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It will be a transition for him in the West in playing the west ballers not just once or twice. The Lakers are really really trying to get Kobe that sixth ring. The West still goes through OKC for now and of course the East goes through.......
C'mon g. The whole true center myth has come and gone. The days when centers played with their backs to the rim are long gone. Players are too quick now. We will continue to see the two power forwards, one small forward and two guard rotations a lot more.
My point being that the true center applied back in the day when it was 5 on 5 ball, man to man. With the speed nowadays, the traps, the double and triple teaming on some players, the center has to step out into the perimeter lots of times. Throw in the transition game in being what it is today and getting faster, the big men rarely have time to set up and must play other roles.
Cheers!!!
I agree that the Heat play best with Bosch in the middle, but I wouldn't call Anthony a true center either; he's more of a foul machine. And the Lakers were arguably more functional with Gasol at center; I see him like Bosch as well as Garnett, more PF/centers than true centers. The Celtics were obviously better when they had Perkins in the middle.
Mr. 30 rebounds & 13 blocks will be more consistent when he is the focal point of the Sixers if he can stay healthy, which I doubt but I hope he does because he's awesome to watch when he's on.
Both Bynum and Howard are capable of taking over a game on both ends, that's what I mean by a true center. The Heat are the best team, and play well against defensive centers like Perkins and Chandler, as well as these PF/centers. But when they need someone to take over a game they have to turn to LeBron; not their center but not a bad option at all :^)
I don't know who will be able to challenge the Heat in the East (still the Bulls I suppose but watch out for those Knicks), but OKC will have their hands full trying to get back to the show (Vegas agrees, the Thunder came in at 4-1). The Lakers definitely have some unanswered questions re ball distribution and coaching, but all signs are good that this will work out. This new starting five knows how to play the game, and their bench should be much improved with the emergence of Hill, the energy of Barnes, and the scoring of Jamison.
OTOH, the template for beating OKC was laid bare in the finals last year. The big Q in the West is how fast can the Lakers gel, and how they take to the Princeton offense, which should be ideal for this bunch. And of course how much better can the Thunder get.