Gator Country

tilly · 03-20-2013, 10:00 AM

...most valuable big man in the NBA.
(On around the horn yestrday)

High praise from a man who watches a lot of hoops.

Sent from my Samsung Galaxy Tablet using Gator Country

InstiGATOR1 · 03-20-2013, 10:55 AM

Did Ryan get or lose points for that statement?

qwghlmgator · 03-20-2013, 11:07 AM

...wait...Joe got signed by the Celtics?

StrangeGator · 03-20-2013, 11:14 AM

Jo is playing very well right now. He's been steady all season, double-doubles almost every game, averaging over four assists a game, top ten in rebounds, blocks and minutes played, but his shot selection and subsequently his field percentage have improved dramatically in the last several weeks. He's shooting 57% over the last ten games compared to 47% for the season.

The biggest thing he's doing is leading this team in Rose's absence. Deng is still the most valuable player, but Jo is the emotional leader. He's had to take on a lot this year, losing Rose and a very dependable backup in Asik.

Very proud of Jo, but as much as I like him, the most valuable big man in the league might be David Lee.

corpgator · 03-20-2013, 11:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by StrangeGator

Jo is playing very well right now. He's been steady all season, double-doubles almost every game, averaging over four assists a game, top ten in rebounds, blocks and minutes played, but his shot selection and subsequently his field percentage have improved dramatically in the last several weeks. He's shooting 57% over the last ten games compared to 47% for the season.

The biggest thing he's doing is leading this team in Rose's absence. Deng is still the most valuable player, but Jo is the emotional leader. He's had to take on a lot this year, losing Rose and a very dependable backup in Asik.

Very proud of Jo, but as much as I like him, the most valuable big man in the league might be David Lee.

If you only value offense. Lee's a horrible defender and it shows in the numbers when you look at how much opponents score with him on and off the court.

Noah is more valuable than Lee, but Marc Gasol is probably the most valuable.

madgator · 03-20-2013, 12:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by corpgator

If you only value offense. Lee's a horrible defender and it shows in the numbers when you look at how much opponents score with him on and off the court.

Noah is more valuable than Lee, but Marc Gasol is probably the most valuable.

Good call!!!

Marc Gasol 1
Chris Bosh 2
Joakim 3

**gatorboy** · 03-20-2013, 01:06 PM

Bob Ryan is spot on. Joekim playing great!

tegator80 · 03-20-2013, 01:07 PM

I am going to take a slightly different approach: what team values the play of their big the most? I would say that Jo playing in Thibodeau's system is the most valuable. Bosh is a scorer on a team of scorers. Marc may be a matchup nightmare for many teams but I don't necessarily think that Memphis plays poorly without him bringing it. Chicago does go into a funk without Jo's energy.

HotlantaGator · 03-21-2013, 12:27 AM

David Lee leads the NBA in double-doubles, with 45.

Dwight Howard is #2 with 39, so its not even that close.

Al Horford is #3, Noah is #7.

Lee may not be a great defender, but he may be most underrated player in NBA.

ceedub · 03-21-2013, 03:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by madgator

Good call!!!

Chris Bosh 2

This was supposed to be a joke, right?

Ahab · 03-21-2013, 10:06 AM

I love Lee but he's not a top 10 big man. You can't just look at stats.

StrangeGator · 03-21-2013, 11:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by madgator

Good call!!!

Marc Gasol 1
Chris Bosh 2
Joakim 3

Bosh isn't even the second most valuable player on his team. As far as big men, I would put him about #10 in the league with three Gators and two Gasols ahead of him.

**iceman44** · 03-21-2013, 11:46 AM

Actually, since Horford plays the 5 for the Hawks, I would consider him the best and most valuable big man in the league. Ask the other players around the league what they think of Horf.

tilly · 03-21-2013, 11:38 PM

I think his point was also the leadership role that Jo has taken with JRose out. No Jo...No playoffs for the Bulls.

socraticsilence · 03-21-2013, 11:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HotlantaGator

David Lee leads the NBA in double-doubles, with 45.

Dwight Howard is #2 with 39, so its not even that close.

Al Horford is #3, Noah is #7.

Lee may not be a great defender, but he may be most underrated player in NBA.

Not great would be a huge upgrade Lee is such a minus defensively that Noah passes Jim by quite a bit IMO.

tommyuf21 · 03-21-2013, 11:52 PM

Very proud of Jo. He made himself into the player he's become. Yes, a talented athlete but he had to work his butt off to get to where he is now.

irish2u2 · 03-21-2013, 11:53 PM

I love David Lee but there is no way he the most valuable big man in the NBA. Not even close. In fact he isn't the most valauable Gator in the NBA. Noah and Horford are and it is because both of them play defense. Honestly the most valuable big man in the NBA is LeBron James. The guy could be a HOF player at any position on the court.

Back to Lee. As a lifelong Knicks fan I had the privilege of watching a lot of Lee's games. Even now I catch at least 30 Warrior games a season thanks to NBA League Pass. Lee has gotten better but he is still a very poor man and team defender. It's one of those great mysteries that a guy so athletic has such slow footwork and gets beat off the bounce all the time. His recognition skills are also seriously lacking. I wish the Knicks had kept Lee who is cheaper and more productive than Amar'e Stoudemire (and also healthier) and about the same defensively. Sadly the Knicks front office doesn't take my calls any more since I reamed out Isiah Thomas for a laundry list of stupid GM moves....

Noah fills a stat sheet but it's all the intangibles that separate him from most bigs. I don't think he is the best center in the NBA but providing I had the right guys around him he might be my first choice at center because of his defense, rebounding, passing and enthusiasm. BTW, IMHO he doesn't have the ugliest jumper in the league any more. Watch Marcus Camby shoot a jump shot and Jo starts to look like Ray Allen...