I wish they'd changed how they listed heights in the NBA. We're rewarding guys with big heads even if the size of your head has nothing to do with how you play basketball. Guys like Dwight or Bam are listed 6'9 but never really lacked in size, their heads are just small. Ant is listed 6'3 but can easily play SF even. They should be measuring at the shoulders where it matters. Even wingspan is more important than raw height imo.
I stated that Gobert didn't play last night. People are failing to realize that Minny has size off their bench as well, not just their starters. And that size wear other teams down.
Yeah, but he also said that Boston has the most size besides Minny which isn't true even on the box score. Brown and Tatum are 6'6" and 6'8" respectively and starting at the forward positions. And KP isn't a physically dominant big either. That's like saying OKC is dominating the league with their bigs. Both lineups are nearly identical in height, but size is a noted weakness of OKC's, probably the only weakness.
What size off their bench? NAW is 6'5" and Naz Reid is 6'9". Everyone else they played were third stringers.
Best players don't always win. Detriot beat LA in the finals when LA had Shaq and Kobe. Just off the top of my head but there are ither examples too. I think we need to look around. Teams are getting taller. There are not a lot of Steph Currys, so the small ball lineups are fading, not so much the 3pt shooting but the small teams who are built around running and shooting.
When you can consistently can play 6'9 Kyle Anderson, 6'9 Naz Reid, 6'9 Jaden McDaniels, 7ft KAT, 6'4 Ant but plays like he's 6'7 it wears down the opposing team. If you look at Minnesota, they really don't do anything overly special, like GS, they are just wearing teams down
The size is a huge deal...in order to match up with Denver. But, let's be clear...if Jamal Murray wasn't injured, this would be a tight series.
Well great because we have 6'11" Sengun, 6'11" Jabari, 6'11" Adams, 6'11" Landale, 6'8" Eason, 6'7" Whitmore, 6'7" Amen to wear teams down then.
You brought up the lone example of a team that was constructed of two superstars that were on the fringe of collapse. BTW those two superstars managed to win 3 championships in a row.... to Detroit's lone. You can't be so narrowminded with these things. If you had an all-tall NBA starting 5 this is what it would look like: Ben Simmons - 6'10" PG Paul George - 6'8" SG Kristaps Porzingis - 7'3" SF Victor Wembanyama - 7'4" PF Boban Marjanovic - 7'4" C Tell me that's a NBA championship roster?
The NBA is a copycat league, you can win by going small IF you have Steph the all time greatest shooter......you can win with a dominant center - IF his name is Jokic or Hakeem - you can win with a PF that can shoot jumpers if his name is Dirk. What we NEED is a SUPERSTAR player to build around - every team has at least one of those, and we are still searching for ours.....best hope on the roster, IMHO, are Amen and Cam with Sengun having an outside shot. DD
Boston is hardly some huge team. Take away Porzingis, and four of the remaining five primary starters this season are 6'4" to 6'8". Replace KP with Horford at center right now, who's 6'9", and they're probably one of the smaller teams left in the playoffs. In fact, if you looked at this current Celtics squad, the Rockets are bigger, minus Fred, who's still one of the best defensive guards in the league. Also, consider that the Knicks (probably one of the smaller teams left) did to Philly and the second most dominant big man in the game today in Embiid. I don't think you can look at these playoffs and immediately assume that size is the determining factor in every series, because that's simply not the case.
Apache was right when he said Brunson was going to be made to look like a god in the playoffs a couple of months ago
That's the thing, you can't take players away, the rosters are what they are. KP, Horford, Brown, Tatum, are all players who are tall for their positions. The Rockets have two - three players whom I would consider are tall or good size for their positions; Adams, Thompson, and Jabari. Good teams, have five - six players who are tall for their positions. Like I said, I think the Rockets need to add a 6'11 - 7'0 player next to Sengun and move Jabari to the SF.
Jaden McDaniels, Naz Reid, and Kyle Anderson are all 6'9 While that's tall on the perimeter, it's not particularly tall for a frontcourt player. Naz Reid is actually undersized for a center. Anthony Edwards is 6'4. Which is a good height for a guard, but ignores his actual advantage = being strong and explosive with a bag of moves. What makes them plus players are several factors.. understanding of footwork, ball handling, mobility, athleticism... Can also get into more nuanced skills, but the point is that only noting their height is overly simplistic. Moving Jabari to SF is only an advantage if he has the skills (ball handling and footwork) to consistently score not just against mismatches, but disciplined defenders. As of now its still unclear if he'll develop to that level. It's not being tall. It's being mobile and skilled at a non-disadvantageous size, which is nothing new to the NBA. Everybody wants unicorns or 6'6+ do it all players.
I think you made my point in your initial statement; Jayden McDaniels, Naz Reid, and Kyle Anderson are ALL 6'9 AND that is tall on the perimeter! Any team who plays against them in a seven game series has to have SIZE to beat them.
