Erick Blasco

You can get a feel for a player if he's prominent enough and you watch him play 10 games over a couple of years, especially if you look for specific things each subsequent time you watch him. There are also so many good blogs, writers, and places like Draftexpress.com that can give people decent overviews of what a player is all about.

Tim Thomas.

It's going to be weird in that some players may or may not be centers, but assuming Duncan isn't a center: 5) Perkins 6) Stoudemire 7) Bynum 8) Nene 9) Chandler 10) Okafor

He's better than Bynum right now, for sure. Perkins' defense is top notch good, plus he can score in the post. Has Bynum shown that he can be a factor against good teams? He was a dud in the playoffs and good offenses confuse the heck out of him. And he's not a consistent scorer yet, plus he loses focus too easily because all he wants to do is score. Stoudemire is one of those players who inspires absolutely no confidence in producing with anything on the line. His talent is off the charts, but he's a losing player. As long as someone isn't a scrub, I'll give the other player the benefit of the doubt. You can even make the case of dropping him a spot. Bynum's coming out party came two Christmas' ago when he destroyed Amar'e straight up. If Chandler plays the same defense he played two years ago, I can take him scoring less than double-figures. I think Kaman is deceptively untalented. I see him play against any center who can move and he gets his shots blocked left and right. But he's pretty good. Besides Chandler though, who do you see below him? Same with Bogut? He doesn't command doubles and he's not a great defender. Would you rather have him than the best post defender in the game, and two of the best help defenders in the game? I don't think Ilgauskas is as bad defensively as people think. He got decimated by Howard, but against the rest of the centers, he's not too shabby. He eats space, can hit jumpers, can score against midget-sized centers. Lee and Biedrins are really just running rebounders, Horford did nothing against Ilgauskas in the playoffs (though injuries played a part) and has games where he doesn't show up at all, and I don't beleive that Gortat is a star.

Nene isn't consistent enough to be sixth. He'd do nothing against Perkins and Bynum does more than Nene when he's healthy. Plus health is still a concern for Nene. Brook Lopez is good, but do you want a second year player on your team who isn't an athletic monster if you're gunning for a title? Horford's decent, but he's a power forward playing center who has too many games where he doesn't show up. At least Camby's rebounding will show up. I like Biedrins, I really do. I think he'd be a great backup on a good team. But what does he realisticaly provide besides energy and shot blocking? He can't score. He can't defend a lamp post. He can't defend screens. He can't shoot. He can't handle. He can't post. He's a good enough rebounder, but he stands out for being a player who plays hard on a team tha tdoesn't play hard. That's nice, but it doesn't make Biedrins special. It's like David Lee. He's the best player on a bad team and he does everything that's asked of him without any complaints. That doesn't mean he's a special talent. B) B) B) There's no rock on emoticon anymore!?!?!?! The same person loafing back in transition alongside Bynum during the Lakers-Nuggets WCF was Nene. Nene's had one productive season in about five years and still takes too many plays off. Let's see if Nene can build upon his success, and if a healthy Bynum can rebound after a disappointing postseason. I think the argument against Yao was that you have to assume he'd play this year or else why include him in the list? ClutchCity asked a good question regarding my methodology. Basically, I'll assume Yao will play this year, but his major injury problems will still be a problem. Assuming he didn't have a broken foot, he'd still be a player prone to getting broken bones and bad legs, which is a serious drawback. He'd still be better than 98% of the centers in the league, but not good enough to overtake Howard. And I agree with everything you said. You took the words out of my mouth. Except, Amare really is that bad Jefferson's talented enough where he's going to make some nice plays against doubles, but how consistently does he do that? He has more turnovers than assists, and against the number of doubles he faces, how he can have less that 2 assists a game is awful. His defense is awful, and he's a black hole on offense. He plays exactly like a young Zach Randolph.

