The thoughtful folks at Grantland have offered up another interesting perspective on the present and future of an NBA Power Forward. I encourage you to read the piece in its entirety; for our purposes I’ll offer an abbreviated version: the hard-rebounding, dirty-workin’ Power Forward of the past is all but done. The importance of the 3-point shot has rendered the low-post game of the traditional 4-man expendable. Who needs offensive rebounding when all your players can shoot?
Apr 4, 2015; Dallas, TX, USA; Dallas Mavericks forward Dirk Nowitzki (41) tries to shoot as Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green (23) defends during the first half at American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports
There’s no doubt in my mind that the most important innovation in the pro game since the installation of the 3-point arc in 1979-80 is the arrival of big men who can shoot from distance. In my day, any 7-footer who tried a shot from further than 2 strides away from the hoop would have been summarily benched. Now big men who shoot well from distance are lusted after, despite the inconvenient fact that there aren’t exactly a bunch of these guys on hand. Who’s the next Dirk Nowitzki? I’ll wait….
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Regardless, the “stretch-4” (and even the stretch-5, like Andrea Bargnani or Kelly Olynyk) is now an accepted position, though most of the usual suspects, like Steve Novak, don’t have any other skills to offer. Bruno Caboclo is being groomed by the Toronto Raptors as the team’s future stretch-4. One wonders if Bruno will be able to build up his body sufficiently to rebound at an NBA level.
Maybe I’m just a crank, but I still would prefer to see a rebounder starting beside a beefy centre. Tim Duncan of the San Antonio Spurs is considered the greatest 4-man in league history, and he’s made 30 3-balls in his 17+ seasons. He’s blocked almost 3,000 shots, and grabbed over 14,500 rebounds. Duncan’s lack of interest in the long ball hasn’t exactly hurt his team, or his career. He’s my prototype for the 4-man, not Ryan Anderson.
In my ideal scenario, the Raptors will find a replacement for Amir Johnson as the starting power forward by next season. That new guy, whether he arrives via free agency, trade or the draft, will take as his first priority crashing the boards, and developing his paint moves. A stretch-4 is a specialist, and shouldn’t average more than 13 minutes per game. The traditional power forward, whose future (sorry, Grantland) is bright, takes the rest of those minutes.
We will continue to focus on filling this position, by considering more candidates already in the league who might make excellent Raptors. Some will be free agents, other trade-proposal candidates.
Last thought: anyone have a power forward(s) you’d like us to analyze? Drop his name in the Comments.
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