I was watching the Heat-Lakers game Thursday night, and was struck by a thought. Dwight Howard is the best big man in the game, one of the few traditional centers we have left, and he's bordering on useless. Is it because he can't play? No. Its because given the right personnel and coaching, you can stop him from almost ever touching the ball. This, I realized, is the crux of the big man extinction dilemma. Say what you will about floor spacing, a lack of talent, and a changing game. The real reason centers like Dwight Howard are becoming obsolete was on full display on Thursday. What use is having one of the best players in the world, if you can't get them the ball?
As the Heat showed, you don't need a 7-footer to match-up with a 7-footer. You need 5 guys who are 6-7, with long arms, quick feet, and a solid game plan. A simple post feed is no good. The Heat will front Dwight with a shorter but quicker player. A lob over the top? Please, that's what they want you to do. As soon as that ball goes up, another Heat wing will promptly swoop in to deflect/steal the pass. Pick and roll? The Heat double the point guard, and leave a 3rd man to pick up both the roller and spot up shooter in the corner. The NBA court is literally to small for a team to effectively run the pick and roll again the long armed Heat defense.
You get the idea. When playing a defense like the Heat, you don't have many ways to get your big man the ball. Indeed, many of Dwight's points came off of offensive rebounds he collected against the smaller Heat front-line. However, 4-6 extra points from offensive rebounds beats 20-30 points from dunks and layups any day.
I know what you are saying. "That's just Miami, not every team can do what they do.". True, but its not as rare as it seems. A collection of say, Rudy Gay, Nicolas Batum, Daniel Orton, Luol Deng, and Paul George would be able to do the exact same thing against the Lakers. Its not about talent or height, its about length and speed. Granted, you need a coach who know what he's doing (Spolstra), and players who will buy in, but the point stands. As players in the NBA become increasingly athletic and long, and defensive schemes become more advanced, big men like Dwight Howard will become useless.
As the Heat showed, you don't need a 7-footer to match-up with a 7-footer. You need 5 guys who are 6-7, with long arms, quick feet, and a solid game plan. A simple post feed is no good. The Heat will front Dwight with a shorter but quicker player. A lob over the top? Please, that's what they want you to do. As soon as that ball goes up, another Heat wing will promptly swoop in to deflect/steal the pass. Pick and roll? The Heat double the point guard, and leave a 3rd man to pick up both the roller and spot up shooter in the corner. The NBA court is literally to small for a team to effectively run the pick and roll again the long armed Heat defense.
You get the idea. When playing a defense like the Heat, you don't have many ways to get your big man the ball. Indeed, many of Dwight's points came off of offensive rebounds he collected against the smaller Heat front-line. However, 4-6 extra points from offensive rebounds beats 20-30 points from dunks and layups any day.
I know what you are saying. "That's just Miami, not every team can do what they do.". True, but its not as rare as it seems. A collection of say, Rudy Gay, Nicolas Batum, Daniel Orton, Luol Deng, and Paul George would be able to do the exact same thing against the Lakers. Its not about talent or height, its about length and speed. Granted, you need a coach who know what he's doing (Spolstra), and players who will buy in, but the point stands. As players in the NBA become increasingly athletic and long, and defensive schemes become more advanced, big men like Dwight Howard will become useless.