Halftime Hype

That's the difference between the regular season and the playoffs

In the midst of all the "Who's the best player?" talk, I've decided to stray away from Kobe, Lebron, and Durant(?). Rather, I want to examine the best big men in the game. As of late, it seems like the consensus is that Dwight Howard is invincible. Can't say I agree with that. My point of view is that the requirements for a center are to rebound, score (mainly in the paint), and block. Dwight Howard can certainly do that. But so can, say, Samuel Dalembert. Of course, some meet those requirements better than others. Here are the best big men by category...


Best All-Around Big Man: Chris Bosh
Unfortunately, Bosh hasn't gotten very far in the playoffs and maybe consequently, remains extremely underrated. All big men can - at least, they should be able to - score within a few feet of the basket. Personally, I believe that in order to be the best big man you need to have some range. As fun as dunks are, everyone else can dunk too; just because someone is fun to watch doesn't mean they're necessarily the best. In contrast, Bosh has proven he has the mid-range game to distinguish himself from all the other 7-footers in the league. He is capable of knocking down threes - maybe that's he'll incorporate in his game more next season. All that said, the gold-medal Olympian is averaging a completely unnoticed 24 points, 11 rebounds, and 1 block a game.

No doubt in my mind, Dirk Nowitzki is one of the best big men in NBA history when it comes to shooting. At about 7 feet, it's remarkable that he can drain mid-range fadeaways and pop threes. He's basically a shooting guard in a big man's body. In late-game situations, he's not a formiddable clutch player, but how do you defend him if he's taking the last shot? At seven feet, he has(/should have) no problem shooting over a top defender like Bruce Bowen or Ron Artest, who he towers over. That's not to say he's only an offensive threat; he's capable of playing good D too - he's averaged 0.9 steals and 1 block this season - but everybody knows the reason he's made it big is because of his shot.

Defensively, I don't know if there's anyone better that Dwight. He can tussle with anyone in the league. The way he blocks shots can simply be described as "emphatic," sending the ball well off course; just his presence intimidates teams when they step in the paint. At the defensive end, nobody has better stats than him: 13.3 rebounds, 1 steal, 2.7 blocks. However, the reason why I don't crown him the best all-around big man is because he can't shoot from more than several feet out and can't hit a free-throw if his life depended on it.

I'd give this title to Bosh, but he does get some credit - he just deserves a ton more. Very few, however, are cognizant of Marcus Camby's game. The Clippers basically acquired him for nothing (1 or 2 second-round picks, if I'm not mistaken) and Portland was smart in trading for him. He's much younger than he looks (26 years old) and is 4th in rebounds (averaging 11.6 boards this year) and 5th in blocks (averaging 2.1 this season). Yet, does anybody know that Camby is a top 5 rebounder/blocker in the NBA? No! What's more, Camby works wonders in the post and can shoot the mid-range jumper just as easily as he can dunk. This dude really deserves more praise.

Ever since February 9, Blatche has only had one game where he scored less than 12 points. Lately, he's been showcasing all his talent: rebounding, a block or two, points, pretty good free throw shooting, generally acceptable FG% - the whole package. Nobody was really familiar with him before, but now it seems like he's on everyone's radar. Earlier this week, there were some reports about tension with Head Coach Flip Saunders, but it appears that everything was more or less worked out. So far, he's been the lone bright spot for the Wizards.

However, in spite of my local (UCLA) college basketball team and often dominant presence resembling nothing close to dominance, I have found myself out of the loop this season when it comes to NCAA basketball. Therefore, I've spent more time examining the NBA game and reflecting on the season - despite the fact that it's not over yet. My observations:

Perhaps the biggest surprise this year, the Bobcats will likely qualify for NBA playoffs - for the first time (in their six-seasons as an NBA franchise). The Charlotte Bobcats are actually one of the top three defensive teams in the league if you judge them by their Defensive Efficiency rating (a measure of how many points allowed per 100 possessions). The Bobcats' backcourt is rather effective, too. The tag-team of Raymond Felton and Stephen Jackson has been working offensive wonders, not to mention D.J. Augustin coming off the bench. Oh, and I simply can't praise Gerald Wallace enough. Then again, props to Larry Brown for spearheading the progress from the sidelines.

Wow. I remember talking to several people who thought Boston really had a good shot of winning it all. I always insisted that the starting lineup was too old to actually find their way in the NBA Finals, but instead could do some damage and prove to be a road block for the Cavs, or whoever ends up representing the Eastern Conference in the NBA Finals. Regardless, the crew of KG, Rondo, Allen, Pierce, and Rasheed haven't been too shabby at 43-24. It's just that last season they were second in the East by 4 games, but are presently behind the #1 Cavs by 10 games; their winning percentage last season was an elite .756 in comparison to this season's .642 (the C's still have 15 games remaining to bring that percentage higher).

They have certainly been influential members of the NBA. The many guards, as well as Omri Casspi, Demarre Carroll, Demar DeRozan, Taj Gibson, and as of late, Toney Douglas, have proven that they "got game." Disregarding Blake Griffin, whose been out and will continue to be out for the entire 2009-10 season, the Rookie of the Year Award must go to either Tyreke Evans or Stephen Curry. Although, I must add, Tyreke probably wouldn't have been remotely as sucessful if it hadn't been for Kevin Martin's injury (in the similar way that Taylor Swift would have likely remained an obscure in the grand music world if it hadn't been for Kanye West's antics).

Found this saved on my computer; probably have used it on this blog before.

Still funny, though

Be back as soon as possible - hopefully, in the next few days.