Bonner is as much of a center as me and you. He's a forward. The Spurs list Duncan at forward because they've always listed him at power forward, and always will, but he's a center, at least at this point in time. Howard was a much more athletic shot blocker, and a better player without the ball.Jefferson is literally useless when the ball isn't in his hands while Howard is a fantastic dive cutter. Scoring, AJ is better, but rebounding, Howard is world's better. AJ can score in the post, but so can Shaq. The difference is to look at each player when they're doubled. Shaq can still score, and is a very good passer, while AJ is a turnover waiting to happen. And Jefferson is worse at guarding his man than even Shaq. There are how many centers that consistently command double teams in the league? And how man yof those have the footwork of Shaq, can pass as well as Shaq, and score as potently as Shaq? Please, don't say Emeka Okafor. I'm going to say it when he puts the ball on the floor, a second defender slides over, and Jefferson makes some horrendous pass leading to a fast break the other way. Miller is not only one of the softest players in the league, but he's also one of the least athletic. He's a defensive liability, and doesn't bring too much offensively besides his high post passing. That's why opponents he faces in the playoffs always do well against him, and he underwhelms in the playoffs. He shot 40% on two pointers against the Celtics and committed more than two turnovers for every assist. This from a passing specialist? That's a good question. It was very hard for me to determine exactly where to rank Yao because of the injury, so I judged the players on what they would normally contribute to a team. Yao is normally injury prone so I factored that into account, but he usually isn't injured for entire seasons. So his injury-prone status played a factor, but not the fact that he's probably out for the year. He was a Top 5 center over the regular season too. Unless you think Andrew Bynum, for this season only, is ready to take the maturity leap needed to be a truly great center. 82 games did a nice job listing exactly how many minutes at each position each player played last season, and Duncan spent his majority of his minutes at the 5, a trend I don't see changing. I love Duncan, but you can see his armor starting to chink away. I hate making individual one-on-one comparisons as overall comparisons, but you can see the way Duncan gets overwhelmed when the Spurs play the Magic. Plus, Duncan is injury prone now, while Howard has shown that he can make adjustments to his game each offseason. I think the head, will, and mind is there for Duncan, but I don't think the body is holding up. I think Yao is a clear step down from Duncan. What exactly do you see in Bynum that you don't see in Perkins. And not potential, I mean, clear on court production. Bynum gets eaten up by Perkins and he has a lot of defensive problems that his offense can't compensate for. Perkins isn't an offensive monster, but he has some post skills and is a great post defender who is only improving. And I think Okafor is one of the most overrated players in the game. He's a nice, solid player who gets treated like a star.

Detroit has Kwame Brown/Chris Wilcox/Ben Wallace, none of whom are better than the Top 30. Spencer Hawes isn't a top 30 player yet, neither is Marc Gasol. Samuel Dalembert is a disaster, and Roy Hibbert and Nenad Kristic aren't top 30 players. I don't love Kaman, but he can post up, moves well without the ball, is a decent rebounder, and a decent help defender. That's a pretty good resume. Biedrins' only real skills are playing hard and blocking shots from the weak-side. What else does he do besides play really hard and block shots? He has zero offensive game. He cuts well, that's nice, but a stop sign would have his way against Biedrins in the post. What is a starting Biedrins going to do on a good team besides get in foul trouble against good opponents?

You can win a lot of games with a strong guy who has quick hands, can hit threes, and is reliable under pressure. As a Lakers fan, you should appreciate the way Perkins bullied Los angeles in the Finals two years ago, and he plays Howard, Yao, and every other center as well as anybody in the league.

Jefferson is a worse defender, a much worse passer, an unwilling passer, and not appreciably better as a scorer. What does he have over Shaq besides not being Shaq? He's Zach Randolph with upside and without the poisonous attitude. Would you take Randolph over Shaq? I must remind you, Zach shoots a very cool 77 percent from the stripe. Stoudemire is a loser player whose play gets worse as the pressure gets bigger. Andrew Bynum is still a work in progress. A talented work in progress who does many things well, but a work in progress who the Lakers won a title largely in spite of, not because of. I'm not sure which he you refered to. If it's AJ, he suffered a torn ACL and missed the final few months of the season. If it's Shaq, he played the second most games since his third year in the league.

Which of the players behind him is really better than him though?

