As more and more teams in the NBA are creating small ball lineups, such as the Golden State Warriors “Death Lineup,” the question looms large as to whether the classic center is a thing of the past. If we take a look at the two teams competing for the NBA Finals this past season, two huge (literally) players noticed increasingly diminished roles. Both the 7’1” 275 pound Timofey Mozgov and the 7’0” 260 pound Andrew Bogut saw their minutes swapped with players who can space the floor when it mattered most. These changes are becoming more common around the league due to the evolution of the NBA shifting towards 3-point heavy offensive systems. Even renowned egotist Dwight Howard can be seen practicing his outside shot lately! If you take a look at the statistics posted on basketball-reference.com, over the past decade teams are averaging over 8 more 3-point attempts per game. That not only means teams are more actively searching for 3-point shooters, but also that rim protectors aren’t nearly as coveted.
This forces me to ask the question: Are stretch 4s like 6God Porzingis becoming the new prized commodity of the NBA?
Going into the 2015 draft, Kristaps’ biggest question mark was the fact that he’s a 7 footer with too slight of a frame to bang down low with the big bodies of the NBA. However, after his sensational rookie season that saw him just lose out on the ROY award to another impressive big who can also stretch the floor in Karl Towns, it proved that in this small ball league there aren’t enough big bodies on the court to expose the weaknesses a frail stretch 4 would have encountered 10 years ago. Another lottery name this year drawing comparison to Kristaps is Phoenix Suns forward Dragan Bender. Although it is still early, Bender is already looking like the stretch 4, double-double threat that Porzingis proved to be last year.
Legendary basketball mind Phil Jackson undoubtedly liked what he saw in the Latvian big man and has now signed 4 other ex-Euro leaguers this offseason including resigning the surprisingly not-so-awful, energizer Sasha Vujacic. We’ll have to wait and see if other league executives follow suit, but especially if Bender has a good year, you can expect to see a lot more teams taking chances on European talent.