*Shorties*

GJense4181 · Post #1 » by **GJense4181** » Thu Mar 6, 2008 5:21 am

6'8" Leon Powe, 6'8" Glen Davis, 6'8" Brandon Bass, 6'7" Jason Maxiell, 6'7" Carl Landry, 6'6" Chuck Hayes, 6'8" Ike Diogu, 6'8" Udonis Haslem, 6'7" Craig Smith, 6'8" Reggie Evans, 6'8" Paul Millsap, and the like....

What is up with this sudden influx of young, short, stocky hustle players? Why do none of them start, yet all of them appear to play a sizeable role on winning rosters?
Does this have to do with a) good coaches simply playing their most productive, effective players, b) certain general managers identifying diamonds in the rough and paying more attention to game tape than measurables c) the entire league trending away from a mind-set that centers have to be 7'0" and play with their backs to the basket, or d) all bigmen are really 6'8" and their heights are inflated, you fools?

Patterns · Post #2 » by **Patterns** » Thu Mar 6, 2008 5:40 am

All garbage men and energy players. There is a niche for them.

fugop · Post #3 » by **fugop** » Thu Mar 6, 2008 5:42 am

You forgot Elton Brand and Carlos Boozer, the best two of the bunch.

But yeah, there does seem to be a trend, at least toward having a guy of that type play a key role off the bench. I think it's there versatility, as the league's got an unusual variety of offensive approaches now, and these guys can help against anybody, from Golden State to Dallas.

Joseph17 · Post #4 » by **Joseph17** » Thu Mar 6, 2008 6:09 am

Teams are beginning to realize that guys who are 6'7 or 6'8 have no trouble playing power forward. They also feel that having an undersized pf is better than having a big stiff that's 7'1.

Post #5 » by **Harry Palmer** » Thu Mar 6, 2008 6:21 am

I don't think it's new...at all. The 'next' Barkleys have been littering the landscape since the original. Fizer, Kenny Thomas, Traylor, Harrington, Fortson, Mo Taylor, Trent, Corliss, Weatherspoon, etc. etc.

cdubbz · Post #6 » by **cdubbz** » Thu Mar 6, 2008 6:24 am

Ike Diogu?! hustle player? LOL

cdubbz · Post #7 » by **cdubbz** » Thu Mar 6, 2008 6:26 am

Also you can't be so set on the height of players. It's not a rule that a powerfoward has to be 6'10 or a center 7 feet tall. Its only a few inch difference between 6'8 and 6'10...and if you have played pickup basketball you have 6'3 big men gaurding 6'5 big men all the time or 6 foot fowards gaurding 6'3 fowards. Height isnt a HUGE issue, its important, but its only a matter of a few inches.

Hairy Midget · Post #8 » by **Hairy Midget** » Thu Mar 6, 2008 6:41 am

Wingspan is the biggest factor.

PDXKnight · Post #9 » by **PDXKnight** » Thu Mar 6, 2008 6:57 am

These type of players are definitely gaining value in the NBA. They provide something different offensively and defensively than a 6-10 + big man cannot provide.

GJense4181 · Post #10 » by **GJense4181** » Thu Mar 6, 2008 5:04 pm

fugop wrote:You forgot Elton Brand and Carlos Boozer, the best two of the bunch. I was trying to go for bench players, mainly, although I recognize that Udonis Haslem is starting for an awful team. I suppose Kurt Thomas is also relevant, a 6'9" low-flying center, and perhaps Eduardo Najera (who does play C sparingly, correct?). I also forgot 6'9" Chris Richard on Minnesota and 6'9" Shelden Williams of Sacramento.
But yeah, there does seem to be a trend, at least toward having a guy of that type play a key role off the bench. I think it's there versatility, as the league's got an unusual variety of offensive approaches now, and these guys can help against anybody, from Golden State to Dallas.
So you think it's because other teams are starting to go small-ball and play, for example, Al Harrington and Antawn Jamison at PF, and it's merely for matchup purposes?

theTHIEF · Post #11 » by **theTHIEF** » Thu Mar 6, 2008 5:05 pm

Charles Barkley....

GJense4181 · Post #12 » by **GJense4181** » Thu Mar 6, 2008 5:09 pm

Hairy Midget wrote:Wingspan is the biggest factor.

So is that becoming more of an important measurable than flat-out height?
For example, Chris Bosh is listed at 6'10"...but because his neck is so damn long. Jerry Stackhouse, on the other hand, is 6'6" but has long arms and nearly no neck whatsoever.
I suppose standing reach is *really* what is most important when it comes to rebounding/blocking shots, and also being a quick leaper.
I again ask the question: is this because these players are simply overachieving and surprising coaches with their on-court production which defies combine measurables (and they are forced to play them, period), or are general managers identifying these players as PF-C prospects pre-draft?
I remember the days when players like Ben Wallace were asked to convert to SG/SF due to their height. Has this stopped, and players are being accepted for their play-style, rather than their stereotyped position?

GJense4181 · Post #13 » by **GJense4181** » Thu Mar 6, 2008 5:11 pm

Harry Palmer wrote:I don't think it's new...at all. The 'next' Barkleys have been littering the landscape since the original. Fizer, Kenny Thomas, Traylor, Harrington, Fortson, Mo Taylor, Trent, Corliss, Weatherspoon, etc. etc.

Fizer and Traylor had short-lived careers, Fortson and Tayor are out of the league, Corliss retired, and Weatherspoon/Harrington were never much to write home about. I had no idea any of those players were billed as the "next Barkley".

Are all of my aforementioned players "next Barkley"s, then? Why are they panning out, unlike all of ^those players (besides Williamson and EThomas, for a period)?

Rasheeed!!! · Post #14 » by **Rasheeed!!!** » Thu Mar 6, 2008 5:25 pm

It seems as though GM's are drafting guys that can play, instead of the token 7 footer "project"....this excludes Seattle though.

93 Phillies · Post #15 » by **93 Phillies** » Thu Mar 6, 2008 5:29 pm

Height is good for vision unless the player has a really long forehead and then it is misleading.

Post #16 » by **Harry Palmer** » Thu Mar 6, 2008 5:41 pm

GJense4181 wrote:-= original quote snipped =-

Fizer and Traylor had short-lived careers, Fortson and Tayor are out of the league, Corliss retired, and Weatherspoon/Harrington were never much to write home about. I had no idea any of those players were billed as the "next Barkley".

Are all of my aforementioned players "next Barkley"s, then? Why are they panning out, unlike all of ^those players (besides Williamson and EThomas, for a period)?

What?

Most of the guys you mentioned are first or second year players. How are they 'panning out' more than most of the guys I mentioned, which list includes an NBA 6th Man of the Year, for example?

And besides, my point was never about whether or not they made it...had it been so, I'd have included guys like Larry Johnson. My point was about GM's drafting these guys, which was, I thought, the point you were making. And my response is/was, those guys have always been drafted a lot. They tend to be guys who do very well at the college level, and then people take chances on them translating to the NBA. Sometimes you get LJ, sometimes Corliss, sometimes Fizer.