"You can't teach height" That stuck out as I read an article a few months old about the end of the Era of Big Men http://www.wearingfilm.com/picketfence/2013/02/is-the-big-man-era-over-in-the-nba/ Was rewatching an old Shaq interview where he pointedly asked the interviewer " After me, there will be no more..you realize that, right?" But as we know, trends, in sports as much as in fashion, are cyclical. Well, that interview with Shaq sent me back to reading some articles heralding the end of the Center (including the one above) and the supremacy of the PF and I'd welcome opinions from the more experienced bball watchers on whether they think things will come back around to the time of the all-dominant center, or are they gone for good? And as a postscript - rewatching some old footage of Olajuwon, really makes me wonder if such sheer poetry is even possible any more.
We are pretty much seeing DH at his peak -- Hakeem peaked a little later, but both players hit their peak after about a decade in the league. DH is more of a David Robinson type player (but not as good) -- there is not really any smoothness to his game like Dream.
David Robinson could go out to 15 feet. Robinson scored 71 points in game. He got destroyed by the dream, but people really sell DR short. He was a much better offensive player than DH. They can't really be compared.
Hakeem was flashy in the low post, but he wasn't nearly as effective as Kareem, Shaq and many others. There are maybe 5 low post players in NBA history(Kareem, Shaq, McHale, Dantley, Duncan) that you could build around offense in todays NBA and have an elite offense. The main reason is the fact that average drive is way more efficient than average post-up and mediocre or above average post-up players like Dwight and Hakeem are not good enough to build whole offense around them.
Your kidding right? Hakeem not good enough to build an offense around? Did you even watch Hakeem play? Or are u 15 yrs old? I'm serious because that's the stupidest post I've ever read. Hakeem's better at post play then any of those guys if anything Hakeem is the only one who could have an offense built around him because he's not a robot down there like the others. Plus dream had a nice 15-18 foot jump shot, The guy could do it all. You sir are a disgrace to Houston rocket basketball by insulting the best rockets and the most well rounded big man of all time.
Shaq was certainly the last person of his size you'll ever see. I don't think the NBA is going to officiate a place for big fat centers to be in the league anymore. Look around you; those guys are gone. Even the way a guy like Dwight is officiated, you can tell that the NBA has made a concerted effort to do away with the back-up-like-a-Mack-truck brand of basketball that Shaq epitomized. Just overlay a "BEEP--BEEP--BEEP" noise to every Shaq highlight you ever saw and you know what I mean. Same thing with Barkley at the end of his career. Old man basketball. Nowadays all that stuff would get called as an offensive foul. It happens to Dwight 1-5x a game even now, and if the Clippers are playing it would probably happen every play since they pander to that flopping BS that LAC so relies on for all of its success. So in that sense the "center" is gone. But what do we have in its place? A much better style of basketball if you ask me. If you're gonna force big men to be nimble and balanced, just like Tim Duncan, just like Hakeem, just like McHale, I feel like there will always be a spot for big men in this league to dominate. We just need to find a better way to teach young big men as they are growing up to master body control better. Imagine if Lebron was 7ft. That might be the Ubermensch of basketball. MJ gave rise to Lebron (not Kobe as much as he wants to believe it and break all MJ's career records to prove it), and after Lebron the deluge. It might take a decade or two to grow a basketball player from our human race that is a better specimen than Lebron, but it will happen. And my bet is that it will be a bigger, faster, more coordinated version.
Shaq was a physical player, I mean he'll recall one of his favorite moves, The Shaq Bow, which would be an offensive foul today. In today's nba where D12 is called for some really pansy calls, shaqs beast post play would really be harmed.
I have to agree with you. D.R was a beast in the post. In his prime he was quick, powerful and skilled. I like Howard but he is an undersized center with no go to move.
Tim Duncan scored 23ppg+ for a season 3 times in his career. Hakeem Olajuwon scored 23ppg+ for a season 9 times in his career. Tim Duncan scored 25ppg+ for a season only once. Hakeem Olajuwon scored 25ppg+ for a season 4 times. Career FG% Duncan: .506 Olajuwon: .512
Oh, so that's why all those playing legends (Lebron, Kobe, Amare, Dwigjt, etc...) are lining up in front of Kareem's, Shaq's, MacHale's, Dantley's houses to beg them for some post game teaching, or do they go to Hakeem just for the "flashy" side of it...
Kareem and Shaq' numbers are more efficient, but Hakeem's GREAT offense would EASILY be the best, today or whatever era. LOL, this dude really put Dwight and Hakeem in the same category offensively when Dream is not only better, but he did it against better players than overall than D12, Shaq, Kareem, McHale, Duncan and ANY other center in league history... good one, man. Ewing is the only center that can boast better competition... because their careers almost completely overlapped and he played in the East (more matchups than the West) where most of the best C's played. What a foolish post.
Hibbert is around the same size.... even taller at 7'2. He might not be as heavy or as good as Shaq but there are certainly players that still fit the bill. Dwight is 6'11 and 269 and actually a smaller Center.
