The future of center play in the NBA

[Dahlsim]

Nice post KL. I think the takeaway should be that - the game is moving to all 5 players being able to do everything. It’s often not possible but it’s the goal. It’s not just about the center position (even though that’s where the big change looks to be happening).

In a generalized sense, this movement has already occurred and is just continuing.   In a generalized sense its true. More players of this type are playing the leading roles on the floor for more minutes on the floor. 

This is not true  in any absolute sense.  The exceptions are still very important, in fact they are often the difference makers as all the teams are trying to play the same way.  The outcome of many games is based on individual talents one roster has over another. 

I gave examples earlier, which wasn't addressed of course ... 

Javale McGee and Dwight Howard do not shoot 3's or basically shoot from the perimeter. 
They are not small ball centers. They don't do everything.  Lebron James is very high BBIQ and handpicked his roster.  Javale went from the Mavericks, where Carlisle was sure to keep underusing him, to a team that used him with specificity at the right times and contributed to TWO NBA championships.  
Now he's contributing to possibly a 3rd championship team. 

Another important point i think is Boban and guys like him still have a place. Back to my original point that it’s about flexibility.

Just because Boban doesn’t fit today’s game well doesn’t mean rick can’t use his skills to create mismatches. Teams like the rockets who can only play small ball are at a disadvantage. Having MANY options to win will give rick an edge. It’s why i believe our goal will be to create the deepest team in the league with the most diverse set of talent

This actually my point.  An exceptional talent like Boban doesn't grow on trees. Not every team has one. That is a mismatch opportunity. It is not to be used the old way.  As I said before Shaq would still be an awesome weapon, but he game would change to fit the scenarios today, assuming his coach would use him.    Marjanovic could have used with specificity in smart spurts to a much greater advantage. The best use of flexibility is in recognizing the mismatches your team can exploit and when they can exploit them. 

In my 1-Mav-Advantage-vs-Clippers thread I pointed out how Jokic's with his size and skill gave Denver a decisive matchup advantage they could use against LA. It was basically the same advantage which Dallas failed to use. Size.  
Of course a big part of that was due to KP's injury but the other part of it was demonstrable failure to exploit the other big sized advantaged player who was posting more +'s in his time on the floor than most other Mavs. 

I also posted in that thread that Jokic's advantage would be much more difficult if not impossible to exploit against the Lakers because the same reason. Size.  Jokic could not bully ball his way against the Lakers because they knew when to use the traditional size on their roster.  They rarely used McGee and used Howard even less against small ball Houston because the Lakers built a flexible roster that can play small and play big.    
They still had Anthony Davis with size that was unstoppable for Houston's less flexible roster so they could match Houston's small ball with skilled guards/wings and still hold a size advantage when it worked for them.  Now McGee and Howard are having significant impact again against Denver and Jokic. 

With Jokic, Denver now has to be flexible and reach back into it's bag of strategic tricks because Jokic's inside/out game isn't nearly as easy to work.  Both McGee and Howard now came into the mix and with devastating effect. Denver has to do something different against the flexible Lakers roster versus the star studded but less flexible Clippers.