Last Call with Drunk on Mystery: Dwight in the 90s

[Give Me Redick All Day 109]

Luc Longley says "sup?"

[Fultz4thewin 2,464]

im kinda pissed that DOM hasn't written about a free agent or draft prospect yet.

[Natesroom 197]

Good read DOM...

 

I would like to question your comment about no 3 second violations on defense...

 

in the 80's and 90's there was no zone defense in the NBA it was prohibited till 2001... thats when they implemented the 3 second violation to allow the ability to zone for a couple seconds but not for an entirety.

 

SO i would disagree that his blocks would go up by 30% I do think his rebounds would go up more then 1 becouse of his more shots on goal and the overall quality of shooting isnt nearly as good as it now.

 

Thanks for some in depth thought!

[dreamingincolors 0]

quote:

Originally posted by barnettej:

quote:

Originally posted by dreamingincolors:

You said this:

quote:

So, I wrote a long post this morning in another thread about some of the misconceptions about Dwight, but also about big men in general and the 80s-90s big men in particular.

 

Naturally, it was ignored. This is a pretty common characteristic of longer posts I write,

 

Then you go ahead and write a long post. Why?

 

Some people like the read themselves.

I actually read his post.

 

I was just wondering why does he tell us that his long post get ignored and then make a long post. If you say "well obviously it worked because you read it" just to let you know, I didn't see his first post.

[KillingInTheNameOf 63]

My mind went blank after I saw Rony Siekly's name...let me refocus.

 

I would have to at least replace him w/Bill Laimbeer. Prob one of the most underappreciated players because he wasn't a franchise player or primary scorer and was hated by opponents. He was one of the premier rebounders in the NBA for about a decade, made all-star games, plural, & won rings. Even Kevin Willis.

 

On the Dwight comparisions...

 

1. Dwight is more athletic than Robinson & Olajuwon were. I'm pretty sure he tested out better than every wing expected to be drafted in the lottery this year @ 18 years old.

 

2. Dwight is physically bigger (not taller) and more physical than either of these players ever were. Zo & Mailman looked like football players compared to these guys and Dwight is bigger today than either were at the end of their career. Dwight is essentially Zo w/Kemps athleticism.

 

I remember Robinson claiming he had a 32 waist. Dude was ripped, but Dwight is a monster compared to this guy.

 

3. So is the average player in the NBA today compared to then (bigger, more athletic). Which is why its difficult to truly compare players from different era's.

 

Your talking about an era where Kelly Tripucka, Kiki Vandeweghe, Adrian Dantley, Jim Paxson, & Mark Aguirre were All-Stars. Is it just me or does this group bare a striking resemblance to Jason Kapono & Dennis Scott athletically?

 

I thought you made an interesting point when you highlighted that Bosh would be a finesse C in most era's. Dwight annihilated Bosh in the playoffs 2 years ago even w/limited exposure, zone-man D's & double teams. Bosh is 230, so was The Chief @ 7-foot. So was Kareem @ 7-2. So was Robinson @ 7-1.

 

And of course the alternative was an era full of Jon Koncak's or Rasho Nestrovich's & Big Z's. Dwight annihilated Big Z in the playoffs last year.

 

Half the big men back in that era couldn't/didn't even run the floor. Mark Eaton, Jack Sikma, Laimbeer, Artis Gilmore, & Kevin Duckworth made All-Star games in that era and walked into the front court a far amount.

 

Maybe it's just me, but I think if you wanna see Dwight look like an offensive superstar, put him against the likes of Duckworth & Sabonis, Cartwright & Perdue, Eaton & Ostertag, w/o the ability to double before he touches the ball & less sophisticated defensive strats...

 

I think Gasol & McHale would be a similiar comparision and I think Gasol would manhandle the skinny azz McHale as much as I loved him. I mean, McHale was 210.

[Capo d'Orlando 85]

quote:

Originally posted by Kberto:

Nope. Oakley was right. Dwight wouldn't have been able to even make it in the league. He'd be stuck on the bench.

 

I would say though, Dwight would clearly be the best big defender even in a time frame with so many great centers. When you factor in how the game is officiated today, and how awful individually most of Dwight's teammates are defensively, it magnifies just how incredible a presence he is on that side of the floor.

 

Offensively, he still has refining to do. But, unlike most, I think he's right on track for his age.

 

I only wish the Jazz could have had someone like Dwight instead of Greg effing Ostertag here in Utah during the 90s. We did have Olden Polynice for a bit though, and of course he's better than Dwight...

[TheNameIsOrlando 310]

This was an awesome read for someone like me. Im only 23 and didnt see or dont remember most the older players you named play.

 

Thanks for the incite.

[sharp/7/shooter 23]

Thanks for the late night read. This is such an interesting topic, I might even want to thank Oakley for giving me some material to focus on rather than the Finals.

[bravlady 0]

David Robinson was one of my favorite players of that era. I think a lot of his play was pure and simple discipline that perhaps he learned while attending the Naval Academy.

[SmackDaddy 30]

quote:

Originally posted by KillingInTheNameOf:

Maybe it's just me, but I think if you wanna see Dwight look like an offensive superstar, put him against the likes of Duckworth & Sabonis, Cartwright & Perdue, Eaton & Ostertag, w/o the ability to double before he touches the ball & less sophisticated defensive strats...

 

Yep, yep and yep.

 

This is one of the most overlooked aspects of big man basketball in the 90's. For as good as Shaq, Hakeem, Robinson, and Ewing were, there were also 10 other starting centers in the league that make Big Z look like an effing cheetah and make Dampier, Haywood, Okur and Kristic look like a pride of fierce lions.

[Catman Forever 0]

quote:

Originally posted by SmackDaddy:

quote:

Originally posted by KillingInTheNameOf:

Maybe it's just me, but I think if you wanna see Dwight look like an offensive superstar, put him against the likes of Duckworth & Sabonis, Cartwright & Perdue, Eaton & Ostertag, w/o the ability to double before he touches the ball & less sophisticated defensive strats...

 

Yep, yep and yep.

 

This is one of the most overlooked aspects of big man basketball in the 90's. For as good as Shaq, Hakeem, Robinson, and Ewing were, there were also 10 other starting centers in the league that make Big Z look like an effing cheetah and make Dampier, Haywood, Okur and Kristic look like a pride of fierce lions.

Jack Sikma says "I resemble that remark."

[Secretly Space Jesus 670]

quote:

Originally posted by Catman Forever:

Rik Smits and Mark Eaton said "hey, you left us out!"

 

Smits I mentioned by name, though admittedly I didn't give the dunking Dutchman a whole lot of attention. He was basically a poor man's Yao Ming, with the added bonus of being as foul prone as Samuel Dalembert. Still, when he was healthy and not picking up fouls, Smits was an effective scorer, a not-completely-terrible defender, and a below average rebounder.

 

Eaton blocked shots and could defend the post very well. He didn't rebound, and was useless on offense. So, basically he was Ben Wallace without the rebounding(but he WAS a better post defender).

 

quote:

Originally posted by Give Me Redick All Day

Luc Longley says "sup?"

 

Luc Longley was Aaron Gray before Aaron Gray was Aaron Gray, but I am a little mad at myself for leaving off Bill Cartwright. Cartwright had a couple really good years early in his career in the early 80s, and was a decent defender into the mid90s.