Sunday, May 22, 2011
Posted: 12:10 a.m.
By Dei Lynam
CSNPhilly.com
This is the fifth part of Sizing up the Sixers, a position-by-position look at the team. Part four took a look at power forward.
While watching Game 2 of the Western Conference Finals, I was drawn to the play of Tyson Chandler, Dallas veteran center. He scored 15 points and grabbed 13 rebounds in the Mavericks 106-100 loss. It was his third double-figure scoring game of the post-season.
Chandler, in the playoffs, is averaging seven points and nine rebounds per game, while shooting 58 percent from the floor. His numbers are down slightly from the regular season when he averaged 10 points, 9.4 rebounds and made 65 percent of his shots.
Chandler appeared and started in 74 regular season games after totaling 96 games played in the previous two seasons combined. Why do we care? Because Chandler is considered one of the better centers in the NBA. Big guys with big numbers are rare breeds.
Over the last five years, the number of centers to average at least 10 points, nine rebounds and one block is 16. That means, on average, three centers a year make the cut. Chandler, in addition to this season, made the cut in the 07-08 season, which is also the last time the Sixers got those numbers out of the center positioncompliments of Samuel Dalembert.
NBA
Those same two centers were in the same restricted free agent class in the summer of 2005. After averaging 8 points and 9.7 rebounds in the 2004-05 season Chandler signed a six-year contract worth 65 million. Dalembert signed a comparable deal in that same off-season on the heels of averaging 8.2 points and 7.5 rebounds.
Andre Iguodala is perceived as overpaid today. Dalembert wore that same Scarlett Letter for years after his extension in 2005.
Dwight Howard, Andrew Bogut, Al Horford, a healthy Yao Ming, a young Marcus Cambythey come to mind when thinking about centers.
Which brings us to the Sixers starting center, Spencer Hawes.
Hawes contract will expire, like Thaddeus Youngs, on June 30. He is a four-year veteran who this past year for the Sixers, averaged 7.2 points and 5.7 rebounds. Those numbers seem less-than-expected for a guy who has played four NBA seasons and was selected 10th overall in 2007.
Hawes entered the NBA after playing just one year of college basketball at the University of Washington, where he averaged 15 points and six rebounds.
His experience was minimal; his size was attractive.
He is a seven-footer with a soft outside touch. But in the NBA, rebounding and defense and a presence at the rim are what the elite teams have when the opposition gets to the paint.
Hawes in an ideal world would be a reliable backup center, who would be better than most in that same role night in and night out. As a starter, he makes some nights hard to digest. He scored 12 points in Game 3 of the series against Miami. He scored 14 points in the other four games combined.
Does he have the personality to put in the kind of work that it requires from a 23 year old who took a job four years ago with high expectations and came in under that radar, not with one team but two?
Time will tell.
The Sixers will probably tenure him an offer whenever the collective bargaining agreement gets resolved. Hawes will shop his wares and the Sixers will have the right to match whatever number hes offered.
Centers are the luckiest of basketball players. There are too few to be had and therefore potential often earns a player more then the other side really wants to pay.
Behind Hawes is an equally puzzling player: Marreese Speights. Speights has played three seasons for the Sixers. His ability to score is not in question. His defensive skills are. He is not a great rebounder and defensively he can definitely be a liability. That would not be as big of an issue if the team had a starting center that possessed the qualities Speights did not. If that were the case he could hang his hat on needing few minutes to fill it up on the offensive end.
There was a time during his rookie and sophomore seasons Speights would have had a handful of takersthey were attracted to his talent. This past season may have exposed his limitations to the point that he now can be a necessary piece to round out a trade, but not a piece that people will trade for.
The Sixers center position needs attention. No easy fixes are on the horizon but change is a must if they are to improve on their 41-41 record.
E-mail Dei Lynam at dlynam@comcastsportsnet.com
Related: Sizing up the Sixers: Power forwardSizing up the Sixers: Small forward