Which center would be better in this era

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Which center would be better in this era

Artis Gilmore
1
3%
Bob Lanier
1
3%
Robert Parrish
1
3%
Jack Sikma
8
25%
Brad Daugherty
0
No votes
Bill Walton
20
63%
Dikembe Mutombo
1
3%
Yao Ming
0
No votes
 
Total votes: 32

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Which center would be better in this era 

Post#1 » by Bubbachuck2 » Sun Apr 16, 2023 12:47 pm

Which one of these traditional centers would be fit in this era?
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Re: Which center would be better in this era 

Post#2 » by IdolW0rm » Sun Apr 16, 2023 2:15 pm

Sikma fits the best.
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Re: Which center would be better in this era 

Post#3 » by 70sFan » Sun Apr 16, 2023 3:41 pm

Walton was the best and still would be the best. I think Lanier would do extremely well offensively, not sure about defense though. Young Gilmore would be very interesting, especially if he focused more on mobility than strength - but I don't love his awareness for modern era.

All of the rest would be very good, but clearly behind these 3 in my opinion. I think Daugherty would fare the worst.
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Re: Which center would be better in this era 

Post#4 » by Grinditout » Sun Apr 16, 2023 4:25 pm

Walton by far, assuming healthy.
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Re: Which center would be better in this era 

Post#5 » by prolific passer » Sun Apr 16, 2023 4:34 pm

I have to go with Parish. 7 footer who can run the floor, post up, defend, and rebound. Nice midrange games. Walton, Daugherty, and Lanier because of their assist making would be good.
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Re: Which center would be better in this era 

Post#6 » by penbeast0 » Sun Apr 16, 2023 9:35 pm

Walton came into the NBA with serious health issues; those issues would still exist today.

Gilmore probably the best of all these in his ABA years; some questions about how good he would be in tougher competition as he was not nearly the defensive force in Chicago that he'd been in Kentucky (though part of that, I think, is that they used him closer to the basket -- also part of the reason his ts% was so high). When in doubt, I would assume that great athletes can adapt and he was the best athlete.

Sikma would be the most stereotypically modern of the bigs with passing and range; whether he could be an efficient 3 point threat would be key as he is also one of the smaller guys. If that improves, he could be a 4 in today's NBA as well as playing center.
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Re: Which center would be better in this era 

Post#7 » by prolific passer » Mon Apr 17, 2023 8:01 pm

penbeast0 wrote:Walton came into the NBA with serious health issues; those issues would still exist today.

Gilmore probably the best of all these in his ABA years; some questions about how good he would be in tougher competition as he was not nearly the defensive force in Chicago that he'd been in Kentucky (though part of that, I think, is that they used him closer to the basket -- also part of the reason his ts% was so high). When in doubt, I would assume that great athletes can adapt and he was the best athlete.

Sikma would be the most stereotypically modern of the bigs with passing and range; whether he could be an efficient 3 point threat would be key as he is also one of the smaller guys. If that improves, he could be a 4 in today's NBA as well as playing center.

Walton would fit in perfectly in today's NBA. Everybody is hurt these days/load managing these days. :P
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Re: Which center would be better in this era 

Post#8 » by Doctor MJ » Tue Apr 18, 2023 12:59 am

70sFan wrote:Walton was the best and still would be the best. I think Lanier would do extremely well offensively, not sure about defense though. Young Gilmore would be very interesting, especially if he focused more on mobility than strength - but I don't love his awareness for modern era.

All of the rest would be very good, but clearly behind these 3 in my opinion. I think Daugherty would fare the worst.


I voted Walton too, but there's one rub:

He'd have been the best of this bunch in any era if healthy.

It's true the offensive advantage would be even more dramatic today though.
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Re: Which center would be better in this era 

Post#9 » by kendogg » Tue Apr 18, 2023 1:36 am

Can't just pretend Walton would be healthy. He wasn't even healthy when he was drafted.

Gilmore might be the most dominant of the rest and certainly the best athlete of the bunch, but I have concerns with how well his game would translate especially on defense.

