I sure as heck wouldn't want my best offensive player on Shaq. Too much of a risk getting him in foul trouble. The only reason Tim Duncan is listed at PF is because the NBA wants both him and Shaq starting in the all star game every year.
Nyquill, I don't understand your criteria because it seems to be contradictory. You seem to place an emphasis on size (height/weight) and don't say much about skills. In the same post, you talk about the lines between positions being gray and not as defined as they used to be. So in that sense, shouldn't your position criteria be more defined by skills than stature (height/weight)?? The point I am making is, if a player has the skills to play a position effectively, then height/weight should not really matter and shouldn't be part of the criteria.
I hate this age old argument about whether Player X is a C or a PF. The fact is simply that many players, notably the names above, can play either position effectively. I guess that makes them post players....or better yet, basketball players. The C and PF, etc. are nothing more than a designation by the players name.
codell, okay, i should have been more clear, youre right, skills are usually more important than size and i mean to say that a player can play the position as long as they have the skill to accomplish the criteria for that position in that particular game. but in general, there are more pfs and c that are positioned due to their size rather than their skills. the odd ones that get mentioned the most are td, dirk and garnett who have the skills to play a multitude of positions, thus they are so difficult to focalize in a position. what i meant by the size criteria is that almost all the pfs and centers fall within those lines and are generally thrown into that position because of their size. then depending on their skills will they be used per situation. so yes, skills are more important but when it comes to the extremes, you wont play a 6'6 guy at center regardless of his skills just like you wont play a 7'5 guy at powerfoward (unless you are the chinese national team). otherwise, if they fall in the gray area, skills become the more important factor.
codell, someday i'll adjust to this new nba world of "bigs" and "guards". maybe. oh, and i single tim duncan out because he has the natural ability and mental capacity to be one of the best centers of all time...if only he would take the challenge. A Train, did you feel that way when hakeem was guarding shaq?
How do you decide what a player is? (1) By the position he is listed to play in the lineup? (2) By his physical attributes? (3) By his skills? (4) By the things he does on the floor? There is no need to debate on (1). Just look up and see what he is listed as. (2) is not very accurate because you would have to say Magic Johnson is a PF, and Calvin Murphy is a PG. I believe most people would consider (3). But many of the great ones can do lots of things equally well. I'm pretty sure Hakeem could have been a great PF if he (and his coaches) chose to. KG can be a C, PF or SF according to his skills. So is Nowitzki. (4) is similar to (3) but is bound at least partially to (1). What you do depends on what your role is on your team. The great debate of whether Tim Duncan is a 4 or a 5 is so difficult because he can clearly play both positions equally well in terms of his skills. And he does both center things and PF things on the floor. The fact is, the line between the two positions is not that clearly defined, just like the line between the 2 and the 3 is not that clear at least in some systems. And today's big men are more versatile than ever. At the end, trying to argue whether a guy is a PF or a C might not be that meaningful.
Verse, I understand where you are coming from. In the end, I would be more inclined to agree with you if I thought Duncan was hurting his team by playing one positions instead of another. Hard to argue with results though. Easy, You laid it out pretty well there. Good job. Based on that, here is how I see it: Kurt Thomas = PF Malik Rose = C Cliff Robinson = SF Dale Davis = PF Darko Milicic = unknown (haven't seen him play at all ) Antonio Davis = PF Lorenzen Wright = C
Kurt Thomas - PF Malik Rose - PF Cliff Robinson - PF Dale Davis - C Darko Milicic - PF Antonio Davis - PF Lorenzen Wright - C
How about the old back-2-the-basket v. face-up distinction? Does your big man anchor the team attack from down low or does he make a power move from the outside to free the path to the hole? I think Karl Malone sets up farther out than Shaq.
I don't think that is a distinction between PF and C. It's just a player preference. Look at guys like Raef LaFrentz, supposedly a center his whole career, but if you see him near the post on offense, he's just hitting the glass. There are guards that see more time in the paint offensively than Raef. Some guys, like Sabonis, Wallace, Malone and even Duncan, feel just as comfortable at 18-20 feet shooting an outside shot as they do playing with their back to the basket on the low block. Hakeem was much the same, and so was David Robinson.
