Top 10 centers...

[EvadedHavoc]

No love for Perk?

[FNQ]

Forgiven.

FWIW its great to see that most people aren't overrating Al Jefferson... as far as impact on the game goes, I think Camby's being overrated and Chandler's being underrated... Haywood's getting way too much love - I agree he's underrated by most, but I think he's clearly underneath Kaman - mostly because Haywood does one thing I absolute hate - kill ball movement.

[tsherkin]

Jefferson isn't a center.

He's a terrible defender against 5s... not so bad against 4s.

He's a great scorer... but he doesn't draw fouls at a sufficient rate. He's a great rebounder but he's not an especially dangerous help defender.

He's a very solid $10M+ a year player who's probably going to be 20-23 ppg and 10-12 rpg for a long time. A very, very good player, but he's more of a PF who plays a finesse post game than a really dominant 5.

Camby's terribly overrated; he cheats by almost never leaving the area right under the rim. He's critically flawed on offense (he has almost none of it), he's a bad help defender (ironic, given his claim to fame is shot-blocking, but he camps by the rim to do it) and he's a terrible man defender.

[revprodeji]

Tsherkin, Jefferson's defensive problems is not due to himself, but rather that his defensive front court mate was Gomes. He needs a guy that can weak side block and help on the boards Jefferson looks like a good defender, he tries hard, rebounds well, blocks and makes his presence known.

He drastically improved at getting contact and eventually getting fouls at the end of the year. He has finesse moves, but is not a finesse player. He is very quick, and strong. He finishes hard and enjoys the thunder dunk. If you give him spacing and a better supporting cast he will skyrocket sir.

[tsherkin]

Tsherkin, Jefferson's defensive problems is not due to himself, but rather that his defensive front court mate was Gomes. He needs a guy that can weak side block and help on the boards Jefferson looks like a good defender, he tries hard, rebounds well, blocks and makes his presence known.

No, that's not true. He's not an especially good man defender and got roughed up by centers when Ratliff was out. He rebounds well on the defensive end and he's alright against PFs but effort alone does not always make a good defender. He needs to improve his rotations, use his feet, body and hands better in man-on situations and he needs to improve his timing. He also needs about 10-20 pounds of extra muscle if he's to play the 5 regularly and could stand to add the 10 pounds just to be more imposing even at the 4. He's got the wherewithal to BECOME a good defender but he's not one right now and Gomes was not the issue.

Kwame Brown was a good post defender even on some crap Washington squads; Brendan Haywood, too. PJ Brown, Kurt Thomas, these are guys who play good defense regardless. Jefferson has a lot of fundamental issues with his defense right now that need correcting. Good coaching and time can help them and it serves to remember Big Al came directly from high school but Gomes is not the problem. Teammates don't change how well you play man defense and don't change your help defense too much either (except the likelihood of you getting burned when you rotate, which is not something for which I fault Al). Look at Garnett in Minny for all those years.

He drastically improved at getting contact and eventually getting fouls at the end of the year.

He actually declined from 0.284 FTA/FGA before the All-Star break to 0.256 FTA/FGA after the All-Star break. You may have perceived him trying to draw contact more but it wasn't happening, he was backpedaling. We'll see how next season goes.

He has finesse moves, but is not a finesse player. He is very quick, and strong. He finishes hard and enjoys the thunder dunk. If you give him spacing and a better supporting cast he will skyrocket sir.

He's 100% a finesse player right now; he settles for jump hooks instead of going for leaners, he settles for layups when he should be aggressively pursuing dunks, etc.

Spacing and supporting cast do not change these things. He will improve in other areas as his supporting cast likewise improves, certainly team success cannot be placed too squarely on his shoulders, but Dwight, for example, was drawing fouls at incredible rates even when Orlando had nobody worth mentioning aside from himself. Granted, Al isn't as athletic or as tanked out but Al needs to realize that he needs to be seeking and creating contact much more regularly.. and then actually do so.

[That Nicka]

1. Dwight Howard
2. Yao Ming
3. Chris Kaman
4. Tyson Chandler
5. Emeka Okafor
6. Andrew Bynum
7. Andrew Bogut
8. Marcus Camby
9. Zydrunas Illgauskus
10. Brendan Haywood
11. Andris Biendrins
12. Memo Okur
13. Samuel Dalembert
14. Shaquille O'Neal
15. Brad Miller
16. Kendrick Perkins

here is my list

[fivas14]

1. Dwight Howard
2. Yao Ming
3. Chris Kaman
4. Tyson Chandler
5. Emeka Okafor
6. Andrew Bynum
7. Andrew Bogut
8. Marcus Camby
9. Zydrunas Illgauskus
10. Brendan Haywood
11. Andris Biendrins
12. Memo Okur
13. Samuel Dalembert
14. Shaquille O'Neal
15. Brad Miller
16. Kendrick Perkins

here is my list

How in the hell are you going to put Haywood, and Biendrins ahead of Okur?

[paul]

1. Dwight Howard
2. Yao Ming
3. Chris Kaman
4. Tyson Chandler
5. Emeka Okafor
6. Andrew Bynum
7. Andrew Bogut
8. Marcus Camby
9. Zydrunas Illgauskus
10. Brendan Haywood
11. Andris Biendrins
12. Memo Okur
13. Samuel Dalembert
14. Shaquille O'Neal
15. Brad Miller
16. Kendrick Perkins

here is my list

How in the hell are you going to put Haywood, and Biendrins ahead of Okur?

I did as well, mainly because Okur is a very very poor defender, absolutely no threat as a shotblocker and only an average offensive player and rebounder. Both Bierdrins and Haywood are better at their 'strengths' than Okur is, even though he's a nice player. He essentially plays like a big 3 imo.

[UDRIH14]

4 pages and no mention of rasho nesterovic?

this thread fails

[That Nicka]

How in the hell are you going to put Haywood, and Biendrins ahead of Okur?

He averages like 4 more points than them on much lower FG% while they are much better rebounders, shot blockers and defenders...

[AgEnT50]

1. Bynum