As players who are generally in premium scoring position offensively, and are a team’s final fortresses defensively, NBA centers have colossal impacts on their team’s successes, or lack thereof. This list does not take into account a player’s future prospects or past salad days. The criteria is simple: Which NBA center would be best suited to winning a championship with a random collection of starting-level talent. For example, if Pau Gasol, Al Thornton, Joe Johnson, and Beno Udrih are your teammates, who would you want as your center. Due to the way some lineups are presently constructed, a handful of teams have two potential centers in their starting lineup. For this reason, Troy Murphy, Antonio McDyess, Pau Gasol, and Anderson Varejao are listed as power forwards as they will likely play power forward in their team‘s starting lineup. Other teams lack a true center. This is why, David Lee, Andrea Bargnani, Al Horford, and Al Jefferson are listed as centers. No rookies made the list as neither you nor I have seen them play in meaningful games against meaningful competition to know where they’d should be ranked. Yao Ming will be treated as if he’d play sometime this season. With that said, the list. 1) Dwight Howard—Orlando Magic Howard’s still a work in progress—His post moves are still too crude and lack appropriate finesse or counters, he’s still only average in his defensive awareness, he still has a bad habit of bringing the ball down into stripping position when he attacks the basket, and he has trouble defending players who can face and go. He’s still the league’s premier big man though. Howard’s been the best rebounder in the game since he first suited up in 2004. He’s also evolved into a game-changing shot blocker on the defensive end. Offensively, his screens eliminate defenders, and he’s the most effective dive-cutter in the game because of his sheer athleticism, strength, and quick hops. If his offensive repertoire is limited to simple sweeping hooks with either hand, against the majority of too-slow, too-small, or too-dumb defenders, it’s still enough to produce points, fouls, or both. And he’s durable to boot. Plus, while his performance against the Lakers revealed early symptoms of choke-itis, throughout the playoffs Howard showed the ability to be able to hit his free throws with some degree of consistency. With how defenses are forced to foul him, imagine the production he could put up if he managed to convert just 70 percent of his freebies! Because of Howard’s improving ability to create his own shot and understand opposing offenses, he’s wrestled the title of best NBA center away from Yao Ming. Now, the onus is on him to continue to improve his repertoire, his awareness, and his mechanics to become an all-time force, because his talent, on its own, is first ballot Hall-Of-Fame material. 2) Tim Duncan—San Antonio Spurs All pretense aside, Duncan is a center. He played center last year with power forward Matt Bonner, and he’ll play center this year with power forward Antonio McDyess. It’s true, age has started to catch up to Duncan. Nagging injuries sap away at him, one sore muscle at a time. He’s lost a touch of his explosion around the basket, and a smidgeon of lateral agility on defense. That doesn’t mean Duncan isn’t the best post scorer and passer in the game. No other player has the array of hooks, spins, counters, turnarounds, drives, and jumpers that Duncan possesses. He’s also one of the smartest players in the game, if not the smartest, understanding every offensive and defensive scenario and what needs to be done in any given situation. However, Duncan’s days of single-handedly willing the Spurs offense to success against elite opponents are few and far between. He’s also become simply above-average at defending his man one-on-one, and he isn’t the shot blocker he used to be. Those are the reasons I list him below Dwight Howard on my center list. But he’s still a comfortable second. 3) Yao Ming—Houston Rockets After Duncan, Ming is the most accomplished offensive center around. Because of his towering height—a cool 7’6—Yao’s turnaround jumpers from the left box are automatic. Yao also has great touch around the hoop, is a great rebounder when he doesn’t have to track the ball, is a very smart help defender, and is excellent at defending the post. However, Yao is one of the least athletic players in the league, which hinders him against smart, athletic defenses. He also has trouble reading double teams, defending screens, defending players who can turn and face, and not turning the ball over. Yao’s biggest problem though, is his injury struggles. Before last season, he had missed at least 25 games a year three continuous seasons. While he was relatively injury free last year, he was forced to miss the final four games of the Western Conference semifinals, and he’s likely to miss the entire 2009-10 season due to a broken bone in his left foot. The injuries are a shame, because Yao’s one of the most skilled players in the game. More importantly, he’s one of the best people the sport has to offer. 4) Shaquille O’Neal—Cleveland Cavaliers While Shaq isn’t anywhere close to the player he used to be, he still commands double teams, still punishes opponents in the low block, and is still one of the best passing big men in the game. Aside from Duncan and Ming, Shaq has the most complete post game of any center, and he’s so massive, he’s a decent rebounder and space-eating defender just by standing up. Of course, Shaq can’t defend players who can turn and face, can’t defend screens, can’t defend explosive post scorers, is too slow to provide adequate help defense, isn’t a great rebounder, and can’t play anywhere outwards of six feet from the hoop. But post players who can draw doubles and make good decisions when doubled are extremely rare and valuable, which is why, at the ripe old age of 37 and a sliver of his former self, Shaq himself remains extremely valuable. 