Overall, I like Sikma. He reminds me of Jokic with that janky slow high release. He was a good passer and had good hands like Jokic as well. And a better defender. Sikma would be incredible paired with a rim running defensive big like JJJ or Mobley.
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Re: Which center would be better in this era 

Post#10 » by tsherkin » Wed Apr 19, 2023 4:25 pm

Hmmm....

Bill Walton

Wasn't healthy in his own career. Wouldn't be now, I don't think. Doubt he had the touch to develop 3pt range, but he certainly had a middie and both fantastic passing as well as excellent defense/rebounding. I figure he'd find a way to be very good, when he was on the court. Not an offensive monster, but even in his own time, he wasn't a big scorer most nights.

Yao Ming

Injury concerns. They wouldn't end today. Load management might help him, but he was load managed in his actual career. A big question, of course, is how much his obligations in China affected his health, though. If you could get 70 GP at 30 mpg from him, he'd be a very valuable player. He'd get assassinated on the perimeter, but he'd be giving it back pretty roughly at the other end and I have strong confidence that he could develop a 35% 3P shot. One of those guys where maybe you take some of his defensive disadvantages for what he could bring at the other end, and since he isn't playing 40 a night, maybe a little more tolerable, especially if you have some longer guys in the 6'8 - 6'10 range to roam and switch.

Brad Daugherty

Another dude not the healthiest in his own career. Not the guy to really disrupt the perimeter. Pretty good offensively. Enough touch, especially later in his career, that you could see him developing a serviceable, low-volume 3pt shot. Had the passing, had I mean you could easily see him fitting into a contemporary offense.

Dikembe Mutombo

Not really a major piece of an offense in this league, or in his own time. But that's fine, he could be a defensive roleplayer. Great rebounder. 70sFan will be quick to remind that he was more athletic when he wasn't like 45 years old, and that's fine, but I scrutinize his mobility in this mismatch-hunting league. Little dudes and good high screens would ruin him. Mutombo wasn't more mobile than Shaq and Diesel had huge problems with the PnR. Still, he was a monster inside of 15 feet and a great rebounder, which would play well at 25-30 mpg if you account for what other issues he would present today.

Bob Lanier

He'd be fine today. Very good, when healthy. Another guy with early health and then notable decline starting after his first 5 years or so. Good touch, good rebounding, great power. Could block shots when he was younger/healthier. Probably would have issues with getting hunted by small guys, but while I have repeated that a lot on this list, there's some threshold where you just eat that challenge and work around it, I guess. We still play seven footers, and not all of them are super fleet of foot, and Lanier (among others on this list) would be good enough to just deal with it for what he brought overall.

Robert Parish

He'd be fine. Middie, rebounding, defense, passing. Maybe watch him one-hand bomb a full-court pass to someone again, that would be nice. He had an aesthetically pleasing AND effective style of play. Didn't shoot too much, great team guy.

Jack Sikma

Offensive would be fairly well-suited to today's game.

Artis Gilmore

He'd be good. Probably wouldn't need to overextend his offense, which suited him just fine in his own era. Hyper-efficient 18/10 guy who could command real estate inside on D. Issues on the perimeter, but overall a net positive. Probably the best on this list for today, depending on how Yao turned out health-wise.
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Re: Which center would be better in this era 

Post#11 » by Palma Dutch » Sat Apr 22, 2023 1:44 pm

Walton was damned either way unfortunately, but it gets overlooked that Portland injected his broken foot with powerful painkillers so he could play on it for a playoff series. That doesn't happen, and maybe his earlier knee surgery isn't as...barbaric. I think his prime his extended a little bit, at the very least. Love his court vision for a big. Would've been fun to see him and Jokic dueling.
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Re: Which center would be better in this era 

Post#12 » by homecourtloss » Sat Apr 22, 2023 5:28 pm

70sFan wrote:Walton was the best and still would be the best. I think Lanier would do extremely well offensively, not sure about defense though. Young Gilmore would be very interesting, especially if he focused more on mobility than strength - but I don't love his awareness for modern era.

All of the rest would be very good, but clearly behind these 3 in my opinion. I think Daugherty would fare the worst.


