Center Rankings

[WiggyRuss]

My NBA Center Rankings- top 20....

I will rank both starters and backups- and if i had to rank just starters my buddy Blancote would be left off

1. Marc Gasol- Grizzlies
2. DeMarcus Cousins- Kings
3. Andre Drummond- Pistons
4. DeAndre Jordan- Clippers
5. Tim Duncan- Spurs
6. Al Horford- Hawks
7. Dwight Howard- Rockets
8. Pau Gasol- Bulls
9. Rudy Gobert- Jazz
10. Nikola Vucevic- Magic
11. Jonas Valunciunas- Raptors
12. Greg Monroe- MIL
13. Brook Lopez- Nets
14. Karl Anthony Towns- Twolves
15. Tristan Thompson- Cavs
16. Jahlil Okafor- PHI
17. Hassan Whiteside- Heat
18. Marcin Gortat- Wizards
19. ZaZa Pachulia- Mavericks
20. Enes Kanter- OKC

some other good young talent out there though- Caulet-Stein looks like he can be really good- as does Myles Turner...I think Kaminsky could have a solid spot in todays NBA down the line a litttlie bit, --- Steve Adams and Alex Len could eventually be really solid defenders....if im looking 2-3 years out- give me Turner or WCS over Blancote...

little high for Dwight- but hes still a really good player...yes. he has baggage but he is still gonna get a boatload of offers of over 25M a year in a few months because he is still a damn good player....

I am big fans of Horford, Valunciunas and Gobert...i think all of those guys add a ton to the table without taking much off. Raptors have TAKEN OFF since Valunciunas has been back. This guy is still so young. Hes gonna be really really good.

I dont love ranking Brook Lopez 13 but when you are basically 20, 9 sho0ting 50% on a bad team-- you gotta give the guy credit even though he is a DINOSAUR i nthis league- hes the perfect example- if you are going to have this type of center in todays NBA- that guy has to be your focal point- though Lopez can shoot and pass which helps (and has almost 2 blocks a game).

 

[Mecca]

Lmao @ Whiteside below Tristan.

Just.......

I'd take Okafor over Thompson too.

Kanter can get buckets.

But, his salary and matador defense give me reason to pause.

I like your top 10.

Towns will probably move up 5-10 spots in a Season or 2.

 

[Heatles84]

Lmao @ Whiteside below Tristan.

Just.......

I'd take Okafor over Thompson too.

Kanter can get buckets.

But, his salary and matador defense give me reason to pause.

I like your top 10.

Towns will probably move up 5-10 spots in a Season or 2.

We have a separate thread for this, that you're well aware of.

In typical fashion, Wiggy opens up a new thread to try to take another shot at Whiteside. The boy's delusional.

 

[bksballer89]

We have a separate thread for this, that you're well aware of.

In typical fashion, Wiggy opens up a new thread to try to take another shot at Whiteside. The boy's delusional.

Yep it was the only reason for this thread

 

[Shaqdaddy11]

Yep, a follow up over the Whiteside v Thompson thread. Only difference is wiggy wanted to be the one to start this.

And look at the poll numbers for the last one: 89.2% pick Whiteside over Thompson.

Just give up already.

 

[Bolts]

Tristan Thompson is a center???

 

[Heatles84]

Tristan Thompson is a center???

I know....

 

[Bolts]

I know....

Who know that being forced to start 20 games because the starting center sucked makes you a center and averaging 8 and 10 makes you better than the leading shot blocker in the NBA, you learn something new everyday.

 

[CitySushi]

1) Marc Gasol
2) Cousins
3) Drummond
4) Jordan
5) Duncan
6) Gobert
7) Pau Gasol
8) KAT
9) Vucevic
10) Horford
11) Howard
12) Brook Lopez
13) Gortat
14) Valanciunas
15) Whiteside
16) Okafor
17) Jokic
18) Pachulia
19) Bogut
20) Kanter

TT didn't make the list for me because outside of his rebounding, he doesn't stand out on either end of the court. I valued a player like Okafor, Bogut and Kanter being able to excel at one end of the court, rather than being just decent at both.

KAT, in addition to his potential, is playing phenomenal on both ends of the court. He's easily in the top 10 centers right now. Just for this season based on his play right now I would take him above Howard, Lopez and Valanciunas. Horford overall is having a down year. His rebounding numbers are dipping at an alarming rate.

Gobert and Gortat seriously need more love. Those guys bring it game in and game out on both ends of the court.

Jokic is getting slept on here. He wasn't mentioned in the OP, and I think he needs some love for what he's been doing over the past month, when he's started to get consistent minutes. He's made it so that Nurkic, who was fantastic last year, can't reclaim his starting job.

 

[LAD]

1) Marc Gasol
2) Cousins
3) Drummond
4) Jordan
5) Duncan
6) Gobert
7) Pau Gasol
8) KAT
9) Vucevic
10) Horford
11) Howard
12) Brook Lopez
13) Gortat
14) Valanciunas
15) Whiteside
16) Okafor
17) Jokic
18) Pachulia
19) Bogut
20) Kanter

TT didn't make the list for me because outside of his rebounding, he doesn't stand out on either end of the court. I valued a player like Okafor, Bogut and Kanter being able to excel at one end of the court, rather than being just decent at both.

KAT, in addition to his potential, is playing phenomenal on both ends of the court. He's easily in the top 10 centers right now. Just for this season based on his play right now I would take him above Howard, Lopez and Valanciunas. Horford overall is having a down year. His rebounding numbers are dipping at an alarming rate.

