Why has this position fallen so far in basketball? Any time I see a center who has a lot of hype, it's inevitable that he has zero post moves, doesn't care about defense or passing and only really cares about dunking. Why? Didn't these guys grow up watching Olajuwon, Robinson and Ewing? What makes them think that they will be considered great if they can't do anything? I guess they all just saw how successful O'Neal was and decided that athleticism was enough.

Howard has put in a lot of work and made great progress developing post moves.

Duncan, Gasol, Gasol, Bogut, and a handful of others aren't very accomplished low- to mid-post players. They are often billed as PF/C or PF, but the skills are there.

In fact, the main difference might be better defense making it harder to win low-post battles as often, forcing the offensive post to move out to get more options.

The main difference is referees get big men in foul trouble early in games. It's disgusting really.


David Stern knows this is a flashy swingman guard league.... that's what gets people to watch.

Not saying there's a conspiracy but take a look at all of the foul trouble guys like Yao Ming and Dwight Howard get just for being bigger and stronger than the other players.

I don't think rules or marketing have anything to do with it. It's just that the talent pool at that position is at an all-time low.

I think Shaq is right in calling himself the Last Center Left.

The pool ran dry with Yao and Dwight Howard. Yao was holding up the flag, but you know his injury history. Howard has the make-up, but I think he would have gotten abused in the early-mid 90's. Great defender, but still lacking in skill.

The rest of the guys just aren't talented or healthy enough:

Brook Lopez (has a shot)
Greg Oden (done)
Andrew Bynum (following Oden out)
Bogut (tough, but not good enough and has his own injury issues)
Emeka Okafor (great defender, no offense, injuries)
Roy Hibbert (I shudder at the thought of him playing during the early 90's)
Ben Wallace (is he still playing?)
DeMarcus Cousins (tethering the PF/C line)
Tyson Chandler (soft/injuries)
Eddy Curry (LMAO)
Brad Miller (no)
Chris Kaman (benefits from weak competion, wouldn't even start 15 years ago)
Brendan Haywood (not good enough)
Erick Dampier (lolz)

Just horrible. There are only about two or three active centers that even deserve an All-Star roster spot. Only O'Neal is a sure-fire Hall of Famer. How sad is that.

DH is a HOF. It is partly because of the weak competition, but his numbers will get him in.

If he finishes his career with reasonable consistency, he will be. But not if he retired tomorrow.

DeAndre Jordan grew up watching Shaq. He was born in what 1989?

And how many 1st team AllNBA selections has Duncan left on the table by refusing to be listed as a center?

Pau Gasol is the best and most talented big man in the league.

I absolutely hate him and the Lakers... but I will admit, he is skilled.

But I guess he's more of a PF........ eh

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What happened to the Center position?

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I'll tell you what happened to the Center position. It moved about 3 feet out of the lane and got relabeled "PF".

Most of the franchise-type PF's in the game today would be listed as centers back in the day. Duncan, Garnett, Bosh, and Amare all come to mind.

The problem is that nobody develops a low post game. It's that simple. There's plenty of "great" defensive centers now. Granted, they might be great because other centers suck offensively so they become "great" help defenders..Camby winning Defensive Player of the Year comes to mind.

It's just like free throw shooting; players don't want to improve on fundamentals anymore, they all want flash. If Cousins is ever listed as a C though and his supposed immaturity issues don't come back to bite him, I think he has a legitimate chance at becoming a dominant low post threat.

quote:

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I'll tell you what happened to the Center position. It moved about 3 feet out of the lane and got relabeled "PF".

Most of the franchise-type PF's in the game today would be listed as centers back in the day. Duncan, Garnett, Bosh, and Amare all come to mind.

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Only Duncan could have played center and have been successful against the 90s guys. The rest have no chance at all.

Those 90s guys were all around 7', were ridiculously athletic, had excellent post moves, could play defense very well, could pass, could shoot from outside 10 feet, and could dribble. Double and triple teaming those guys really only slowed them down and they were always smart enough to kick the ball out to the wide open perimeter players.

If I had to pin it down, I would say that ESPN has destroyed the position and made the NBA all about me me me rather than about playing good team basketball.