What’s really interesting about Walton is that regardless of era (i.e., ‘60s, early or late ‘70s, early or late ‘80s, early or late ‘90s, early ‘2000s grindout, modern space and pace, etc.), his skill set would translate since he possesses the most portable of skills/attributes other than off-the-charts athleticism though he was plenty athletic (i.e., defense at the rim/defense in space, high IQ, great hands). He’d be a great defensive anchor in today’s game, the same great defensive rebounder, a great passer in space. He could hit that 15-17 foot jumper though his FT shooting wasn’t great, so not sure if he’d develop a 3pt shot, but would be a good vertical threat off screen-roll actions, would use his ball-handling skills to even greater use and take defenders off the dribble to draw fouls, and clean up misses at the rim with fewer bigger bodies to contend with.

I agree about Daugherty though I wonder if he’d develop a different body knowing the type of game he’d be playing in. He had great touch, and I’m confident he’d develop a three-point shot, was a very good passer, high IQ player. His defense in space was poor even in his era, and if he wasn’t better at that/had a different body composition, he’d be mercilessly put in screen-roll action on defense, and would be a bottom 20% defender relative to centers at best.
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Re: Which center would be better in this era 

Post#13 » by Doctor MJ » Sat Apr 22, 2023 6:37 pm

kendogg wrote:Can't just pretend Walton would be healthy. He wasn't even healthy when he was drafted.


Incidentally let me just say:

You're not wrong, but I don't really see the point in focusing on the health concerns when doing the era comparison.

If you're trying to get a sense of which player's set of skills would translate best to today's game, focusing on injuries just gets in the way of that.
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Re: Which center would be better in this era 

Post#14 » by kendogg » Sat Apr 22, 2023 7:14 pm

Doctor MJ wrote:
kendogg wrote:Can't just pretend Walton would be healthy. He wasn't even healthy when he was drafted.


Incidentally let me just say:

You're not wrong, but I don't really see the point in focusing on the health concerns when doing the era comparison.

If you're trying to get a sense of which player's set of skills would translate best to today's game, focusing on injuries just gets in the way of that.


It isn't fair to the other players you are comparing when you are projecting an entire healthy career for Walton versus an actual career with ups and downs and a realistic stat regression with age
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Re: Which center would be better in this era 

Post#15 » by Doctor MJ » Sat Apr 22, 2023 7:48 pm

kendogg wrote:
Doctor MJ wrote:
kendogg wrote:Can't just pretend Walton would be healthy. He wasn't even healthy when he was drafted.


Incidentally let me just say:

You're not wrong, but I don't really see the point in focusing on the health concerns when doing the era comparison.

If you're trying to get a sense of which player's set of skills would translate best to today's game, focusing on injuries just gets in the way of that.


It isn't fair to the other players you are comparing when you are projecting an entire healthy career for Walton versus an actual career with ups and downs and a realistic stat regression with age


I understand that, but I personally don't think comparisons like this are about player fairness. I see it as a way to understand how basketball is changing.
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Re: Which center would be better in this era 

Post#16 » by VanWest82 » Sat Apr 22, 2023 7:57 pm

Brad Daugherty could absolutely be playing C for the last few Suns teams with zero drop off. Sign me up for theoretically healthy Walton in any era, but that's cheating. If we're going to do that then I get to add theoretically healthy Arvydas.
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Re: Which center would be better in this era 

Post#17 » by KobesScarf » Sat Apr 22, 2023 9:21 pm

Gilmore because he fits the pick and role lob threat mood the best. And is probably the 2nd best rim protector after Mutombo
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Re: Which center would be better in this era 

Post#18 » by rk2023 » Sun Apr 23, 2023 1:34 am

Walton for sure. Analysis wise, HCL hit the nail on the head and I don’t think I could have said it better. A great player is a great player in any era, and this holds true with Walton. Blazer-mania and “running” a more egalitarian offense through Walton and multiple scoring options is a tactical approach I feel would fare well in todays game.

I could see him being a better Sabonis on offense in today’s game with his off-ball scoring acumen tapped into more than it was at his apex. Couple that with being the best rebounder and defender in the league perhaps, and you have a sure fire MVP level of impact player as far as I’m concerned.
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