5) Al Jefferson—Minnesota Timberwolves Jefferson is a professional scorer. He’s a dreadnaught in the low box, has an improving jumper, can blow by slower defenders, and will rebound capably. Unfortunately, that’s about all he can do. Sure, defensively he’ll block an occasional shot, but he’s a slow and unaware defender who can’t pass, can’t understand double teams, and can’t do anything when the ball isn’t in his hands. While he’s touted as one of the game’s finest young players, AJ still has work to do to become more than just a numbers-compiler on bad teams. 6) Kendrick Perkins—Boston Celtics While he still fouls a bit too much, Perkins has already proven himself to be a championship-caliber defender. Few centers in the league have Perkins’ combination of strength, smarts, athleticism, and malevolence, which allows him to get under the skin of most opponents. Offensively, Perkins has a developing right hook, finishes forcefully around the hoop, and creates earthquakes when his screens make contact. While Perkins’ high ranking is a product of the dearth of well-rounded centers in the league more than a testament to his own talents, every team would love to have the defensive backbone Perkins provides. 7) Amar’e Stoudemire—Phoenix Suns Wondrously talented and insecure, Stoudemire is less than the sum of his talents. What can he do? Pretty much anything he wants, which is why he’s become a scoring machine (Who doesn’t want the glory of being a great scorer?). In the post, off the dribble, on dive cuts or weak-side duck-ins, on mid-range jumpers, even curling around screens, no place inside the three-point line is spared Stoudemire’s fantastic ability to create points. Of course, Stoudemire may be the worst defensive big man in the entire game. Making mistakes, missing rotations, playing without focus, getting routinely undressed by his own defender, Stoudemire is an opposing big man’s own personal birthday present. His own unwillingness to play defense (along with Steve Nash and Grant Hill) was the main reason why Terry Porter was fired, and the Suns’ season was such an abomination. It’s also why Phoenix’ seasons always end in disappointments. Plus, when a team makes a concerted effort to playing Stoudemire aggressively on defense, Amar’e often shuts himself down instead of arousing himself to the occasion. Amare’s on-court play and attitude show a need to feel loved and an unwillingness to take the responsibility needed to become a championship-caliber player. There are more tell-tale signs. After suffering a preseason partially torn iris requiring goggles to protect his eye, he decided to irresponsibly discard his protective goggles after seven games because they didn’t feel “comfortable.” He lashed out at Terry Porter last season for not having enough touches, despite leading the Suns in shot attempts. He’s never been shy about proclaiming how talented he is. He also had this to say about the difference between Terry Porter and Alvin Gentry, “You want a coach that you can really hug and hold and high five and really have fun with. That makes it fun play. You can high five and hug your teammates. You don't want to have fear of your coach. You want to be respectable with him but you also want to be a friend with him.” He added, “I think guys bought into the system somewhat as much as possible. We didn't quite make the playoffs but we stuck together, we stayed a team, and that's what's most important.” Stoudemire doesn’t want responsibility, and doesn‘t want to compete. He wants to be hugged. While there’s nothing light-hearted about a player having a personality flaw to compensate for childhood and adolescent traumas (Amar’e’s father passed away when he was 12, and his mother was incarcerated when he was a boy), it’s still a personality flaw that he hasn’t gotten over. Until he does, Stoudemire will always fold when he has to lead his team against opponents that play focused, disciplined—championship—basketball. 8) Andrew Bynum—Los Angeles Lakers Bynum is and up-and-coming star, but injuries and attitude problems have curtailed his development. While he struggled during the playoffs last season, it was clear that his knees had no explosion in them. Should those knees heal properly, Bynum is one of the most fluid big men in the game, though serious knee injuries in back-to-back seasons does raise some concern. His attitude is a different story. He frequently criticizes Phil Jackson for not giving him enough touches, even though the Lakers are in the business of winning championships with bushels of talent at other positions. Bynum is frequently confused defensively, and his offensive game hasn’t taken off yet. Still, the sky is the limit for Bynum, and one hopes with experience will come the wisdom for Bynum to get the most out of his phenomenal talents. 9) Nene—Denver Nuggets For the first time in an eternity, Nene was healthy for an entire season last year and he showed the league why he was such an exciting prospect when first drafted. His spin moves are tight and explosive, often leaving defenders coughing in his dust. It’s not a stretch to say that he could be a big-time post presence with more practice and touches. He’s a decent defender and rebounder, but loses focus, and has a nasty habit of not running back in transition or hustling if a play doesn’t involve him. The talent is there though, and if he improves upon his 2008-09 campaign, he can begin to blossom into the star he might become. 