Which NBA players could play both Point Guard and Center?

ubernathan · Post #21 » by **ubernathan** » Sat Mar 22, 2008 5:51 pm

Eddy Curry. He has the handles, court vision, and quickness to play the point.

halfHAVOC · Post #22 » by **halfHAVOC** » Sat Mar 22, 2008 5:58 pm

1. KG
2. Diaw
3. Odom
4. LeBron

Post #23 » by **penbeast0** » Sat Mar 22, 2008 7:00 pm

Actually, the key to this comparisom is who could play PG and Center DEFENSIVELY . . . Magic played in a couple of lineups where he was the biggest guy out there on the Lakers, and when he was playing with Cooper and Worthy at the 2 and 3, he defended the 1 when the 2 was the bigger threat.

For those purposes, I'd say Diaw is the one who has done it most frequently in his career because of the year in PHO where he was defending a lot of 5 next to Marion.

RoyceDa59 · Post #24 » by **RoyceDa59** » Sat Mar 22, 2008 8:30 pm

1. James
2. Garnett
3. Odom

Illuminati · Post #25 » by **Illuminati** » Sat Mar 22, 2008 8:33 pm

Andrea Bargnani.

Joseph17 · Post #26 » by **Joseph17** » Sat Mar 22, 2008 8:36 pm

KG
Diaw
Odom
LeBron
Turkoglu

Out of those players, Lebron is probably the only player who can play both of those positions effectively. KG, Diaw, Odom, and Turkoglu are all too slow to guard point guards. If Lebron is really as tall as Dwight Howard the way everyone says he is, he wouldn't have trouble playing center against most NBA teams.

ponder276 · Post #27 » by **ponder276** » Sat Mar 22, 2008 9:01 pm

Can't believe nobody has mentioned Dirk yet - he has excellent handles for a big, and is a good play maker. Among current players, my top 3 would be LeBron, Odom and Dirk, in that order. KG has nice assist numbers, but he doesn't really handle the ball and make plays out on the perimeter like Dirk does, he mostly receives the ball down low and then makes nice passes.

CrankyTodd · Post #28 » by **CrankyTodd** » Sat Mar 22, 2008 9:01 pm

knicksh20b wrote:JAREDDD JEFFRRIIIESSS. he'll suck, but what did you expect from him?

As a Wizards fan, that made me laugh. Jared Jeffries is indeed capable of playing all five positions equally poorly.

stopnpop · Post #29 » by **stopnpop** » Sat Mar 22, 2008 11:13 pm

KG, Diaw, Odom, Lebron

Post #30 » by **BrooklynBulls** » Sat Mar 22, 2008 11:15 pm

penbeast0 wrote:For those purposes, I'd say Diaw is the one who has done it most frequently in his career because of the year in PHO where he was defending a lot of 5 next to Marion.

You just said that the key is handling the 2 positions defensively...I can remember no single point where Diaw was matched against the PG defensively. Did I just not watch enough Suns ball?

Post #31 » by **TNBT** » Sat Mar 22, 2008 11:24 pm

halfHAVOC wrote:1. KG
2. Diaw
3. Odom
4. LeBron

Those are the main guys that came to mind for me as well. Speaking of retired guys though, I don't think anyone has mentioned Scottie Pippen yet, but he played the point role well and he could play against some smaller centers.

RonCrimson · Post #32 » by **RonCrimson** » Sat Mar 22, 2008 11:39 pm

LeBron James has the physical tools to play center; last week he said he was 6-9, 260. Considering many centers today aren't heavier than that, he could handle them. That being said, LeBron rarely posts despite his physical advantage. I think he would have to change his playing style to actually be considered the "center."

Players shouldn't be considered the center just because they are the biggest player on the court for their team at a given time.

Post #33 » by **Young_Star11** » Sat Mar 22, 2008 11:50 pm

An obvious answer is Kevin Garnett

Boris Diaw deserves a mention too, with his unique skillset

Lamar Odom could be a PG, not sure about a C though!

Post #34 » by **penbeast0** » Sat Mar 22, 2008 11:58 pm

BrooklynBulls wrote:-= original quote snipped =-
You just said that the key is handling the 2 positions defensively...I can remember no single point where Diaw was matched against the PG defensively. Did I just not watch enough Suns ball?

The Hawks used to use him at PG . . . . another one who played both positions defensively was Bill Hanslick with Doug Moe's Nuggets. He was a 6-5 swingman but Moe like to use him against the big guys because he had really strong legs and could hold his ground in the post when Moe went small.

Post #35 » by **BrooklynBulls** » Sun Mar 23, 2008 12:07 am

penbeast0 wrote:-= original quote snipped =-

The Hawks used to use him at PG . . . . another one who played both positions defensively was Bill Hanslick with Doug Moe's Nuggets. He was a 6-5 swingman but Moe like to use him against the big guys because he had really strong legs and could hold his ground in the post when Moe went small.

Diaw was indeed used at PG with the Hawks, but there are two problems with that statement. The first is that Diaw from Phoenix is different from Diaw from Atlanta. The latter weighs a good 30 pounds more than he used to. The second problem is that he wasn't decent at PG in Atlanta, and the thread stipulates that the player be a decent player at either position.

Taiwan Killa · Post #36 » by **Taiwan Killa** » Sun Mar 23, 2008 12:28 am

Odom played PG for the Lakers in 05-06 because they didn't want Kobe bringing up the ball to tire him out.

Then over the past few games when Gasol was injured and Turiaf was on the bench Odom has been playing center and guarding the paint.

Lebron isn't tall enough and doesn't have a post game that's trademarked to centers. And I question KG's ballhandling.

Pats19andO · Post #37 » by **Pats19andO** » Sun Mar 23, 2008 12:35 am

zach randolph
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3j1q6osD ... re=related

Post #38 » by **dockingsched** » Sun Mar 23, 2008 7:23 am

Young_Star11 wrote:An obvious answer is Kevin Garnett

Boris Diaw deserves a mention too, with his unique skillset

Lamar Odom could be a PG, not sure about a C though!

with gasol and bynum out, odom's been playing center for like half his minutes.

two players mentioned that have no where near the handles or speed to play pg are brad miller and dirk. shouldn't have even been mentioned.

Twinkie defense · Post #39 » by **Twinkie defense** » Sun Mar 23, 2008 7:31 am

Magic as a rookie "center" vs. Philly in the finals was the stuff of legend.

Wilt Chamberlain actually led the League in assists one season... because he decided he wanted to. 8.6 per game!

ponder276 · Post #40 » by **ponder276** » Sun Mar 23, 2008 8:28 am

dcash4 wrote:-= original quote snipped =-

with gasol and bynum out, odom's been playing center for like half his minutes.

two players mentioned that have no where near the handles or speed to play pg are brad miller and dirk. shouldn't have even been mentioned.

Agreed about Brad Miller, but can you name a 7 footer in the league right now with better handles, play-making ability (from the perimeter, not from the post) and general perimiter game than Dirk? I can't think of one.