Mark Gasol? Agree with Charles on that, and how significant it is to have a big man who can pass. A la Sabonis. Kenny states the distinguishing factor between good and great big men is great hands, and the ability to finish around the rim when getting shuffled the ball. That said, IMO Meyers Leonard has the ability to become a great center. Got hands like a guard, potential passing skills; once he learns the game, and most importantly he's highly proficient at finishing at the rim. People ask, "what do you see in Leonard?" That right there^, and the defense will come with experience.
Some ridiculous metrics right there. Did you happen to pull those out because they have LaMarcus Aldridge as the 7th best player in the NBA...?
This is exactly the difference between Hickson and Aldridge. Hickson catches on the fly and instantly adjusts to put it in. Aldridge bobbles it and never gets control because he can't do two things together.
Whatever they are using to rank that is wack. They say they take defense into account but in their top 6 they have 3 horrible defenders and David Lee was so bad defensively that he was made fun of at the MIT Sloan Sports Analytic Conference.
In Marc's rookie year, Memphis was 5.8pts / 100 pos. worse with him on the floor on D and now he's a DPOY winner. Gives you some insight on just how long these guys take to learn NBA defense. Although he'll never have his size, gives hope to Blazer fans that Meyers won't always suck on D.
I still think that Tim Duncan is a better center right now, but Marc's not far behind. With the role of the modern center evolving, Marc's ahead of the curve. He's a real point-center, a true quarterback of both our offense and defense. It's amazing how when Marc doesn't touch the ball, our offense falls apart, but just by feeding Marc early on in a play, even if he doesn't score or get a real "assist," he's going to set up a teammate in a position to score or get the hockey assist. Also, I've been saying that he doesn't deserve to be the DPOY, but amongst centers, he's still the best defensive center out there, and it's not even close. The "defensive statistics" are overrated for big men, and a lot of time they are just a pat-on-the-back to the lanky big men that can help on the weakside. Gasol actually plays the sort of smart defense that helps his team in the long-run. He doesn't gamble, he doesn't overextend himself and get useless fouls like a lot of "athletic" big men do, he almost never messes up on rotations, and he tells other players where to be on the floor. Best center? In my mind, not until Duncan retires, or starts to come down from the crazy year he's having at least. Better than Howard and Bynum? No doubt.
As a caveat to my previous post, I've got to clarify that if Dwight or Bynum can get back to the place they were a season ago, then that's another story, and the discussion becomes a little more interesting. However, with what Dwight showed in LA this season, there's no question that I'd rather have Gasol on my team, and Bynum's head has seemed elsewhere since he was a high school prospect. Both of them have the potential to be your classic, dominating post presence, but neither has capitalized on their physical potential yet. Gasol, on the other hand, is one of those guys like Jason Kidd in his prime, where you know that having him on your team takes you from the lottery to contender status over night. He may not be flashy, he may never make the highlight plays, but he's always going to make all of the smart moves that will help your team actually win on both ends of the court. I think calling him the Jason Kidd of centers is not actually off base in describing his role on the floor.
It's odd that it says it's based on offensive and defensive categories, and only offensive stats are there. I wonder what defensive stats or categories they used? Meyers Leonard has all the tools to be a very good offensive center in the league, but I'm not sure he will ever be half the defender Marc Gasol is. Also makes The Dude think twice about not wanting Al Jefferson. Also on the list Lillard #3 (PG) Matthews #16 (SG) Batum #10 (SF) Aldridge #1 (PF) Hickson #11 (PF) Leonard #32 (C) Barton #49 (SG) Babbitt #52 (SF) Claver #65 (SF) Maynor #65 (PG) Freeland #75 (PF) Pavlovic #73 (SG) Smith #88 (PG)
Sure does, thanks for the insight. Yea it's hard to define center these days. Duncan may be better, but he's a PF in my eyes. Exactly why LMA is not a center, he's ability to catch on the fly as you say is limited, and really his ability to dunk around the rim leaves lots to be desired as well.
I think part of Gasol getting better was losing weight. It also has to do with coaching. But, while I'd be happy to be proved wrong, I don't hold out a great deal of hope for Leonard. He just doesn't strike me as the kind of player who "gets" defense. Good defenders are actually a lot rarer than good offensive players (offensers?) I think because it requires a special kind of intelligence and commitment. Plus, you can't practice it alone. (I also get the impression that Leonard has bad balance - he's kind of top-heavy. You can be comparatively slow and lumbering and be a good defender but you have to have a low center of gravity. Compare, for example, Gary Payton and Travis Outlaw. Outlaw was a startling athlete but just not good at changing direction. Payton wasn't a great athlete but had kind of short legs in comparison with his torso and that helped him get low and be really hard to get around.)
Meyers Leonard is built like Tyson Chandler (one of the best big men defenders in the game) so im not sure where this 'his body type isnt meant to be a defender' hooey is coming from. Dude was a rookie, give him a couple years, he'll get it.
True. It took Chandler quite a few years to become the player he is. His first three teams basically gave him away IMO. The verdict on Leonard is a ways out.
Meyers is not the defender that Chandler was as a rookie, and Meyers is older. http://www.basketball-reference.com...m=0&p1=chandty01&y1=2002&p2=leoname01&y2=2013 Now that being said, Chandler wasn't near the offensive player Meyers is. Meyers looks like he is going to be a very good face up offensive center for a lot of years, but nothing this past season or in college says he will be a decent NBA defensive center. I hope we keep him around, but not thinking he will develop into a defensive center because non in depth numbers say he probably won't.
