Don’t Call It A Comeback
Let San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich tell it, and centers aren’t causing a revolution. Asked about Nikola Jokic of the Denver Nuggets, the curmudgeonly coach waived off Jokic’s talents as having the impact of a rebel like Che Guevarra.
"“When I think of revolution, I think of people like Che Guevara, Ivan Illich, Lenin,” Popovich told ESPN’s Michael Wright. “I don’t really think of Jokic as quite a revolutionary. So, I think you’re a bit hyperbolic there. But he is one heck of a player.”"
Popovich went on to note Jokic’s distinct lack of speed and springiness while complementing his smarts. The “pudgy” prodigy is making the most out of his toolkit, and it is serving the Nuggets well, as the team sits a half game back of the first-place Golden State Warriors at 21-11.
Though Popovich won’t admit it. Jokic, and many other centers are quite revolutionary, at least with respect to the current model for NBA success.
Just five seasons ago, at the inception of the Warriors running the Association, Chris Bosh and the Heat were transforming the idea of a traditional center. Previously fielding Joel “The Warden” Anthony as the team’s interior blockade, head coach Erik Spoelstra employed Bosh as a small-ball stretch four.
Between 2012 and 2014, Bosh nearly tripled his 3-point attempts. The Heat won 54 games in 2013-14 season, in part to Bosh’s new talents.
Despite the LeBron James led-Heat disbanding in 2015, the trend established by Spoelstra’s unconventional usage of Bosh continued. In 2016-17, eight centers attempted at least three triples per game, twice as many as in 2014.
The pattern continues this year as well. Analysts regularly tout the importance of the NBA’s tallest members trying the 3-ball, justified by the importance of pulling defenses apart like taffy.
But, as demonstrated by Whiteside, his teammate Bam Adebayo, and even the four big men selected in the top six spots of the NBA draft, the allure of the long ball has also stressed the importance of burly big men who can bully their way down low.