10) Tyson Chandler—Charlotte Bobcats A defensive game changer, Chandler may be the most athletic center in the NBA. This gives him a unique ability to contest shots at the basket, while also defending screens and jump shots along the perimeter. Not only is Chandler technically sound, but he plays with exuberance, giving his teams an emotional spark when he’s on the court. His offensive skills are limited to dunks, put backs, and tip ins, but because of his athleticism, Chandler’s one of the league’s premier centers at filling lanes, dive cutting, and outsprinting opposing bigs to the basket and dunking in lobs. None of the defensive-minded centers below him on the list bring the athleticism, versatility, and intensity Chandler plays with, and the offensive or balanced centers below him are all limited in major areas. 11) Emeka Okafor—New Orleans Hornets Offensively, Okafor’s post moves are crude and mechanical, and haven’t improved much beyond his rookie season. Defensively, Okafor gets overpowered by brawnier opponents, has trouble defending the perimeter, and makes help defense mistakes. Coaches and scouts have remarked that Okafor doesn’t work on his game as hard as he should, a reason why his development has been marginal. Larry Brown stated, “I always tease that he has an ‘A’ in stretching, Pilates and yoga. I'd like him to have an ‘A’ in basketball.” It’s the reason why, although Okafor is a respectable post presence, and an above average defender, he hasn’t blossomed into the star people thought he’d become when he entered the league. 12) Brook Lopez—New Jersey Nets Lopez is a young star with a bright future. At 7-feet, 260 lbs, Lopez has the size to be a sturdy center, but he also has a very soft touch around the basket. The soft touch makes him a quality free throw shooter for a center, and allows him to hit mid-range jumpers. Though not very agile, he moves well without the ball, sets good screens, and is a terrific rebounder. Most of his problems come defensively, but as a second-year player, that’s to be expected, and he improved as his rookie year moved along. With New Jersey fielding a bottom-feeder this upcoming season, Lopez should get even more minutes and opportunities to learn and improve his stellar play. 13) Chris Kaman—Los Angeles Clippers Kaman plays mechanically which is why he gets swallowed up by the league’s elite defenders. Other than that, he does a number of things fairly well. He’s able to hit swinging hooks with regularity, he’s a capable shot blocker, he can rebound, and he’s active. He’s just not talented enough to be a primary post option. 14) Rasheed Wallace—Boston Celtics Wallace is one of the game’s better frontcourt defenders, and he’s not far removed from being an elite defensive player. His strength and long arms make him a very effective post defender, while his lateral quickness and awareness made him an outstanding help defender. Age has sapped that athleticism, limiting his status as one of the game’s best helpers, but he’s certainly good enough to be an asset. Once upon a time (2004), Wallace used to be a terrorizing post threat, with power, force, and an unblockable, reverse-pivot fadeaway from the left block. But aside from that half-season with Larry Brown, Wallace has been more concerned with lounging around the three-point line hoisting up jumpers when his team needed him to dominate in the paint. In truth, the bigger the game, the smaller the odds of success, the worse Wallace would play. Which is why he’s at his best as a supporting cast member, rather than a main cog. 15) Joel Pryzbilla—Portland Trail Blazers The vowelless one, Pryzbilla has evolved into one of the game’s premier defensive centers. Very strong and sturdy, it’s hard for a post player to uproot Pryzbilla from his defensive stance. Pryzbilla is also a very smart help defender, and can alter shots from the weak side using timing more than explosive leaping. Pryzbilla is held back by the fact that he has no offensive skills whatsoever. But he’s so fantastic defensively, he fits into any winning roster. 16) Andrew Bogut—Milwaukee Bucks Bogut has turned himself into a solid NBA center. He’s a respectable offensive threat, a sturdy rebounder, a willing passer, and a space-eating defender. But he’s not a talented enough scorer to consistently command double teams, and his lack of athleticism makes him a poor defender. He’s an average player, which is why he’s positioned in the middle of the top 30. 17) Mehmet Okur—Utah Jazz A basketball anomaly, Okur is big and strong, but makes his living shooting jumpers from the perimeter. Okur’s also a strong rebounder, and has a deceptively effective pull up jumper when defenses close out too hard. However, Okur’s complete lack of mobility and aggression render him helpless on defense, and he’s a below average post player on offense. One-dimensional scorers who don’t command double teams don’t make it far on the list of best centers. 18) Zydrunas Ilgauskas—Cleveland Cavaliers Because of his massive bulk, Ilgauskas is still an effective space-eater in the paint. However, the combination of crippling foot injuries and old age have turned Ilgauskas into a defensive sloth. While he’s still an adequate defender against plodders, he’s helpless against any opponent with any degree of quickness. Ilgauskas is a good rebounder with a soft touch from the perimeter, but he lacks the explosion and the force needed to score from the pivot. At this point in his career, he’s more of a very good backup than a starter, which is how the Cavaliers will employ him. 19) David Lee—New York Knicks Lee is a bouncy rebounder who can make wide open jump shots, occasionally drive for layups, finish with either hand, and who will always play hard. However, while he’s one of the best rebounders in the game, he’s also one of the worst defenders, a fact not helped by his lack of size. Of course, on most teams, Lee would be a power forward and not a center, but due to Mike