We haven't been paying attention. Teams that are serious about making the playoffs are HUUUUGE at the power forward and center positions this year. They're going to play 2 bigs at the same time. The list just keeps getting bigger and grittier as free agency finishes up.
Legit Twin Towers with shooting:Sixers -
Horford (6'10, 245), Embiid (7'0, 250), Harris (6'9, 235),
Ben Simmons (6'10, 230)Bucks -
Giannis (6'11, 242), Lopez (7'0, 270), Ilysasova (6'10, 235)
Nuggets -
Millsap (6'8, 246), Jokic (7'0, 250), Plumlee (6'11, 235)
Kings -
Bagley (6'11, 234), Dedmon (7'0, 245), Bjelica (6'10, 234)
Mavs -
Porzingas (7'3, 240), Powell (6'11, 240), Boban (7'3 290)
Twin towers because of roster changes:
Lakers -
Davis (6'10, 253),
Cousins (6'11, 270),
McGee (7'0, 270), James (6'8, 250), Skinny Kuzma (6'9, 220)
Blazers -
Collins (7'0, 235), Nurkic (7'0, 275),
Whiteside (7'0, 265)Pelicans -
Zion (6'7, 284),
Favors (6'10, 265)Pacers -
Sabonis (6'11, 240), Turner (6'11, 250) [
lost Thad]
Chunky, strong, small-ball forwards (who still have legit centers next to them):
Clippers - Some mix of Harrell (6'8, 240), J. Green (6'9, 227), Zubac (7'1, 240), Harkless (6'9, 220), Kabengele (6'10, 250)
Rockets -
Tucker (6'6, 245), Capela (6'10, 240),
is Nene (6'11, 250) really retiring?Warriors -
Green (6'7, 240), Looney (6'9, 220), Cauley-Stein (7'0, 240)
Spurs -
Morris 6'9, 235, Aldridge (6'11, 260), Poeltl (7'0, 230), Gay (6'9, 230)
And then we have my stick figure Utah Jazz:
Jeff Green (6'9, 235),Ingles (6'8, 226), Gobert (7'1, 245),
Bogdanovic (6'8, 215)My fellow Jazz fans, how you are unworried about playing marshmallows at the 4? The only way I can explain this attitude:
1- We think
all 4s are small like PJ Tucker and Draymond Green. We have no idea how much those two actually weigh, or how physical they actually play. And we have no idea what 4s look like on other teams. We are stuck in the past, where hampton 5s and tiny rockets ruled the earth.
2 - We secretly believe that Bojan Bogdanovic is big and rugged. We don't know that we was scouted as a shooting guard and is 10 pounds lighter than Joe Ingles with a shorter wingspan.
3 - We think that post basketball is ineffective no matter who you have guarding the post.
4 - We think that size only matters when guarding a post player. This is probably because the biggest guy we fans ever guard is the short, overweight dude at the rec center who chucks 3s and doesn't get back on defense.
5 - We think Rudy Gobert can defend an entire roster all by himself. Well, he can. But it won't be as good as it has in the past.
6 - But most importantly, we have been spoiled by being the biggest, toughest team on the court for most of our lifetimes at Jazz fans. Karl Malone (6'9, 250) and Mark Eaton (7'4, 275) were gigantic brutes. So were Karl Malone and Greg Ostertag (7'2, 280). Carlos Boozer (6'9, 258) and Mehmet Okur (6'11, 249) weren't small, and they had Kirilenko (6'9, 220) playing down to 3 next to them. Alberto Grande (6'10, 289) and Paul Millsap (6'8, 246) had size and strength advantages on almost every team. Derrick Favors (6'10, 265) and Rudy Gobert (7'1, 245) were the rim reapers that anchored perhaps the best defense in the league for years, running their opponents out of the paint in search of cover. We honestly can't imagine not bullying the everloving crap out of every team in the league. So of course, Bojan will do it, too, right?
7 - There's an outside chance that going small on all these teams will actually work. But I don't believe.
POWER forwards are back in style in 2020 boys. 2 big bodies on the floor at the same time is standard for winning basketball teams. Get ready.
In '03-'04, Jerry Sloan coached the ESPN predicted "worst team of all time" to 42-40.