25.6 mpg
0.575 FG%
0.661 FT%
7.5 rebounds
1.2 assists
0.2 steals
1.7 blocks
1.3 turnovers
2.6 fouls
11.6 points

22.3 mpg
0.493 FG%
0.679 FT%
7.5 rebounds
1.1 assists
1.2 steals
0.5 blocks
1.5 turnovers
2.6 fouls
8.6 points

One of these players is The Best Center in the NBA. The other is a worthless spare.

Just for fun, I'll include the highly overrated, one-trick-pony hack from Orlando, Dwight Howard.

36.6 minutes
0.588 FG%
0.581 FT%
13.9 rebounds
1.2 assists
1.2 steals
2.1 blocks
3.4 turnovers
3.4 fouls
22.6 points




Sincerely, Simplebay.

On physical gifts alone, Dwight Howard should be the best player offensive post player in the NBA by age 25. Instead we are only starting to see what slightly resembles an post move from him at age 25.

On Defense his game in built on moronically swatting at everything. Against smart players, he fouls out.

His game can be summed up like this: dunk and swat. There's nothing else he can do. So I agree he is highly overrated. He should have put in two years at Georgetown. He would be 30 17 5 by now and probably would have added about 5 years to his career at the tail end rather than 2 years early.

I still think Tim Duncan is the best big man in the NBA. If you count him as a center his per minute stats are still good. I'm curious to know who the two players who posted above are. And where does Bogut factor in? How about Demarcus Cousins? (Seriously, look at the per minute numbers).

The top stat box is Bynum's, bottom is Blair's.

Obviously, Bynum is far ahead of Blair, especially when you consider their draft position. Oh wait...

Howard has fouled out like twice all year... and that's with playing post behind el matadors like Gilbert Arenas, Vince Carter, Turkoglu, Redick, and Richardson all season. Like him or not, he's not overrated and EASILY the best center/big man in the game today.

Conversely, Duncan is pretty easily the best PF of all time in my eyes and most sane people... and he's still a very good player, but best big man on the game still? You've got to be kidding... that passed him about 2 years ago.

Howard has a pretty impressive array of post moves this year, and has even developed a decent midrange jumper. I've only seen 5-6 games of his this season, but he has been completely unstoppable on both ends every time. That includes his shredding of the Lakers a couple days ago.

Basically, Pascal hasn't seen Howard play since two years ago.

[This message has been edited by Ulrich (edited 2/15/2011 10:33p).]

What ulrich said

^
|
|
|
x2

If you can say Howard has not developed any low post moves you haven't watched him play this year. His time spent with Hakeem has payed major dividends.

The difference in steals between Bynum and Blair (0.2 vs 1.2) highlights how good Blair's hands are. He has really been able to showcase his hands in traffic this year. Not only is he quick to steal the ball, but he is the Spurs' best low-post passer.

Hakeem actually didn't spend much time with Howard. The guy that deserves most of the credit is Ewing. When I shot Orlando, Howard was out on the court before anyone working hard with Ewing on his moves. The guy is definitely a gym rat.

Was going to pick apart pascals, but it has been done sufficiently.

quote:

---

Hakeem actually didn't spend much time with Howard.

---

From all accounts he spent a week, and to me you can see a difference. Howard's offensive game has become more versatile. His moves are more fluid and deliberate now, whereas before his moves looked indecisive.

Not saying Ewing hasn't done most of the damage, but Dwight looks like a different offensive player this year, and he has developed some quickness and agility moves (Hakeem) to go along with his power moves (Ewing).

Dwight has been working with Ewing for years.

quote:

---

From all accounts he spent a week, and to me you can see a difference.

---

Oh, maybe so. I hadn't read much about it, but Hakeem downplayed it. Its really a shame that the Rockets didnt win the lottery his year instead of Yao's year. Could you imagine Dwight working with Hakeem over the past half decade (at least the 6mo a year Hakeem isn't in Jordan.)

I'll admit Bynum has been completely underwhelming but you have to agree that it's hard to be good when you're missing 20-40 games every year because your knees are oatmeal.

He looked good in spots at Boston and NY. I'd just like to see the guy make it through 82 games to get an honest evaluation on him.

Why? That is the evaluation of him. He has had knees and limited productivity on the court because of it. He misses a third of every season and consider yourself lucky if he's healthy enough to play in the playoffs. It's like Greg Oden.... I don't think guys who have chronic knee issues in their early 20s were meant to reach their full potential.