D’Antoni’s preferred small lineup, Lee is forced to man the middle. This creates mismatches for him on the offensive end masking his unrefined offensive skills, but leaves him permanently overmatched on defense. In a perfect world, Lee would be an exceptional sixth man on a great team. In the real world, he’s the 19th best center in the NBA. 20) Marcus Camby—Los Angeles Clippers Built like Gumby, Camby has always been an overrated defender, one reason why the teams he plays for usually struggle defensively. Sure, Camby is terrific at selling out for shot blocks, but he does so at the expense of positional defense, meaning drives and dishes in his vicinity are near-automatic layups. Camby’s frequently overpowered when defending the post, and while he’s a rangy rebounder, strong rebounders can shove him out of prime rebounding real estate. Offensively, Camby’s a negative player—not only does he struggle with his jump shot, but he won’t stop taking several boneheaded attempts per game. Camby’s talented, but there are far better options for a winning team. 21) Al Horford—Atlanta Hakws Horford’s a nice young player being forced to play center even though he’s a natural power forward. He has good agility, a soft touch, the ability to hit mid-range jumpers, and he’s very active around the basket. He’s a touch too finesse, though he doesn’t have the height to really overpower opposing centers. Plus, his lack of height hurts him defensively where he’s often overwhelmed by bigger, stronger players. Unlike most centers in the league right now, Horford should continue to improve over time. 22) Marcin Gortat—Orlando Magic One of the best backups in the league, Gortat is a very effective screen/roll player because of his ability to move without the ball and finish with soft hooks at the basket. He’s very athletic, runs the floor well, and is a capable dunker and shot blocker. He’s an earnest rebounder, and a good, if not great defender. Though his flaws would probably more pronounced with more playing time, he’s solid across the board. 23) Andris Biedrins—Golden State Warriors Biedrins’ best quality is his attitude. On a team with no regard for defense, weak-side offense, or heart, Biedrins always gives his all and has become a successful player because of it. He has virtually no offensive skills besides converting layups, he’s frequently in foul trouble, he can’t defend screens, and he’s at his opponents’ mercy when they back him down in the post, but he can block shots, hunt down rebounds, and alter games with his hustle. Too bad his energy hasn’t been contagious for the rest of his teammates. 24) Andrea Bargnani—Toronto Raptors An awful defender with a slow reaction time, anticipatory skills, and awareness, Bargnani has to compensate offensively, something he’s just now beginning to do. Even so, he’s all finesse, relying on perimeter jump shots for his offense since he has no way to produce near the basket. He’s an awful rebounder, he can’t pass, he’s turnover prone, and he’s done little to dispel the notion that he’s an NBA bust. 25) Jermaine O’Neal—Miami Heat Brittle and unreliable, O’Neal was a non-factor for much of last season. Sure, there would be the occasional game where O’Neal would dominate from the box, swat shots, and grab double-digit rebounds, but those high points would be followed up with strings of wimpy performances. O’Neal’s turnover prone, can’t pass, is an underwhelming rebounder, and can’t defend. Plus, he’s a walking M.A.S.H. unit. Even when he’s going well, he prefers to shoot jump shots from the high post rather than command doubles down low. Sure, he’ll have the occasional spectacular performance, but O’Neal isn’t a player you trust in a seven game series. 26) Greg Oden—Portland Trail Blazers Oden has a lot of work to do if he wants to thrive in the NBA. His offensive moves are crude and rugged, he’s much too upright in his defensive stance, he moves clumsily, he’s injury prone, and he’s confused by the speed of the NBA. Granted, last season was his not only his first season in the NBA, but it was his first year back after missing 2007-08 with microfracture surgery, so struggles were expected after a year off of basketball. Plus, he already has an NBA-ready body. It’s a question mark though as to whether his rookie campaign is just a case of working out the kinks, or whether he really is too mechanical and not fluid enough to be more than a bit player. 27) Chris Andersen—Denver Nuggets An athletic freak with a non-stop motor, Andersen is always running, jumping, dunking, hustling, and swatting shots. Sure, he can’t defend a mop straight up, and no, he can’t hurt you if he’s more than four feet from the basket, but he was an invaluable player off the Nuggets’ bench, and plays with the kind of energy that can turn near losses into wins. 28) Erick Dampier—Dallas Mavericks Dampier’s middle name is “foul trouble,” and he’s not an accomplished scorer, passer, or defender. What Dampier will do, is play tough defense, provide hard fouls, grab a share of rebounds—especially on the offensive end—block a few shots, and occasionally drop in a hook. While Dampier is limited, there are far worse options out there. 29) Brendan Haywood—Washington Wizards Haywood is Washington’s only tough guy. He’ll take up space defensively, block a shot or two, and can occasionally drop in a few hooks around the basket. Nothing special, he’s a borderline starting-quality big man. 30) Joakim Noah—Chicago Bulls Noah’s a smart, energetic player who knows his limitations and always plays hard. He’s a good defensive player, whether on the ball, or helping from the weak side. On offense, he’s little more than a dunker, but he screens and cuts diligently. A worthy final inclusion to the top 30. This article first appeared at ballerblogger.com