Gobert and Gortat seriously need more love. Those guys bring it game in and game out on both ends of the court.

Jokic is getting slept on here. He wasn't mentioned in the OP, and I think he needs some love for what he's been doing over the past month, when he's started to get consistent minutes. He's made it so that Nurkic, who was fantastic last year, can't reclaim his starting job.

Interesting that you consider Bogut a great center yet have him listed 19th-out of 20 guys on your list.

 

[CitySushi]

Interesting that you consider Bogut a great center yet have him listed 19th-out of 20 guys on your list.

You have serious reading comprehension problems. Great DEFENSIVE center. You somehow always skip over that one word, that changes the entire definition.

 

[CitySushi]

Interesting that you consider Bogut a great center yet have him listed 19th-out of 20 guys on your list.

It's really amazing how you can consider Bogut bad at defense.

Last year he was Second Team All-NBA Defense. He was also 6th in Defensive player of the year voting.

But yeah, he sucks because he doesn't average as many rebounds or blocks as you would like. Good grief.

 

[LAD]

You have serious reading comprehension problems. Great DEFENSIVE center. You somehow always skip over that one word, that changes the entire definition.

Relax. I can read just fine. The problem is you haven't found a way to articulate that crap you call a DEFENSIVE center. If he's great on DEFENSE then where are the supporting facts to back that up? There has to be something that's used to determine how he measures up to the others. That's all I've asked for. If you can't understand that then maybe it's you that has the serious reading comprehension problem.

 

[LAD]

It's really amazing how you can consider Bogut bad at defense.

Last year he was Second Team All-NBA Defense. He was also 6th in Defensive player of the year voting.

But yeah, he sucks because he doesn't average as many rebounds or blocks as you would like. Good grief.

Stop lashing out & calm your nerves. I never said he was BAD. I said he isn't GREAT. What's amazing is that you can't accept he can be somewhere in between the two.

 

[CitySushi]

Relax. I can read just fine. The problem is you haven't found a way to articulate that crap you call a DEFENSIVE center. If he's great on DEFENSE then where are the supporting facts to back that up? There has to be something that's used to determine how he measures up to the others. That's all I've asked for. If you can't understand that then maybe it's you that has the serious reading comprehension problem.

You do know that defense is sort of an intangible trait don't you?

Bruce Bowen and Raja Bell were considered great defenders. Neither of them had any sort of numbers to back them up. What happened? Did the hype train just build them up and everyone just sort of agreed with it?

Seriously, people who follow the game on a day in basis, evaluating all teams and players, decided that Bogut was at least good enough to get 6th, SIXTH, in defensive player of the year voting last year. In addition he was on the second team all-nba defense team meaning he was the second best defensive center in the NBA.

I mean, how else do you define Great?

 

[CitySushi]

Stop lashing out & calm your nerves. I never said he was BAD. I said he isn't GREAT. What's amazing is that you can't accept he can be somewhere in between the two.

You basically said he wasn't even the best defensive center on his own team. You took it to the extreme. My statement of he's a great center is way closer to accurate than any of your statements on him have been.

 

[CitySushi]

The problem is that you base your evaluation of players based purely on statistical value.

That's not an accurate way, ever, to determine a players worth on the defensive end of the court. Jahlil Okafor, who's basically allergic to defense is averaging 7.3 boards and 1.2 blocks a game. Bogut is averaging 7.4 boards a game and 1.6 blocks. If you can't tell who the superior defender is between the two, by a mile, then you don't understand defense at all.

 

[LAD]

You do know that defense is sort of an intangible trait don't you?

Bruce Bowen and Raja Bell were considered great defenders. Neither of them had any sort of numbers to back them up. What happened? Did the hype train just build them up and everyone just sort of agreed with it?

Seriously, people who follow the game on a day in basis, evaluating all teams and players, decided that Bogut was at least good enough to get 6th, SIXTH, in defensive player of the year voting last year. In addition he was on the second team all-nba defense team meaning he was the second best defensive center in the NBA.

I mean, how else do you define Great?

I get that there are intangibles, but does that mean we should negate all the other things that are tangible and not include them at all? I mean to be great means ALL THINGS considered, yes? At least that's how I see it. And again, the other centers described as GREAT have supporting facts, both tangible and intangible.

 

[LAD]

You basically said he wasn't even the best defensive center on his own team. You took it to the extreme. My statement of he's a great center is way closer to accurate than any of your statements on him have been.

Hahaha and your point isn't extreme by saying he's great?

Come on...he's not even top 10 on your own list compared to other CENTERS in the league. Are all those other guys only being graded on offense and not defense? And to that point if they are being judged on defense and he's ranked 19th out of 20 doesn't that tell us he's nowhere near great? Good, average maybe? Where's the line between good & great drawn?

 

[LAD]

The problem is that you base your evaluation of players based purely on statistical value.

That's not an accurate way, ever, to determine a players worth on the defensive end of the court. Jahlil Okafor, who's basically allergic to defense is averaging 7.3 boards and 1.2 blocks a game. Bogut is averaging 7.4 boards a game and 1.6 blocks. If you can't tell who the superior defender is between the two, by a mile, then you don't understand defense at all.

In Bogut's case I have based my opinion based on his stats during his entire CAREER-playing for two different types of teams. He's shown to basically have the same numbers in all 10 seasons suggesting no improvement. Was he already great when he entered the league? If we go by your theory we might have to believe that.