I'm buying. I can't think of a successful NBA center who weighed under 230 lbs in the last 15 years.
Buy/Sell - Anthony Davis will be a bust in the NBA
- Thread starter missouridawg
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than he showed at UK. They just didn't need him to score 20 points. I don't think him gaining 30lbs with NBA resources is a stretch at all. And for the record, Dikembe was like 250, Dirk Nowitzki came in at 230 or so. Hakeem? 250. Tim Duncan is 250 now. I remember when Kevin Durant was too skinny for the NBA. I just don't think he'll be 230 his entire career, and 250 is plenty big.
and if he has offensive game like they do, he'll be perfectly fine.
I just think he might have an offensive game of true post-up center and he's way too skinny to bang with guys like Tim Duncan, Kendrick Perkins, Andrew Bynum, Dwight Howard, Blake Griffin, etc....
If he has the 15 ft from the goal game, then I'll readily admit I'm wrong... but I didn't see that game while he was at UK.
The reason why I stated "the last 15 years" is because the NBA has become IMMENSELY more physical in those 15 years. Hakeem would've been tossed around in today's game.
And for the record, Renardo Sidney had him shut down last year... and Renardo is a lazy fat piece of lard.
I just think he might have an offensive game of true post-up center and he's way too skinny to bang with guys like Tim Duncan, Kendrick Perkins, Andrew Bynum, Dwight Howard, Blake Griffin, etc....
If he has the 15 ft from the goal game, then I'll readily admit I'm wrong... but I didn't see that game while he was at UK.
The reason why I stated "the last 15 years" is because the NBA has become IMMENSELY more physical in those 15 years. Hakeem would've been tossed around in today's game.
And for the record, Renardo Sidney had him shut down last year... and Renardo is a lazy fat piece of lard.
He has enough range (can hit college-range 3) and is a force around the basket. He has really good speed for a 6'10" guy, a 7'5"+ wingspan, great hands/handle for a guy his size (was a guard in 9th/10th grade), and reads the game well. Strength is an obvious issue but I'd bet he can get to 235+ (Serge Ibaka's weight) with a proper strength program within a couple of years.
He won't be an offensive juggernaut anytime soon, but I could see him putting up 10 pts, 10 reb, 2 blocks as a rookie assuming he gets 30+ minutes a game. He'll never score like Howard around the rim but he'll have the same effect (probably not immediately) on the defensive/rebounding side from the PF position.
He won't be an offensive juggernaut anytime soon, but I could see him putting up 10 pts, 10 reb, 2 blocks as a rookie assuming he gets 30+ minutes a game. He'll never score like Howard around the rim but he'll have the same effect (probably not immediately) on the defensive/rebounding side from the PF position.
And it's not a guarantee he won't play forward. Hell, Shane Battier just played center in the NBA finals.
argument is based upon. If Davis has to play a true center, he'll be a bust...and that's what he played at UK.
If he develops a mid-range game and can play a 4, he'll be fine and I'll be wrong.
If he develops a mid-range game and can play a 4, he'll be fine and I'll be wrong.
He's not gonna be a huge inside presence, but he did have a sweet shot, quick feet, and excellent defense. He should gain at least 20 pounds in dedicated strength and conditioning and he'll probably move to power forward but he should still be an excellent player.
Hakeem...pushed around in today's NBA? Not a chance. Today's NBA is profoundly less physical than the NBA of old, i.e., 70's, 80's, and early 90's. The days of the Diesel, the Admiral, Mnt. Motumbo, Bombata, and Timmy are gone. What dominant centers are there now? Dwight? I would hardly call him dominant. I think with the number of smaller, more athletic centers out there, which seems to be where most teams are going to now, Davis will be just fine. I mean look at guys like Channing Frye, a center whose only real game is jacking up 12 3's per game.
He may never be a franchise player. He may not be a perennial all star.
So if those dont happen, I'm sure he will be called a massive bust. But that, to me, is shortsighted.
You know who is a bust? The Kandi Man. Thabeet. Kwame.
Those guys have been busts because the not only didn't live up to the draft number, they were traded a ton/couldn't even get playing time.
You want a bust? Adam Morrison. That guy is a bust. Traded away, worked over when he did play, and out of the NBA in under 5 years because he couldn't even crack a rotation.
I am sure there will be guys drafted below Davis who get better numbers. Bust I just don't equate that with being a bust.
There are few great big men. Friggin Tyler Zeller could end up being a top 10 pick, and he is a career backup center. If Zeller gives a team(s) 15min a game for 10 season, he will end up being a good pick. That's a possible top10 guy. So if Davis is able to start for years, average 15ppg 11rpg and 2bpg should he really be called a bust? Again, I'm sure others will have better stats than him, but that shouldn't be how a bust is determined.
So if those dont happen, I'm sure he will be called a massive bust. But that, to me, is shortsighted.
You know who is a bust? The Kandi Man. Thabeet. Kwame.
Those guys have been busts because the not only didn't live up to the draft number, they were traded a ton/couldn't even get playing time.
You want a bust? Adam Morrison. That guy is a bust. Traded away, worked over when he did play, and out of the NBA in under 5 years because he couldn't even crack a rotation.
I am sure there will be guys drafted below Davis who get better numbers. Bust I just don't equate that with being a bust.
There are few great big men. Friggin Tyler Zeller could end up being a top 10 pick, and he is a career backup center. If Zeller gives a team(s) 15min a game for 10 season, he will end up being a good pick. That's a possible top10 guy. So if Davis is able to start for years, average 15ppg 11rpg and 2bpg should he really be called a bust? Again, I'm sure others will have better stats than him, but that shouldn't be how a bust is determined.
missouridawg said:
He'll play the 4 at the next level and be a star IMO. He has a mid-range game and also has a pretty good handle from playing guard until he hit his growth spurt in HS.
He'll have an instant impact due to his shot blocking ability and won't be 230 forever.
Huge sell.
joakim noah is 6'11 and 232 lbs.
and he's more of a true C than davis. davis' offensive game is more face up like a PF because he was a 6'2" guard until like his junior year of HS.
i think production wise, noah is probably a decent approximation of what you'd get from davis, at least initially.
plus davis can add weight with a NBA training regimen and a personal nutrition expert instead of eating fast food and papa john's in the dorm in lexington.
and he's more of a true C than davis. davis' offensive game is more face up like a PF because he was a 6'2" guard until like his junior year of HS.
i think production wise, noah is probably a decent approximation of what you'd get from davis, at least initially.
plus davis can add weight with a NBA training regimen and a personal nutrition expert instead of eating fast food and papa john's in the dorm in lexington.
He has only played, what, like 15 years in the NBA? Looks like he was 223 coming out, and he has been on multiple all-nba defense teams and even defensive POTY. Plus, Davis is a much better offensive player than Camby Was coming out and probably than he is now.
The team that is widely to considered to have taken "playing ugly" to a new level were the Ewing-era Knicks, and take a look at the '94 Finals to see how much trouble Hakeem had with that. <div>missouridawg said:
</div><div>Hakeem would be great in any era, but especially now when all-athleticism, no-skills Dwight Howard is far and away the best center in the league.</div>
I'm going to have to disagree. There have been so many players his size that have gone on to have great careers regardless of position. I don't claim to be a great prognosticator of NBA talent, but the support he has garnered by true experts makes me a believer.