I like the recognition given to some of the game's best sixth men and quality backups. In the spirit of continuing to shed light on players who aren't given enough credit, what would be your perfect inactive list?

I think if Millsap were on a team like the Kings, he wouldn't have anywhere close to the impact he has the Jazz. That isn't an insult, he's the kind of player that makes good teams better, while good teams make him better.

Getting assist isn't always a byproduct of selflessness. For someone who dominates the ball as much as Iverson, of course he's going to get a ton of assists. And simple drive and kick assist passes don't replace a crisp offensive sequence orchestrated perfectly. Look at how Utah runs their offense. Not all of it involves Deron Williams making assist passes, but Williams always makes the right play---the assist pass, the right pass to initialize the set, the pass to thwart the defense's counter, the cut, the screen, etc. Chris Paul is praised for his defense by many people, but not me. Deron Williams is a better team defender, and a much more aware on-ball defender. If Iverson cared, he'd finally learn to buckle down and learn how to play positional defenses instead of getting off-balanced swiping at every dribble, and abandoning his responsiiblities to gamble into the passing lanes. Iverson's refused to come off the bench, refused to accept a role where he doesn't dominate the ball, and refused to integrate into Detroit's system. That's putting his ego above his team and watching the team suffer for it. There are differences in LeBron and AI's trips to the Finals. One, the Pistons were much, much better opponents than the Milwaukee Bucks. Two, LeBron has shown that he's more talented, but is also more aware, a harder worker, and a better defender. LeBron has improved some of his major flaws since his trip to the Finals. Has Iverson? Plus that team had a very relevant defensive stopper in Aaron McKie, a relevant defender and rebounder in George Lynch, a relevant point guard in one of the smartest players to ever play, plus a big time defender and clutch playmaker in Eric Snow, and the relevant Toni Kukoc who was only an orchestral piece of Chicago's second three-peat. AI had one full season in Denver and they embarassed themselves against the Lakers. Absolutely embarassed themselves. And to say the Philly isn't a better team once Iverson left...Have the Sixers missed the postseason with sub-40 win seasons with Andre Miller? Yes. Have they shown the grit, and toughness to put a scare in playoff opponents much better than them? Yes.

