in a league of 70+ centers, how likely is it that only 8 are above average?

Very, if 54 are average.

hiya
still refusing to put that C in there
idk west, better chance of deng retiring due to injury than me taking knight back.

someone asked about lakers wins (quote didnt register) id say ~30 at best.

I asked about Lakers wins, thanks Scherer!

You didn't ask me but I'll answer.

If the Lakers stay relatively healthy 35-40 wins seems like a fair prediction.


Ps

Sup McLovin???

8 is an extreme #, but we could expect the # of above average centers to be a fair amount below half of the centers b/c of the relative impact of good players. at least if we account for minutes played.

65 players are listed at centers in espn's rpm section. if i didn't make any mistakes the minutes weighted average rpm for those players was ~.98. first person within there was ranked 22nd (tyson chandler). so according to rpm ~1/3 of the centers are above average; again accounting for minutes.

i just picked rpm b/c it was easy to grab. i would expect similarly skewed results for other stats again b/c of the relative impact of the best players. ofc not everyone is going to agree w/the ordering of players rpm but i think the general idea holds

edit: i actually ended up checking it for PER as well. 72 Cs this season according to bref, though i think i may have checked the F/C box also, but anyway-- minutes weighted average PER was ~18.3. That cuts off at #24 (myles turner), which is 1/3 of the group. so a similar proportion


also according to bref 486 people played at least 1 minute this season and the median MP was ~1200 min. so that's like 15-20 mpg for someone who is not missing too many games. 49 centers played > 15 mpg. minutes weighted rpm average for that group was ~1.17, which cuts off at rank #21 (speights). so not a big change in terms of overall # of "above average" centers, but they account for ~40% of that subgroup

edit2: though this largely ignores players existing within thirs and that groups of players could be average-ish

re: the importance of dominant bigs in today's NBA

If you are a GM and you could have the number 1 pick in a draft of all current NBA players available at their current ages and a 20 year old Shaq is there any way somebody other than Shaq is selected?

The game has changed so much but Shaq was so ridiculously good. Would his presence alone be enough to force all other teams to reformat their entire teams and style of play?

Of course you take Shaq. You take 20 year old Shaq over everyone but like 2 people in NBA history. If anything Shaq's value increases in today's game because he would have an even bigger size advantage. Also he would have more room to operate bc of spacing and his ability/willingness to kick out to shooters. He would be an absolute monster.

I also agree Shaq would be more dominant now. I think in general dominant post players are more valuable now than back then simply because there are less guys able to defend them.. The problem is I see maybe two or three players I'd put in that category (Jokic, Towns, maaaybe Boogie). What you're left with are a bunch of other guys who post up a lot but do it inefficiently..

Shaq imo would crush all those guys and cause these switching defenses to foul their valuable players out or be forced to adjust... or just let him keep dunking on your head.

The question would be a lot more interesting if LeBron was in his mid 20's.

Also The thought of prime Shaq in a PnR with a good PG is sexy as hell. We didn't see him do it much with LA, but we are talking about the guy that iirc still has the highest max vert at the combine despite being built like a tank.

In the current NBA meta Shaq maintains the body type he had in Orlando

imo embiid/cousins are the best current examples as guys who can post-up at big volume as offensive centerpieces basically in the same sort of way you'd use a guy like shaq

towns/lopez/gasol are pretty legit as post-up centerpieces as well in their own ways

jokic is a good post player but it's more opportunism for him which is why his postup efficiency is so good

Shaq had no range and was slow-ish. The guy guarding him would just trap the PG.

There's a reason why he was so perfect for the triangle and not the PnR. He could start out in the low post with spacing and just bulldozer his way to the rim.

Woalves working on a Wiggins deal that could pay him up to 5 years and $148mil

Vomit

Rondo deal is 3.3 million, fits into the MLE and keeps the Cans out of the luxury tax. He's still getting an additional 3 million from Chicago.

So do the cans have any semi-competent wing who can shoot the basketball? Someone like Omar Casspi maybe?

You mean the guy we waived for no reason?

Jrue will be off the ball a lot more now. Dante Cunningham shot well last year but that was a major outlier from the rest of his career. If Quincy Pondexter is ever healthy, he could help. Basically that's a lot of words to say maybe but probably not.

Pondexter is a massive dog to contribute as he hasn't played in 2 years, but would fit that role if he somehow returns to form.

The market is dried up for that type of player so that's their only hope.

lmao, wolves staying the WILves

Orlando Shaq would be an elite pnr player. He was very mobile/agile, played way above the rim, had some ball handling skills for a big, and was a good passer. If you look up Shaq's Orlando highlights there are a couple of side pnrs of him getting dunks because he gets a free step towards the rim and no one can do anything with him when he catches it on the move

Edit:

What else were they supposed to do with Wiggins?

Hooray for answers!

I'm McLovin' the offseason, wishing the Knicks would finally trade Melo, and I am super happy they didn't trade Porzingis.

u?

Edit: Orlando Shaq was tons of fun.

DERRICK ROSE

This is amazing. CAVS. They might not get out of the 2nd round .