spectre
10-28-2009, 09:44 AM
CavsBlog (http://www.cavstheblog.com/?p=626)
Ask most NBA historians for a list of the best NBA power forwards of all time,
and you’ll probably get one that looks something like this, in no particular order: Bob Pettit, Karl Malone, Tim Duncan, Elvin Hayes, Kevin Garnett, Kevin McHale,Charles Barkley. Leaving out Barkley, all the names on that list have made a combined 317 3-pointers over the duration of their NBA careers.
Rashard Lewis, the starting power forward on the Eastern Conference Champion Orlando Magic, made 220 3-pointers in the 2008-09 regular season alone, which led the entire league. With his lanky frame, quick-trigger slingshot release, and lack of post moves, Lewis’ game bears more resemblance to Michael Redd’s than it does to Kevin McHale’s. For much of his career, he had been considered a small forward, and not a particularly bruising one at that. And yet by the end of the season, the notion of anyone else playing power forward for the Magic seemed completely absurd.
Lewis’ opponent at power forward in the NBA finals, Lamar Odom, was equally removed from the classic power forward archetype. A superb ball handler with a Gumby-like build and an affinity for leading fast breaks after getting a defensive rebound, Odom does most of his work off the dribble from the perimeter and prefers making a serpentine drive or a graceful assist to backing his man down or owning the paint with physical play.
As odd as it may seem that Odom and Lewis were the starting power forwards
on the league’s conference champions, their success is indicative of a wider trend throughout the league. The increasing amount of big men with “little-man” skills, the increased athleticism of perimeter players, and most of all the advent of the hand-check rules, have transformed the game. As more offenses rely on drive-and-kick and pick-and-roll schemes, it’s more advantageous for power forwards to stretch the floor, thereby freeing up valuable real estate around the basket for the guards.
And the revelation of the stretch four hasn’t affected just the 4s themselves. As power forwards have become more perimeter-oriented, more and more starting centers are short-range specialists. To gauge which teams have embraced the increased separation in the roles of the power forward and the center, I used data from 82games.com (http://www.cavstheblog.com/www.82games.com) to examine shooting numbers from the players who got the largest amounts of minutes at the two positions last season. I then added together the percentage of shots the center took from the “inside” (dunks, layups, close post shots, and tip-ins) and the percentage of shots the power forward took that 82games defined as “jump shots.” Those percentages added together, with the maximum possible being 200, became a number I call “stretch factor.” By looking at this simple number, we can get a sense of how dif-
ferent teams get production out of their front courts.
GROUP 3: A BIT OF BEND TO THEM (STRETCH FACTOR OF 129-112)
Oklahoma starts this group off with Jeff Green’s jumpers, giving them a mark of 129. Phoenix comes in next at 127, thanks to Shaq being Shaq down low and Amare Stoudemire’s vastly improved stroke from mid-range. San Antonio also had a mark of 127; tellingly, the Greatest Power Forward Of All Time™ has been playing for center for them the past few seasons, while 3-point specialist Matt Bonner started at the 4 last season. Larry Brown’s embracing of Boris Diaw at power forward gave Charlotte a mark of 122, while Nene’s doggedness inside offset the fundamental unstretchiness of K-Mart to give Denver a factor of 119.
I think our stretch factor will go up with the swap of Mek for TC.
Ask most NBA historians for a list of the best NBA power forwards of all time,
and you’ll probably get one that looks something like this, in no particular order: Bob Pettit, Karl Malone, Tim Duncan, Elvin Hayes, Kevin Garnett, Kevin McHale,Charles Barkley. Leaving out Barkley, all the names on that list have made a combined 317 3-pointers over the duration of their NBA careers.
Rashard Lewis, the starting power forward on the Eastern Conference Champion Orlando Magic, made 220 3-pointers in the 2008-09 regular season alone, which led the entire league. With his lanky frame, quick-trigger slingshot release, and lack of post moves, Lewis’ game bears more resemblance to Michael Redd’s than it does to Kevin McHale’s. For much of his career, he had been considered a small forward, and not a particularly bruising one at that. And yet by the end of the season, the notion of anyone else playing power forward for the Magic seemed completely absurd.
Lewis’ opponent at power forward in the NBA finals, Lamar Odom, was equally removed from the classic power forward archetype. A superb ball handler with a Gumby-like build and an affinity for leading fast breaks after getting a defensive rebound, Odom does most of his work off the dribble from the perimeter and prefers making a serpentine drive or a graceful assist to backing his man down or owning the paint with physical play.
As odd as it may seem that Odom and Lewis were the starting power forwards
on the league’s conference champions, their success is indicative of a wider trend throughout the league. The increasing amount of big men with “little-man” skills, the increased athleticism of perimeter players, and most of all the advent of the hand-check rules, have transformed the game. As more offenses rely on drive-and-kick and pick-and-roll schemes, it’s more advantageous for power forwards to stretch the floor, thereby freeing up valuable real estate around the basket for the guards.
And the revelation of the stretch four hasn’t affected just the 4s themselves. As power forwards have become more perimeter-oriented, more and more starting centers are short-range specialists. To gauge which teams have embraced the increased separation in the roles of the power forward and the center, I used data from 82games.com (http://www.cavstheblog.com/www.82games.com) to examine shooting numbers from the players who got the largest amounts of minutes at the two positions last season. I then added together the percentage of shots the center took from the “inside” (dunks, layups, close post shots, and tip-ins) and the percentage of shots the power forward took that 82games defined as “jump shots.” Those percentages added together, with the maximum possible being 200, became a number I call “stretch factor.” By looking at this simple number, we can get a sense of how dif-
ferent teams get production out of their front courts.
GROUP 3: A BIT OF BEND TO THEM (STRETCH FACTOR OF 129-112)
Oklahoma starts this group off with Jeff Green’s jumpers, giving them a mark of 129. Phoenix comes in next at 127, thanks to Shaq being Shaq down low and Amare Stoudemire’s vastly improved stroke from mid-range. San Antonio also had a mark of 127; tellingly, the Greatest Power Forward Of All Time™ has been playing for center for them the past few seasons, while 3-point specialist Matt Bonner started at the 4 last season. Larry Brown’s embracing of Boris Diaw at power forward gave Charlotte a mark of 122, while Nene’s doggedness inside offset the fundamental unstretchiness of K-Mart to give Denver a factor of 119.
I think our stretch factor will go up with the swap of Mek for TC.