http://timeoutatshannons.com/blog/new/nba-centers-face-extinction/
I don't think this subject gets enough discussion. Cousins may be the best center in basketball, which in years gone by would be huge news, but if the center's impact in determining the outcome of the game has diminished significantly because of the 3-point shot and all of its ramifications, then how big of a deal is it really? If we were in an era prior to the 3-point shot, or in the 2000s when the impact of the 3-point line hadn't thouroughly permeated the coaching, strategy, refereering, and individual player skills and shot selection of the NBA, and we did in fact have the best center in basketball, would we have finished with the 7th worst record in the league? The fact that Cousins spends as much of his time facing the opponent from the outside is a testament to the "new game" of the NBA, which incentivizes the face up game and disincentivizes the back-to-the-basket game. Cousins is undoubtedly a good NBA player, but is the position of center more important than other positions, no more important than other positions, or is it less important than other positions on the floor in the current NBA? And in this new era of 3-point ball, how does the role of center change, if any?
I don't think this subject gets enough discussion. Cousins may be the best center in basketball, which in years gone by would be huge news, but if the center's impact in determining the outcome of the game has diminished significantly because of the 3-point shot and all of its ramifications, then how big of a deal is it really? If we were in an era prior to the 3-point shot, or in the 2000s when the impact of the 3-point line hadn't thouroughly permeated the coaching, strategy, refereering, and individual player skills and shot selection of the NBA, and we did in fact have the best center in basketball, would we have finished with the 7th worst record in the league? The fact that Cousins spends as much of his time facing the opponent from the outside is a testament to the "new game" of the NBA, which incentivizes the face up game and disincentivizes the back-to-the-basket game. Cousins is undoubtedly a good NBA player, but is the position of center more important than other positions, no more important than other positions, or is it less important than other positions on the floor in the current NBA? And in this new era of 3-point ball, how does the role of center change, if any?