NBA Big Men Are Like Rare Dimonds

March 21, 2009

In the game of basketball a big man is a treasure commodity. There is not other sport in the world that places such a premium price on height, and for good reason, and in the NBA being a “big man” is better than striking gold on the Klondike.

The reasoning behind it is simple. The height of the basketball goal is exactly 10 ft tall. The closer you are to the basket the easier it will be to make a shoot and the higher percentage basketball you can make. The shorter you are the further you are from the basket and the lower percentage theoretically your shot will be.

Look at players like Earl Boykins, Nate Robinson, or Ben Gordon. They are phenomenal players. But look at their shooting percentages. They play with a lot of heart and passion but if you are looking for a high percentage shoot the coach is not going to call their number.

Look at players like Yao Ming and Shaquille O’Neal. They are trees among bushes. Look at their shooting percentages. Its usually between 55-60%. That means over 1/2 of their shoots go into the basket. That is a luxury. Look at the shooting percentages for some of the shorter players already mentioned. They will crack 45% on a contract year. Most of the time you will see them hover around 42 and 43% respectively. That’s just the way it is.

There is nothing better than having a team with a solid big man to anchor your team offensively and defensively. You can bring the ball down the court, give it to your low post player, and work around him. He takes loads of pressure off the offense. Once you give the ball to him he can open up all sorts of opportunities for other player.

If you play him one on one it will be an easy score if he is solid offensively, which by the way is becoming quite rare in the NBA. There are several guys in the NBA that cannot be played one on one. They will score almost every time especially if they get into a rhythm.

If you attempt to double team them than that even works to more of the teams advantage. The team has two options at this point. If you have a solid three point shooters around your big man all he has to do is pass the ball to the open man for an uncontested three pointer. If you have a slasher than he will have an easy path to the basket because most of the attention is focused on your big man. Easy three or easy dunk or lay-up. Pick your poison. Options are endless. I have just mentioned the most obvious basic plays that a team can make. I have not talked about reverse swings, big man feeding guards from high post on back door cuts, and the all encompassing “alley opp”. Its a beautiful thing to watch.

As much as we love guards there is nothing more satisfying that two giants going at it in the middle. Hakeem Olajuwon verses Patrick Ewing. Chamberlain verses Russell. Barkley vs Malone. It was awesome.

And its all gone now. It is no matter what people try to say. There are not many left.

There are teams that feature 1/2 developed big man. Like Tyson Chandler. Great defensively but can score one on one to save his life. He had a great season last year but most of his sucess in just one the defensive side (which is good don’t get me wrong). His 10-13 pts per game all came from put backs or Chris Pauls alley opps. Almost nothing, at least of which that I saw, came from him scoring one on one.

Just who are the complete big man in the game. Lets see…

In the West we have Pau Gasol, Yao Ming, and Tim Duncan. And yes I did leave out Shaq. The league does not allow him to play defense anymore for whatever reason. I cannot say he is a defense presence down low any longer. He is 7’1 and barely gets a block a shoot a game and that’s usually up against Toronto or the Bobcats.

In the East we have Kevin Garnett, Dwight Howard, and….that’s it.

Let me know if you can think of anyone else.

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