Honestly you can look at this article either as a case for Towns or Okafor but I think it is more for Okafor, well at least maybe the people who are wary of Okafor might feel a little better after reading it.
I was tweeted that article earlier today. I thought the most interesting thing was how important the ability to pass out of the post could become. For what it's worth I agree with that.
I do think its odd it's not more of a 50/50 split between Towns and Okafor. I think it's probably 80/20 in favor of Towns. I've read through some Lakers boards and I almost get the sense that they like Okafor better. That may be because they have resigned themselves to believing Towns is going first, or it's because they are a franchise used to great post play Cs.
TRKO wrote:I do think its odd it's not more of a 50/50 split between Towns and Okafor. I think it's probably 80/20 in favor of Towns. I've read through some Lakers boards and I almost get the sense that they like Okafor better. That may be because they have resigned themselves to believing Towns is going first, or it's because they are a franchise used to great post play Cs.
There's lots of people out there trying to push the message that the game has changed and Okafors style has less value. The game has always changed and adapted to where the talent is though. Okafor is an undeniable talent, and if he lives up to it will help change the game some more. In 5 years teams may be building around the next crop of talent. The truth is the NBA has been without a superstar big from Duncan/KG until Davis and a lesser extant Boogie (who may never push it over the top) got here. I personally wouldn't call Dwight a superstar. That is a long talent gap. But now it seems like real promise with Davis and these 2 kids, Noel and maybe even Embid could develop. Basketball is going to change again, and I think for the better.
Dwight in Orlando was a superstar. There is no debating it. You can dismiss it if you'd like, but that guy took the Magic to the Finals with a team that was built 100% around him. Not many guys have beat LeBron in a playoff series and he was one of them.
Something to note: Duncan, Garnett, Howard, Davis. What do all of them have in common? They all play or played great defense. They defended the rim and anchored their team's effort on that end of the floor. There have been guys like Al Jefferson, Brook Lopez, DeMarcus Cousins, etc. who can score at will. The reason they aren't superstars is because offense is just half of the game of basketball.
Camden0916 wrote:Dwight in Orlando was a superstar. There is no debating it. You can dismiss it if you'd like, but that guy took the Magic to the Finals with a team that was built 100% around him. Not many guys have beat LeBron in a playoff series and he was one of them.
Something to note: Duncan, Garnett, Howard, Davis. What do all of them have in common? They all play or played great defense. They defended the rim and anchored their team's effort on that end of the floor. There have been guys like Al Jefferson, Brook Lopez, DeMarcus Cousins, etc. who can score at will. The reason they aren't superstars is because offense is just half of the game of basketball.
I think Dwight had a superstar year, don't disagree that his run with Orlando was impressive. I just don't think he has sustained his play enough for me to consider him a superstar. But even if you include him there has been a talent gap up front until recently. I wouldnt say that AL and brooks could score at will myself, Shaq could score at will. Neither AL or Brooks ever even sniffed the scoring title. Kevin Love may be the closest to a one way star since the Kg /Duncan/ Shaq era.
