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The NBA is cutting the center position from its All-Star ballots | Ball Don't Lie - Yahoo! Sports
Its about time they did this.
Its about time they did this.
For some time, the traditional center position has been disappearing from NBA lineups. Teams now go small with increasing regularity, moving athletic power forwards to what used to be the center position to sacrifice some bulk for quickness and athleticism. The approach is popular enough that it seems quite wrong to refer to these players as centers. The definition of the position we used for years no longer applies.
So, in a showing of impressive logic, the NBA has decided to change how it designates players on their All-Star ballots. Centers are no longer recognized — they'll be combined with all forwards to create a new category, the frontcourt. From David Aldridge for NBA.com:
The league will announce Wednesday a change to its All-Star ballot that will, for the first time, allow fans to vote for three undefined "frontcourt" players instead of having to vote for two forwards and a center. With more and more teams playing smaller than in the past, the definition of "center" was becoming increasingly difficult -- not to mention finding enough quality big men for whom to vote. [...]
The league decided to make the change after the NBA's Competition Committee agreed to the move at its meeting last month, VP of Basketball Operations Stu Jackson said Tuesday evening.
"It makes sense," Jackson said. "It made sense to our Competition Committee. Having a center is the only specific position that was singled out on the ballot. It just seemed a little outdated and didn't represent the way our game has evolved. By the same token, it also affords the same opportunity, if you have two good centers in a given year, pick 'em both. They both can be selected. Which is impossible right now."
That would be good news for players like Boston's Kevin Garnett and Miami's Chris Bosh, nominal forwards who are now playing center for their respective teams. Under the old rules, Garnett and Bosh would have been in the center category with the likes of Philadelphia's Andrew Bynum, Atlanta's Al Horford and Indiana's Roy Hibbert. Now, any of them can be selected as a "frontcourt" player.
This is a great decision for many reasons. On a very basic level, it'll turn the All-Star game into a more star-studded event. Over roughly the past decade, the backup centers selected to the All-Star game, while usually very good players, have also been the weakest picks. Think back, for instance, to 2004, when Hornets center Jamaal Magloire was selected out of necessity rather than some overarching desire to include him in proceedings. This development is bad news for players like Marc Gasol and Roy Hibbert, but they can always be chosen on the merits if they prove deserving. That's certainly a better option than including them simply because they qualify under an outdated method of designating positions.
So, in a showing of impressive logic, the NBA has decided to change how it designates players on their All-Star ballots. Centers are no longer recognized — they'll be combined with all forwards to create a new category, the frontcourt. From David Aldridge for NBA.com:
The league will announce Wednesday a change to its All-Star ballot that will, for the first time, allow fans to vote for three undefined "frontcourt" players instead of having to vote for two forwards and a center. With more and more teams playing smaller than in the past, the definition of "center" was becoming increasingly difficult -- not to mention finding enough quality big men for whom to vote. [...]
The league decided to make the change after the NBA's Competition Committee agreed to the move at its meeting last month, VP of Basketball Operations Stu Jackson said Tuesday evening.
"It makes sense," Jackson said. "It made sense to our Competition Committee. Having a center is the only specific position that was singled out on the ballot. It just seemed a little outdated and didn't represent the way our game has evolved. By the same token, it also affords the same opportunity, if you have two good centers in a given year, pick 'em both. They both can be selected. Which is impossible right now."
That would be good news for players like Boston's Kevin Garnett and Miami's Chris Bosh, nominal forwards who are now playing center for their respective teams. Under the old rules, Garnett and Bosh would have been in the center category with the likes of Philadelphia's Andrew Bynum, Atlanta's Al Horford and Indiana's Roy Hibbert. Now, any of them can be selected as a "frontcourt" player.
This is a great decision for many reasons. On a very basic level, it'll turn the All-Star game into a more star-studded event. Over roughly the past decade, the backup centers selected to the All-Star game, while usually very good players, have also been the weakest picks. Think back, for instance, to 2004, when Hornets center Jamaal Magloire was selected out of necessity rather than some overarching desire to include him in proceedings. This development is bad news for players like Marc Gasol and Roy Hibbert, but they can always be chosen on the merits if they prove deserving. That's certainly a better option than including them simply because they qualify under an outdated method of designating positions.