In this Position
Battle post, we will focus on the top five centers at this point in the season.
We will take into account just the players’ stats for the latest five games of their respective teams. This will, hopefully,
give us a more current picture of each player’s production.
This is the
last Position Battle post for the regular season, as all teams have played out
their 82 games. The next series of Position Battles will focus exclusively on
the players in the postseason.
In this
list, a resident Sacramento bad boy remains at the top spot, while a troika of
playoff-bound big men crowd him. Oh, and quite possibly the league’s worst free
throw shooter is here, too. Go figure.
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| The league's best centers are comprised of a curious sort. |
Note: All of the following stats are based on each
player’s stats as computed by HoopsStats.com. They were taken on April
17, 2014 (Manila time).
5. Marc Gasol (MEM) - 19.2ppg, 11.2rpg, 4.2apg,
1.4spg, .571 FG%, 27.2 EFF
Gasol’s last
five games have been really awesome, especially his near-triple-double drop
against the Mavs yesterday. He registered 19 points, 9 rebounds, 9 assists, 2
steals, and 1 block as Memphis snuck past Dallas, 106-105. That gave the Grizz
the seventh seed in their conference and, more importantly, it means Gasol and
Zach Randolph get to match-up against, arguably, one of the weaker West
frontlines (hello, OKC).
4. Joakim Noah (CHI) - 13.2ppg, 13.0rpg, 8.6apg,
1.4spg, 1.8bpg, 27.8 EFF
Chicago’s MVP
should be the league’s DPOY. I mean, without Noah, Chicago would be in the
dumps right now (yes, even with DJ Augustin and Taj Gibson both playing so
well). Noah has just been the heart and soul of this squad for the better part
of the last two seasons, and they will continue to need his all-around
production to get by a dangerous Washington quintet in the first round of the
postseason.
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| An ugly jumpshot doesn't ruin Noah's beautiful game. (image by Gary Dineen/Getty Images) |
3. Andre Drummond (DET) -
18.4ppg, 17.4rpg, 2.0spg, 1.4bpg, .607 FG%, 27.8 EFF
My jaw
dropped after reading about Drummond’s scoring 26 points and grabbing 26
rebounds against Noah’s Bulls last week. He really looks to be Dwight Howard
2.0, save for the free throw shooting because, lo and behold, Drummond actually
shoots WORSE than DH. Among all NBA players who attempt at least 3.0 free
throws a game, he is DEAD LAST, making under 42% of his charities. You’re good,
young fella, but you ain’t never gonna be great till you get your act together
on the line.
2. Al Jefferson (CHA) -
23.6ppg, 14.6rpg, 2.6apg, .552 FG%, 30.0 EFF
He is the
single, biggest reason the Bobcats are in the Playoffs right now. Many thought
Al-Jeff wouldn’t make a world of a difference for Charlotte, but, man, he has. To
illustrate? The Cats have gone 7-1 this month to close out the regular season
as one of the league’s hottest teams. Sure, they have next to nil chances of
beating Miami four times in a best-of-seven, but, hey, they can throw in some
jabs and, hopefully, soften up the champs for the second round, right? The
world has got a lot riding on you, Al-Jeff. Don’t disappoint.
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| Jefferson's postseason will be short, but it would be good if he can make it eventful. (image by Brock Williams-Smith/Getty Images) |
1. DeMarcus Cousins (SAC) - 30.3ppg, 13.3rpg,
3.5apg, 2.0spg, 1.8bpg, .485 FG%, 31.3 EFF
Boogie is no
hero, but he’s, objectively speaking and based purely on production, definitely
the best center on the planet. Yes, we can all go on a dozen beers talking
about each and every one of his SIXTEEN techs this season (that’s tied for
first with Blake Griffin and, surprisingly, Kevin Durant), but the fact is his
misdemeanor notwithstanding, this former Wildcat is the Kings’ only hope of any
future success. Rein him in, surround him with complementary talent, and maybe
Sacramento can be amongst hoops royalty again.
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| DeMarcus Cousins is the poster boy for the nouveau NBA bad boy. Oh, and he is the league's best center, too. (image by Steve Yeater/AP) |
Outside
looking in:
Timofey Mozgov (DEN) - 26.4 EFF
Enes Kanter (UTA) - 26.3 EFF
Marcin Gortat (WAS) - 23.6 EFF
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