Those Sixers teams had some pretty efficient scorers though, and if Iverson were more concerned with running a more balanced offense, instead of holding Larry Brown hostage, the Sixers could have done more than they did. Making the playoffs in that conference isn't an accomplishment. Struggling to win 50 games in the East says more about Philly and the awful conference they played in. The Nuggets were a somewhat unstable, yet talented team before Iverson. Those Nuggets could have matured faster if Carmelo matured, if Nene wasn't always injured, and if Marcus Camby was off the roster. Instead, Iverson brings more flash, little substance, and the Nuggets get troucned by the Spurs and the Lakers. Take Iverson out, put in Billups, it's a whole different team. Assume Iverson stays on the Nuggets with Billups, the Nuggets defenses suffers horribly with Dahntay Jones relegated to the bench, Anthony and Nene don't get premium shot attempts because he isn't getting them the ball in better positions to score. Iverson would slack off in practice, so the rest of the team would slack off more. The Nuggets would become more of a short-cut taking team, and would struggle in the postseason. Iverson plays with heart, Iverson plays with passion, and Iverson plays with no awareness as to the difference between winning teams and losing ones. GM's are finally getting the memo.

It could be him playing nice to Iverson in the meida. Iverson gets a bad rap for his selfishness, shooting habits, his inability to care about practicing or defending, his inability to sacrifice, and his mindset of putting his image above his team. Aside from that one trip to the Finals, he never had much team successes in Philly, prevented the Nuggets from taking steps forward under his tenure, and walked out of Detroit when the going got tough. It's not a coincidence that the two places he's left improved markedly after his departure.

Charlotte's building a team that plays the right way---people are finally realizing just how detrimental Iverson is to a basketball team. He can score, but at what cost? Larry Brown wants no part of him, and rightfully so.

I'm in!

The Spurs would never take on a player allergic to playing defense.

I just read the posts....That was really cool how Brandon stuck up for you Alex, and you handled it well with your responses. Very professional.

Not really. He won't give them anything offensively besides some three-point shooting, but he'll play quality defense which is all they need. Plus Rasheed plays better the less that's needed of him, and the more a coach nags him, which is a plus with Boston's talent and coaching.

What happens when they host Detroit? Will Richard Hamilton get confused?

I like this article very much. My only qualm would be that it might be possible to add more combination of three players on teams that have multiple stars, like the Spurs second three of Duncan, Ginobili, Jefferson, or Parker, Jefferson, Ginobili, etc. Also, you can create trios of secondary players on some teams that are better than the awful trios on some of the losers on the list. For example, I'd rather have the Lakers' 4,5,6 of Derek Fisher, Lamar Odom, and Andrew Bynum than Kevin Martin, Tyreke Evans, and Spencer Hawes. Other things are just nitpicking. I'd have Hinrich over Deng, David Lee over Nate Robinson, Shane Battier over Ariza and a Rockets bump over Minnesota and Milwaukee (a rookie, and two players coming off of major injuries? Puke), and Golden State out of the top 20. Biedrins is overrated because he's the only player in Golden State (aside from Turiaf) who gives a damn, so he looks like a diamond. With Ellis, you give up defensively what you get offensively, and Stephen Jackson doesn't even try. I'd also put Udonish Haslem ahead of Jermaine O'Neal, as O'Neal won't disappear three out of every four games. These are just nitpicks though, quality article.

That strategy only works 50 percent of the time, since he's a 50 percent shooter. Plus I bet at least a handful of those field goals were contested. Basically, Brezec takes a dump on your defensive game plan. Besides, you don't want to leave him open. Look at that mugshot HG posted above. NBA players have nightmares looking into those eyes. If they leave him open, it'll be to shield themselves from embarrassment.

How tall is Brandon? There may be a height disadvantage. I think he has the willpower to be effective though. Good choice.