Big Man
By Kris Lazaro (5/4/2007)
To win an NBA (National Basketball Association) championship, a team must have a good defense, a good core of players, a good coach, and most importantly a big man inside. The last requirement is interesting, in that, the past couple championship teams have all had big men inside. This article will show the value of the big man and why they are necessary in winning an NBA championship.
Outside shots do not always go in (for example, 3 pointers and beyond the point shots). As such, if a team starts to miss such shots, they must rely on their big man inside to bail them out of trouble. The big man also has the responsibility of defending their basket on the other side of the court. A few examples of big men that have made a championship, lasting impact on their teams include, Shaquille O’Neal, Hakeem Olajuwon, Ben Wallace, Yao Ming, et cetera. These big men offer their team more rebounding opportunities and a great defensive role in blocking easy layups and dunks. On the offensive end, these big men also help with the layups and dunks (as aforementioned). Therefore if there are two teams that are relatively equal, but one team lacks a big man, such a team will probably never win an NBA title.
In college basketball, this has also started an interesting trend, where big men play a bigger role than they did before. Roy Hibbert of the 2006-07 Georgetown Hoyas was instrumental in his teams bid for the final four this year in Georgia. Mr. Hibbert demonstrated tremendous skill and talent as he controlled the boards as best he could during the tournament. If it weren’t for Mr. Hibbert, the Hoyas would not have been where they are now.
This idea only really applies to basketball. In football, its not so much speed that determines who wins the game, rather it is teamwork and determination that wins games. A good running game in football is similar to an effective big man inside for such a team.
In closing, having a big man gives NBA teams great advantage.
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