Leaguewide, what is the deepest position in the NBA?

[Lex L.]

Considering that many/most would say that Dwight Howard is the only "true" center in the NBA right now, it would seem like it would be another position.

Is it PG, SG, SF, or PF...or is it C?

 

[Lex L.]

One thing that I'll say about the C position is that it has become a hybrid position...something between PF and C. It seems like the newer Cs might have better mobility and, in some cases, better outside shooting. A lot of them are 6'10" to 7'. There seems to be a dearth of the 7'+ centers that are productive at both ends and relied on as a main scorer. Some may want to characterize current centers as different as opposed to inferior.

 

[BNB]

PF.

Bosh, Gasol, Boozer, KG, Amar'e, Griffin, Love, West, Aldridge, Scola, etc.

PG is also deep with Rose, Paul, Dwill, Rondo, Nash, Westbrook, etc.

 

[Lex L.]

PF.

Bosh, Gasol, Boozer, KG, Amar'e, Griffin, Love, West, Aldridge, Scola, etc.

PG is also deep with Rose, Paul, Dwill, Rondo, Nash, Westbrook, etc.

I don't think it's PF. BTW, you left of Nowitzki, the best of them all.

I think it's between SF and PG.

Also, I think Gasol is a C and not a PF.

But that aside, I think: James, Durant, Anthony, etc is better than what's at PF.

 

[BNB]

I don't think it's PF. BTW, you left of Nowitzki, the best of them all.

I think it's between SF and PG.

Also, I think Gasol is a C and not a PF.

But that aside, I think: James, Durant, Anthony, etc is better than what's at PF.

HAHAHA. I knew I was missing someone... I was just going through it in my head and I got to the state Texas and thought "well not Duncan anymore.. hmmm oh yeah Scola"

I also left out Chris Bosh and other guys who are good but not as good like Ibaka, Blatche, Josh Smith [for those that consider him a PF]

Gasol is PF. Bynum is the Lakers C. He even plays more like a PF. He likes to shoot jump shots, he can handle the ball well for a big man, he isn't a great defender, etc.

 

[Lex L.]

HAHAHA. I knew I was missing someone... I was just going through it in my head and I got to the state Texas and thought "well not Duncan anymore.. hmmm oh yeah Scola"

I also left out Chris Bosh and other guys who are good but not as good like Ibaka, Blatche, Josh Smith [for those that consider him a PF]

Gasol is PF. Bynum is the Lakers C. He even plays more like a PF. He likes to shoot jump shots, he can handle the ball well for a big man, he isn't a great defender, etc.

I don't want to turn this into a seperate discussion about Gasol, but I disagree with this.

That aside, there are some decent PFs in the league. But when you start listing other positions, there a lot of decent players too.

 

[Crystallas]

Right now, it's PF. Just as it was mentioned about the Center positions being more like a PF, that's because there are too many good PFs to ignore, and most HAVE to play center, even while being undersized. It's by far and away the deepest position in the NBA. 5 years ago, it would have been the SF. PGs are still scarce for half of the teams, and the other half benefit nicely. It is a PG era, but the PG is not as deep as the other 4 positions leaguewide.

 

[BNB]

I don't want to turn this into a seperate discussion about Gasol, but I disagree with this.

That aside, there are some decent PFs in the league. But when you start listing other positions, there a lot of decent players too.

it isn't much of a discussion. of is career 13.5 shots attempted per game, over 5 shots of those were jump shots.

his last season in Memphis, he shot the ball 14.5 times per game that season. 8 of those were jump shots.

and for a 7 footer, he handles the ball pretty well.

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5_llIqkc4fM]A 7-foot Point Guard: Pau Gasol - YouTube[/ame]

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wDl_Qwny5H0&feature=related[/ame]

You don't see many big guys do things like that.

on top of being a good shooter and ball handler for a big man, he's a good passer.

Other than his height, nothing points to him being that dominant C like howard.

and obviously. it's the NBA. There's going to be good players at every position.

 

[Axl Rose]

PG

so many great PG's

 

[FirstTimer]

I wasn't aware "depth" meant the most top heavy position or the position with the most top tier players.

 

[Lex L.]

I don't think Gasol moves as well as the PFs being discussed. I think his jumpshots are a function of that. I think if you look at Stoudemire's shot selection and (for the sake of argument) he shoots more around the rim, thats more a function of being better at getting to the rim than it is not wanting to shoot jumpers.

I also think it's a function of the rule changes around 2005 that radically favored perimeter players. Kobe Bryant has been one of the biggest beneficiaries of these rule changes and Kobe is congesting the lane. This leads to more open jumpers away from the basket.

I think LA plays with two Cs. I also don't think Tim Duncan should be considered a PF. Some teams play with 2 Cs.

 

[BNB]

Right now, it's PF. Just as it was mentioned about the Center positions being more like a PF, that's because there are too many good PFs to ignore, and most HAVE to play center, even while being undersized. It's by far and away the deepest position in the NBA. 5 years ago, it would have been the SF. PGs are still scarce for half of the teams, and the other half benefit nicely. It is a PG era, but the PG is not as deep as the other 4 positions leaguewide.

obviously i agree with PF since that was my answer, but i think PG is pretty deep.

