<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">OAKLAND -- It's time to stop complaining about the apathy on his face. It's time to stop picking nits about what he can't do. It's time to stop staring at his ghastly white stockings. It's time, finally, to get off Erick Dampier's case. No more whining about his contract, because he has grown into it. No more moaning about his attitude or his work habits, because they have improved. Dampier, formerly the No.1 whipping boy of Warriors fans everywhere, sometimes deservedly, has moved into the upper tier of NBA centers. He's easily in the top 10, and if he continues the way he's going, he'll glide into the top 5. While part of this has to do with the overall quality of the position, most of it is Damp. He's consistently doing what you'd want your center to do. No, he's not Shaquille O'Neal. Nor is he what Yao Ming will become. But Shaq aside, no classic center in the NBA is giving his team any more production than Damp is giving the Warriors. The closer you scan the NBA, the better Dampier looks. Tim Duncan, Jermaine O'Neal, Ben Wallace and Pau Gasol are power forwards. Alonzo Mourning ain't what he used to be. Neither is Zydrunas Ilgauskas. Or Vlade Divac. Or, for that matter, Dikembe Mutombo. Chicago's Eddy Curry and Cleveland's DeSagana Diop are babies. Minnesota's Michael Olowokandi is more athletic than Damp, but he's less effective. Utah's Greg Ostertag? Washington's Etan Thomas? Jake Voskuhl in Phoenix? I'll take Dampier, all 6-foot-11, 265 pounds of him, over these stiffs 99 nights out of 100.</div> full story
