and I hope for his sake that doesn't happen.
Can name roughly 10 and this is currently in the present and not speculation a few years down the road. Yao Howard Chandler Kaman Camby Bogut Duncan Amare Oden possibly, and most likely down the road if we're arguing about potential like Laker fans are doing with Bynum right now. Gasol. Yes Pau Gasol who is proven and is definitely better than Bynum right now. Amare, Duncan, and Pau are arguably PFs but Amare was listed at Center before the Shaq trade and Duncan has mixed in Center with the PF position. Lakers would salivate having both Duncan or Amare over Bynum right now. Then you have to factor in Oden who may come out as a surprise. Chandler is as good a finisher as Bynum if not better plus he's a better defender. Howard for obvious reasons. Kaman averaged a double double that was greater than Bynum's, and was healthy all season. Camby is a seasoned veteran that is a good weak side blocker albeit a poor man to man defender. He has a good mid range shot and is an excellent rebounder and a serviceable scorer. Bogut is another under the radar guy that is tough on both offense and defense and averaged a double double last year with pretty impressive numbers. Lastly Yao. Bigger, stronger, better foot work, a legitimate player you can run your offense through unlike Bynum, a better defender and health issues aside is a good player to buld your franchise around is the best center in the game in my opinion. You can't claim the same for Bynum, who has shown to have a poor work ethic up until Kobe got on him about it, and up until Kobe force fed him good looks to finish around the basket. You can't say he's even a top 3 Center like Laker fans say when all he's done is had a productive almost 2 months. Also if we're to factor in PFs he would fall even further below the charts. Boozer, Dirk, Brand, Sheed, Okafor who is a center actually, Beasley most likely, and I'm sure there are more that I'm struggling to remember.
Good post, man. Two months of stellar play do not a great player make. Not yet, anyway. I have no doubt that if he does continue to develop, he will be a good to great player. It's just that as of right now, the Laker fans are already claiming that they have the the second best center in the league (most of them concede that Howard is better, but quickly add that Bynum will probably surpass him because Howard is all strength). Heck, Yao averaged 35 and 12 or something insane like that for a month during our disastrous lottery year. As London'sBurning said, let Bynum average good numbers over the course of a season or two before declaring that he has more upside than Howard.
You just described Kwame Brown. 4th option??? Luis Scola is a 4th option. 1)"Doesn't have great hands.." His hands might be his biggest strength. He has Chris Webber like hands...if he gets a pinky on the ball its his. 2)"he does not affect the game without the ball." The Lakers spent the first 2 months of the season learning how to play with a good bigman again. Most of what he did offensively during that span was without the ball. It took until late december for them to give him the ball when he had position down low. 3)"his defense is averge at best." The numbers say otherwise. The reason knowledgable Laker fans should be excited about his return is his defensive impact. Dudes' a terrific defender. Both Man and Help defense. The Lakers were a god awful defensive team in '07 and that complete changed in the first half of the 07-08 season. And for 2 reasons....1) replacing Smush Parker with Derek Fisher 2) Andrew Bynum. Bonafide top 10 with him...bottom 3rd after his injury. Im not predicting he'll be a bonafide top 10 player in this league for the next 10yrs but if he stays healthy he's gonna be a stud. Given his age(20), his skill set(great hands, soft touch, terrific rebounding & defensive timing) and the fact gave u the typical 3rd yr outta highschool production jump...he'll atleast be better than Gasol by '09.
