How will the Celtics get a top ten center at some point in the next five years?

[CelticG1]

I mean I'd rather have Rondo paired up with another point guard like Eric bledsoe than with a guy like Asik. The talent just completely outweighs some guy that was born tall

[Fafnir]

Chris Bosh is a really good player, you're underselling him. Offensively he makes the Heat go and defensively he gets a bad rap. Rebounding, now he deserves all that criticism.

Andersen was on fire last year too, gave the Heat something they lacked as an energy big/garbage man.

[LooseCannon]

I mean I'd rather have Rondo paired up with another point guard like Eric bledsoe than with a guy like Asik. The talent just completely outweighs some guy that was born tall

Asik is a better player than Bledsoe.

[LatterDayCelticsfan]

By better I'm going to assume, more classical big men than Miami, but its very hard justify that most teams in the NBA have more skilled big men rotations than the Heat. They may be unorthodox, but they are still high skill by and large.

[mgent]

The "what you need" convo is so stupid.

You need super stars pretty much.

It used to be you need a bkue chip center.

Then it changed to, you need a "big man" blue chip guy

Then it turmed into, well I guess if you are a top swing player in the NbA that too

Such a ridicous joke of a conversation.

Anyway I think by far center is the least valu ale position in the NBA these days and I would invest the least amount of resources in aquiring one.

There's basically one top center (who really isn't even that good) and then you have a bunch of centers who really all mesh togther and don't make a dramatic difference

In my opinion, another misconception.

As I mentioned in my above post, maybe there aren't any Russell/Chamberlain/Kareem/Ewing type centers in the league anymore.

But, size is still a BIG part of the game.

You can't just throw out a bunch of guards and wing players and expect that to be a championship level team.

Sure, if we are talking making ESPN's top 10 highlights, maybe. But not for winning championships.

Both of you guys have the right idea.  There is no "what you need" to have a championship team, championship teams are in themselves.

Size is still a big part of the game, but that doesn't equate to needing a top center (or big) who dominates.  The Celtics didn't win by asserting their size, they had Perk or they went small.  We won with jump shooting and defense.  KG posted up some but overall didn't use his size often.  Same thing with Bosh and the Heat.  Miami didn't win because of their size in Bosh and Andersen, they also found a way to win without relying on their bigs.  The Pistons relied more on Chauncey, Rip, and Prince than the Wallaces and managed to beat top 5 centers in Shaq and JO.  This is because they had a better team, not better size

If Sully became a top 20 center (likely) and we signed or traded for a top 20 big, we'd be in the same position as if we had a top 10 center.

Edit:  Actually were the O'Neals the two best centers that year?  Yao was 23 and in his second year so I'm saying yeah.

[Kane3387]

Most likely via the draft, trade, or free agency.

[LooseCannon]

Most likely via the draft, trade, or free agency.

Nice to see such a bold prediction.

[vinnie]

Many people believe you need a top center to be a legitimate contender.  So how will the Celtics get one within the next five years?

The Heat went to the finals 3 times without a "true center", and won two out of it

The heat also have a couple of guys named James and Wade.

[CelticG1]

Chris Bosh is a really good player, you're underselling him. Offensively he makes the Heat go and defensively he gets a bad rap. Rebounding, now he deserves all that criticism.

Andersen was on fire last year too, gave the Heat something they lacked as an energy big/garbage man.

He's a good player but I think you could put a bunch of bigs in his position amd the outcome is the same.

No one is going to sell me that he makes the Heat offense "go". Are they worse without him yeah, if you are sticking a back up in there.

I just wouldn't say he keeps the Heat together or is a vital part of the team. Substitute him for a guy like David Lee or Al Jefferson you prob get the same results.

And stick Bosh on the Warriors, bobcats or Jazz and prob not much changes.

As far as Birdman yeah he plays a nice role. You def need guys who hustle on your team to win championshipd whether they are big or small

[Celtics18]

He's already here.

[jambr380]

Chris Bosh is a really good player, you're underselling him. Offensively he makes the Heat go and defensively he gets a bad rap. Rebounding, now he deserves all that criticism.

Andersen was on fire last year too, gave the Heat something they lacked as an energy big/garbage man.

Yeah, I don't understand how people are trying to totally undersell Bosh. He is a perennial all-star and somebody who I would love to have on the Celtics, even though I am not a huge fan of his personality (although that probably mostly has to do with him being a member of the Heat).

As for other stating that you don't need a center to win, I guess I get it. You don't need a prototypical 7 foot stalwart holding down the paint, but you absolutely need a two-way all-star (or near all-star) 'big'. Yes, KG and Bosh definitely count...

[lightspeed5]

Center???

What's that?

A guy taller than 6'10 that can rebound and be a force in the paint?

Who needs that?

Nah...give me a bunch of guys whose height ranges from 5'4 to 6'9 and away we go.

Can Gary Coleman play basketball?

Gary Coleman has been dead for years.

[lightspeed5]

modern NBA has reduced the need for a center. Most contenders play a power forward at the 5 spot.

[kozlodoev]

Many people believe you need a top center to be a legitimate contender.  So how will the Celtics get one within the next five years?

The Heat went to the finals 3 times without a "true center", and won two out of it

The heat also have a couple of guys named James and Wade.

Precisely. Contrary to popular opinion, you need multiple talented players, not a top center in order to win games. Sometimes, those talented players happen to be centers.

[jambr380]

Many people believe you need a top center to be a legitimate contender.  So how will the Celtics get one within the next five years?

The Heat went to the finals 3 times without a "true center", and won two out of it

The heat also have a couple of guys named James and Wade.

Precisely. Contrary to popular opinion, you need multiple talented players, not a top center in order to win games. Sometimes, those talented players happen to be centers.

Please don't put James and Wade in the same sentence. While it is absolutely possible the Heat could have won a championship with [a healthy] Kobe Bryant instead of Bosh, having a big makes things a lot easier for everybody.

Like the only exception I can think of is the Jordan teams, but even then Horace Grant and Dennis Rodman were incredible defenders in the interior. I get that neither one was a center per se, but they were both extremely effective players as big men.

People act like it doesn't really matter if you have an all-star level pf/c, but in the examples of Jordan and Lebron, you have two of the very best players to ever play the game (and they both had effective big men). If you can tell me how we can a player of their caliber, I will be happy to roll with Sully and Olynyk for the forseeable future.