How Long Before the "3 and D" Center is a Thing?

[PhoSita]

Just wait until a strong big man with good hands, a soft touch  and the ability to hit free throws realizes he can abuse these little guys down low. 



That is what the league is lacking.

Well that's kind of what I'm talking about here -- if you had a Kendrick Perkins or Roy Hibbert on defense, a big dude like that (like, say, Jahlil Okafor) couldn't abuse them.  Then on the other end, instead of clogging the paint, your defensive role player big man camps out in the corner and creates space for your guards and wings.

[fairweatherfan]

I was wondering if the topic was about "3 and D" like a subset of a broader skillset, or if their offensive value was almost exclusively corner 3s and the like.  LaFrentz is a good example of a guy who veered in that direction, Manute Bol kinda tried for it later in his career  though it mostly felt like a novelty act. 

Honestly of guys currently in the league I think Hibbert could actually wind up somewhere in that vicinity.  He's never been a great post player, and has hit a few 3s in college and the NBA, including a game-winner or two.  But I don't see it happening as long as Byron Scott's his coach.

[PhoSita]

Yeah, I think the trend is for players of every description to learn to shoot the three, which will include star big men at the 4 and 5. 

Here I'm focusing mainly on the guys who have limited roles on offense, the types of guys we've seen phased out the last few years because teams have figured out that they can just hide their weakest defender on those guys and often just completely ignore them on that end of the floor.

[PhoSita]

LaFrentz is a good example of a guy who veered in that direction, Manute Bol kinda tried for it later in his career  though it mostly felt like a novelty act. 

Didn't Mehmet Okur kind of veer in this direction, too?

[sofutomygaha]

Rasheed Wallace is the future of the NBA!

[obnoxiousmime]

The plodding defensive big who can't shoot from long range (or at least shoot a jumper) is probably outdated in today's NBA. I think you could get by on offense if your PF has those skills and balanced things out, but on defense you really need to be able to run around and switch and guard small ballers. One problem is, generally speaking the players who had to develop post games probably did so because they weren't the best athletes to begin with. If you were super-athletic but couldn't shoot you'd probably just run around and dunk on people in college, only that doesn't work in the NBA unless you're truly an elite and explosive athlete like Dwight Howard.

[Eja117]

Till another Shaq shows up. Jahil Okafor seriously hopes this happens.

[Eja117]

Further proof Arvydas Sabonis was way ahead of his time laying down a foundation for the Dirks and Donatas Ms of the world.

[Csfan1984]

You could lose a lot of offensive rebounding by parking the center that far away from the basket. But to pull it off think it has to be super athletic big who can crash down right after a shot. Anthony Davis at the 5 or Lab at the 5 may be able to pull it off if they continue to improve their shots. Other than those two you go small and use a PF. Ibaka is probably the closest guy pulling off 3 and D center right now.

[PhoSita]

You could lose a lot of offensive rebounding by parking the center that far away from the basket.

Yeah I think you'd task your wings and guards with going after offensive rebounds and have your 3-and-D center focus on getting back on missed shots.  For rebounding purposes they'd be focused entirely on defensive boards.

[fairweatherfan]

LaFrentz is a good example of a guy who veered in that direction, Manute Bol kinda tried for it later in his career  though it mostly felt like a novelty act. 

Didn't Mehmet Okur kind of veer in this direction, too?

Yeah that's a good one too, forgot about him.  200+ 3 attempts in 5 consecutive seasons.  Made an All-Star Game for his troubles too.

[DefenseWinsChamps]

http://www.nbadraft.net/forum/3-and-d-bigs

http://www.nbadraft.net/forum/2015-3-and-d-bigs

I posted these on another forum. Basically, my two criteria are above 30% from three and below 50% opponent field goal % at the rim. There are probably better metrics to use for defense, but this is what i went with.

[moiso]

Bill Laimbeer is a great one.  He was very unique at that time.

[hwangjini_1]

How long before people ask their PG to do the brunt of the rebounding? After all, the guy is typically universally matched with the shortest opponent on the field

ha, ha, ha...good one koz. tp.

[Big333223]

Bill Laimbeer is a great one.  He was very unique at that time.

Laimbeer used to do it. Demarcus Cousins is shooting 3's now (but I guess he's playing PF). Meyers Leonard was suddenly a 3-point shooter last season. I think Marc Gasol has been trying to extend his range.

I think the OP is right. A Perkins/Asik-esque player that doesn't have much skill around the basket but can knock down 35% from the corners would cause a lot of problems.