Gasol has already played 2000 minutes this season. Bynum has yet to reach 2000 minutes in any season of his career.

Blair is a Center?

poll 20 GM's in the league. How many take Blair over Bynum? 0 of 20.

How long are we going to wait for Bynum's "upside" to develop? Given his potential health issues, and the way that Blair has come on this year, I doubt it would be 0 for 20.

Blair is a better rebounder and has better hands. He also runs the floor better than Bynum. If Donnie Walsh is one of your 20, I bet he takes blair. Probably other teams that try to run as well (Phoenix, GS etc.).

No way to really know for sure since none of us can actually ADMINISTER that poll.

I don't think you can easily compare Blair and Bynum, they play the same position with similar stats but everything else is night and day. Bynum certainly has the higher ceiling but at this point in his career with his injuries he could also be on the verge of never reaching half his potential. Blair OTOH is someone who is maximizing what they have but his style of play is so different it's hard to know what he can be. He may be Malik Rose. He may be a poor man's Charles Barkley. Undersized C/PF's with lots of quickness and hustle are hard to judge. Blair is an incredible natural rebounder though and he is exceptionally fluid and coordinated which makes me think he will be much more than Malik who really could look clumsy. It's also hard to know just how good Blair could be because he has no plays run for him. He literally gets everything through hustle. If he was a feature in the offense his points would certainly increase significantly.

Another interesting note is that Blair has no knee cartilage but he has shown no signs of it whereas Bynum has the knees of a 40 year old already it seems. I guess the big edge I would give Blair is he clearly has a chip on his shoulder and is ferociously competitive, Bynum has tremendous gifts but he just doesn't come across as working that hard to maximize them. It will be interesting to see who has the better career when you look back in 5 years.

^
|
|
I agree with this. I'm not as certain as Simplebay that Bynum is destined to be a better player than Blair.

It isn't as cut-and-dried as he would like.

Bynum has all the potential in the world to be great, but right now, you have to think he is a lot closer to Greg Oden than Hakeem Olajuwon.

Kobe has played 2400+ minutes every year since the lockout. Bynum has never broken 2000 minutes.

Talent doesn't mean a whole lot unless you are on the court.

[This message has been edited by Guitarsoup (edited 2/16/2011 4:57p).]

many gms would take blair over bynum when you consider cost. Blair is a lot cheaper, and most teams just aren't willing (or shouldn't be willing) to spend that much for a big man in a game that's becoming more and more of a guards game.

btw:

bynum...dude is only 23

Oden...dude is only 23

Blair...dude is only 21.

quote:

---

It's also hard to know just how good Blair could be because he has no plays run for him. He literally gets everything through hustle.

---

You must be sleeping through the games or getting up for a drink / piss break every time they do go to Blair. They run several plays for him where they hit him on the backdoor cut and on pick & rolls. They also go to him for low post iso moves about 2-3 times every game (even more if other guys are dinged up / foul plagued/ or if they have a nice lead). I know that isn't a ton, but he is definitely part of their offensive game plan.

You don't score 28 points because you hustled. (and yeah, I know he doesn't get that most nights) He is not option 1, 2, or 3, but he is a part of their offensive game plan.

[This message has been edited by aggie_2001_2005 (edited 2/16/2011 7:51p).]

Blair has become more part of the offense as the season has progressed.

He's also really good at getting positioned in the lane to receive the dump-off pass from Manu or TP slashing into the lane. On those plays, he is a second or third option.


Blair probably gets fewer plays run for him than Bynum.

To be the best center in the West, you must have your picture of you crushing or ripping up a basketball.

Blair gets involved in the flow of the offense but there aren't set plays for him. Here is a quote from Pop after his big game against Toronto:

quote:

---

Blair had 16 points and eight rebounds in the fourth quarter to help the Spurs survive the second night of a back-to-back. Most of his points came on pick-and-roll finishes, putbacks and tips.

“We don’t call his number, we don’t do anything for him,” Popovich said. “He’s just a natural player.”

---

http://blog.mysanantonio.com/spursnation/2011/02/09/blair-boosts-spurs-past-scrappy-raptors/

Meh. Just sounds like tongue-in-cheek Pop making another understatement to me.

Chuck Hayes

I agree with ItalAggie, that's an understatement by Pop. You can't just go believing anything Pop says in an interview all willy-nilly.