Over the past several years there has been much discussion about the way the game of basketball has changed when compared to, say, a decade ago. Fans of the sport have witnessed the rise in importance of the area of the court outside the three-point arc and reduced action closer to the basket, formerly the big man’s domain. We’ve not heard the NBA’s low-post community complain too loudly about its diminished role, but a Spanish newspaper’s recent interview with future Hall of Famer Pau Gasol typifies what a basketball big man’s lament would sound like.
AND IT’S ON BOTH ENDS OF THE FLOOR
With the pace of the game much quicker, the big guy can find himself completely left out of game action if he doesn’t change ends quickly. Shortly after he crosses the mid-court line on offense, he can watch a teammate launch a quick three-point attempt, then watch an opponent do the same thing on the other end before establishing position on defense. In faster-paced games,the poor soul can easily go a couple of possessions without ever reaching the free throw lane on either end of the court.
One can certainly sympathize with Pau Gasol’s nostalgic look at the sport and can relate to his statement that ‘some of the shots that are attempted today would have seen the coach send you to the bench as punishment.’ Now 39 years old and in his 19th NBA season, he’s as qualified as anyone to comment on the game’s evolution during that time. As a high-percentage shooter and skilled passer, Gasol was the rare center you could run an offense through. There’s still ball movement in today’s game, but the inside-outside stuff is not as common unless it’s to generate a perimeter shot.
ENDANGERED SPECIES?
So if you’re a center—for argument’s sake lets say a guy 6’10” and up with a low-post game and maybe a mid-range jumper—and you’re finding yourself behind the action, out of position to rebound and block shots AND you’re not a threat from the three-point area, that’s a problem. A big guy can be reduced to a mere spectator if he’s not careful.
Even in a half-court set, the low-post player ends up watching the ball sail over his head on a three-point attempt whether he’s on offense or defense, then on a missed attempt watches the long rebound sail over his head again. And the low-post player can now find himself on the bench during important moments of the game if the opponent “goes small” or has their own big who is a three-point threat.
For the center whose defensive presence deters opponents from driving the ball into the paint, those opportunities aren’t as plentiful. The “shot-blocking center” from days past had more of an impact when the high-percentage shot was still the one of choice for most teams. Those types of centers can still anchor a defense—Utah’s Rudy Gobert comes to mind—but primarily against teams who don’t feature the three-point shot. With the floor spaced, he’d better have the ability to defend the pick-and-roll and the athleticism to close out perimeter shooters. That’s a lot to ask of someone who is unlikely to get the ball on the offensive end unless he’s on the receiving end of a lob or grabs an offensive rebound.
THE JOB REQUIREMENTS HAVE CHANGED
As a result of the game’s evolution, many players with the physical characteristics, agility and footwork to be a successful low-post offensive player are staying current and adding the three-point shot to their profile. Gasol even mentions having two post players: one high and one low. Those days are gone, primarily for defensive reasons as at least one would have to cover a long-range guy who is much smaller. That’s a guaranteed bad matchup from the opening tip in today’s game, at least on the defensive end.
But some of us remember when the Houston Rockets would start Hakeem Olajuwon and Ralph Sampson, and the Boston Celtics would just tentacle you into oblivion with Robert Parish and Kevin McHale, who at times appeared to be toying with smaller, defenseless opponents. They’d pass the ball to each other with the ball held high over their heads at all times. It’s just a different game now. You couldn’t imagine any of those guys living outside the three-point line.
THE GAMES WITHIN THE GAMES
A few decades ago we’d salivate over the prospect of the classic matchup between the game’s top centers: Bill Russell or Kareem Abdul-Jabbar vs. Wilt Chamberlain, David Robinson vs Hakeem Olajuwon, Shaquille O’Neal vs Patrick Ewing, etc. Those individual matchups were used to hype up games that didn’t need the hype, and they’d live up to the hype anyway. Then the Detroit Pistons started winning titles with a perimeter shooting center like Bill Laimbeer, Michael Jordan’s Chicago Bulls won multiple titles without a dominant low-post center. Although he was listed as a forward, seven-footer Dirk Nowitzki led the Dallas Mavericks to a title with his accurate perimeter game. Among others, Shaquille O’Neal, Tim Duncan, Yao Ming (pictured above) and Gasol himself kept the low-post big man tradition alive for awhile before things began to change.
TAKING BACK THE MVP AWARD
The NBA’s 2019 Most Valuable Player Giannis Antetokounmpo is not a classic center but has center size, doesn’t rely on the three-point shot (Just as I type this, he hits a three against the Clippers. WHAT IS HE DOING?) and can dominate a game in many ways. As good as he is, should the Milwaukee Bucks fail to win a title within the next year or two, the fact that perimeter shooting isn’t the strongest part of his game will become a bit of an unfair criticism, unfortunately. But that’s OK. The Bucks already have one seven-footer shooting them frequently.
Still, that Giannis was able to break about a 15-year stranglehold on the MVP award from mostly perimeter players demonstrates there’s still a place for a skilled big man even though he’s unique, particularly with his ballhandling ability.
THERE’S STILL HOPE
There is, however, still hope for the low-post player. Denver’s Nikola Jokic is another MVP candidate. He does a little bit of everything for the Denver Nuggets, a team still capable of winning over 50 games in the 2019-20 regular-season, even in the stacked Western Conference. He’s efficient from three-point range too, but that won’t be held against him here. And then there’s Joel Embiid, the top player for the Philadelphia 76ers and also an MVP candidate who makes his presence felt on both ends of the floor, can stretch a defense and has the strength to bully near the basket. We’ve even seen an early season resurgence from Dwight Howard of the Lakers, who several years ago was putting up Hall of Fame numbers in his prime. His dominant inside game—on both ends—took a hit when the ball started sailing over his head on both ends, too.
During the 2019 NBA Playoffs, post play was a huge factor in the Eastern Conference. Embiid pushed the slightly-built Brooklyn Nets centers around in the first round, but met with burly, veteran resistance from Pau Gasol’s brother, Marc, in the conference semis won by Toronto in seven bruising contests..
With most 2020 NBA Mock Drafts light on centers, the league will once again see an influx of floor spacers and perimeter defenders. That’s fine as long as low-post skills are still being taught at the lower levels of the sport. Hopefully, it will sink in that everyone can’t shoot from long-distance with the accuracy of Stephen Curry, and the next major shift in the sport will include the re-introduction of the low-post player into game action.
The quick three-point shot doesn’t need to disappear completely, but there’s still a place for those sub-plots taking place closer to the basket, keeping the league’s big men involved in the action.