Obviously, there's Rose, Williams, Paul, Rondo, Nash, Westbrook.

but then you look at guys like Parker, Curry and guys on the rise like john Wall, Jruw Holiday, Kyrie Irving. Stuckey is listed at PG Kyle Lowry is pretty good. I'm not high on Jennings or Calderon, but they can't be ignored. Felton and Collison are decent

 

[RamiTheBullsFan]

I believe that the PF is the deepest position in terms of all-star talent.

However, the PG position may have just as many, if not more, quality starting players league-wide.

 

[inactiveuser1]

I'm not sure which is the deepest...but I know it's not C and I know it's not SG

 

[RamiTheBullsFan]

The top 15-17 PFs are Nowitzki, Griffin, Gasol, Stoudemire, Aldridge, Love, Randolph, Bosh, Garnett, Odom, Smith, Scola, West, Boozer, Millsap/Jamison/Brand.

And there are even more who would fall within there but they are being forced to play out-of-position at C:

Horford, Duncan, Al Jefferson, Nene

The PF position has been the most stacked position in terms of all-star talent for a long time.

 

[CODE_BLUE56]

I don't think Gasol moves as well as the PFs being discussed. I think his jumpshots are a function of that. I think if you look at Stoudemire's shot selection and (for the sake of argument) he shoots more around the rim, thats more a function of being better at getting to the rim than it is not wanting to shoot jumpers.

gasol is mobile...but he isnt as quick as an amare...gasol can get inside buckets by using a post move(he has probably the best feet in the nba)

I also think it's a function of the rule changes around 2005 that radically favored perimeter players. Kobe Bryant has been one of the biggest beneficiaries of these rule changes and Kobe is congesting the lane. This leads to more open jumpers away from the basket.

he does congest the lane occasionally but in the last 5 years he's become a lot of a shooter

I think LA plays with two Cs. I also don't think Tim Duncan should be considered a PF. Some teams play with 2 Cs.

perhaps our perception of what is a center and what is a power forward has changed in this new age of "mobility"

i think gasol and duncan can play both...i dont think they are exclusively one position or another..for the sake of classifying i think we should go by what they play on their team(that doesnt hold true for every player...like amare is no doubt a PF..so even if he was positioned at center he should be classified a PF)

i think the PG position is the most deep....they're top heavy(like the PFs) but there are alot of good PGs besides Rondo, Westbrook,Williams,Rose,Wall,Paul,Parker,Nash(i mean thats the cream of the crop right there)
but then there's jeff teague,kyrie irving,dj augustin,jose calderon,kidd(meh...though declining),stuckey,chauncey billups,baron davis,mo williams,brandon jennings,etc.

 

[Lex L.]

gasol is mobile...but he isnt as quick as an amare...gasol can get inside buckets by using a post move(he has probably the best feet in the nba)


he does congest the lane occasionally but in the last 5 years he's become a lot of a shooter




perhaps our perception of what is a center and what is a power forward has changed in this new age of "mobility"

i think gasol and duncan can play both...i dont think they are exclusively one position or another..for the sake of classifying i think we should go by what they play on their team(that doesnt hold true for every player...like amare is no doubt a PF..so even if he was positioned at center he should be classified a PF)

i think the PG position is the most deep....they're top heavy(like the PFs) but there are alot of good PGs besides Rondo, Westbrook,Williams,Rose,Wall,Paul,Parker,Nash(i mean thats the cream of the crop right there)
but then there's jeff teague,kyrie irving,dj augustin,jose calderon,kidd(meh...though declining),stuckey,chauncey billups,baron davis,mo williams,brandon jennings,etc.

I don't think Duncan can play both. I think when Duncan plays offense, he's closer to the basket. And so he's a tough guard for the other team's PF and C. He's better than both of them around the basket. Playing around the basket is higher percentage. It also draws more fouls. For this reason, his value stems from being a matchup problem. His ability around the basket outweighs his inability to play defense away from the basket. The Spurs have also relied on strong team defense, which allows some shortcomings to be hidden.

Duncan is a center. Nothing about his game has been PF.

 

[RamiTheBullsFan]

Duncan has traditionally been a PF/C for his entire career. But now he is much closer to being a pure C. The only thing that resembles a PF these days about Duncan is his decent ability as a pick-and-pop player. He used to be much more active in the pick-and-roll game earlier in his career, and front you up playing in the high post and take you off of the dribble. But his ability to move laterally has diminished.

Duncan can still certainly still play both. Pau Gasol can play both as well. However, I do not like Pau's ability to defend the paint and rebound as much as I like Duncan's ability to.

If Duncan and Pau were on the same court on the same team, I'd have Duncan playing much more of a traditional 5 role.

 

[Lex L.]

I think part of the problem is that people are hardwired into thinking that an offense consists of a 1-5. It's not necessarily that way. It's possible to have a PG, two wings, and two posts.

 

[RamiTheBullsFan]

I think part of the problem is that people are hardwired into thinking that an offense consists of a 1-5. It's not necessarily that way. It's possible to have a PG, two wings, and two posts.

True, but if I were forced to label either Gasol or Duncan as a C in an offense (assuming they were on the court at the same time), I would refer to Duncan as the C because I believe that Duncan would typically play lower in the post and would more often look to be the guy battling for position to get offensive rebounds.

The same holds true defensively because I feel as though a smart coach would have Duncan under the rim at just about all times because he has better rebounding and shot-blocking ability than Pau to anchor a defense.