Big (Man) Love

[Mr. S£im Citrus]

12/16 Big Man update:

(BMOtN) Marc Gasol: 30/10/2/3/0 versus Celtics
Dwight Howard: 9/15/4/2/1 versus Trailblazers
Karl-Anthony Towns: 28/11/4/2/1 versus Suns

 

[Mr. S£im Citrus]

12/17 Big Man update:

(BMOtN) Nikola Vucevic: 24/14/7/1/2 versus Pistons
Andre Drummond: 12/6/2/1/2 versus Magic

 

[Mr. S£im Citrus]

12/18 Big Man update:

Dwight Howard: 11/10/3/0/0 versus Knicks
Nikola Jokic: 13/9/2/2/0 versus Thunder
Karl-Anthony Towns: 16/8/4/1/0 versus Trailblazers

None of the top big men were worthy tonight: for the first time this season, BMOtN is being awarded to a "write-in" candidate: Clint Capela, with 24/20/3/0/2

 

[Mr. S£im Citrus]

12/19 Big Man update:

Anthony Davis: 37/9/1/1/0 versus Wizards
DeMarcus Cousins: 26/13/4/0/0 versus Wizards

No BMOtN gets awarded for last night: sorry, you don't get to be awarded Big Man Of the Night in a blowout loss, and none of the lower-tier big men acquitted themselves well enough for a "write-in" nomination.

 

[Mr. S£im Citrus]

12/20 Big Man update:

Dwight Howard: 15/9/1/0/0 versus Raptors
Nikola Vucevic: 18/10/5/0/0 versus Bulls
Andre Drummond: 11/13/1/0/1 versus Mavericks
(BMOtN) Karl-Anthony Towns: 25/10/2/4/0 versus Nuggets
Nikola Jokic: 22/6/4/0/2 [10 to] versus Timberwolves
Marc Gasol: 21/9/5/2/0 versus Warriors

Honorable Mention: DeAndre Jordan - 12/20/1/0/0 versus Suns

 

[Mr. S£im Citrus]

12/21 Big Man update:

Marc Gasol: 13/11/5/0/3 versus Suns

No BMOtN awarded on a night where only one top-tier big man played, unless their numbers were notable, and Gasol's were not.

 

[Mr. S£im Citrus]

12/22 Big Man update:

Andre Drummond: 18/15/1/1/2 versus Knicks
Anthony Davis: 20/11/0/1/1 versus Magic
DeMarcus Cousins: 26/11/6/3/0 versus Magic
Nikola Vucevic: 21/8/2/2/0 versus Pelicans
Dwight Howard: 2/1/0/0/1 versus Bucks**
** Left 1st quarter (finger)

Honorable Mention: Enes Kanter: 22/16/3/1/3 versus Pistons
Honorable Mention: (BMOtN) DeAndre Jordan: 15/20/1/0/2 versus Rockets

Cousins scored the most points, but the Magic are trash. Kanter probably had the most impressive overall statline, but they lost. Clippers had the most impressive win, so I'll probably be awarding BMOtN to Jordan on a "write in", unless Jokic does something unbelievable in the late game.

 

[Mr. S£im Citrus]

Late game update:

Nikola Jokic: 27/9/6/0/2 versus Trailblazers

Impressive, but not impressive enough. BMOtN goes to Jordan, on the write-in.

 

[Mr. S£im Citrus]

12/23 Big Man update:

Joel Embiid: 14/8/2/0/3 versus Raptors
(BMOtN) Dwight Howard: 21/16/2/0/2 versus Bucks
Nikola Vucevic: 1/0/1/0/0 versus Wizards**
Marc Gasol: 17/15/4/1/1 versus Clippers
Anthony Davis: 17/6/3/1/4 versus Heat
DeMarcus Cousins: 16/7/8/2/3 versus Heat
Nikola Jokic: 18/9/4/1/1 versus Warriors
Karl-Anthony Towns: 16/14/1/1/2 versus Suns
** injured 1st quarter (hand)

Honorable mention - Willie Cauley-Stein: 22/11/3/0/0 versus Spurs

 

[kingsboi]

12/23 Big Man update:

Joel Embiid: 14/8/2/0/3 versus Raptors
(BMOtN) Dwight Howard: 21/16/2/0/2 versus Bucks
Nikola Vucevic: 1/0/1/0/0 versus Wizards**
Marc Gasol: 17/15/4/1/1 versus Clippers
Anthony Davis: 17/6/3/1/4 versus Heat
DeMarcus Cousins: 16/7/8/2/3 versus Heat
Nikola Jokic: 18/9/4/1/1 versus Warriors
Karl-Anthony Towns: 16/14/1/1/2 versus Suns
** injured 1st quarter (hand)

Honorable mention - Willie Cauley-Stein: 22/11/3/0/0 versus Spurs

why no honorable mention of Pau Gasol with his triple double?

 

[Mr. S£im Citrus]

It was kind of a low-bottom triple double... and it was against the Kings...

 

[Mr. S£im Citrus]

12/25 Big Man update:

Joel Embiid: 25/16/3/0/3 [6 to] versus Knicks
Karl-Anthony Towns: 21/10/2/1/4 versus lakers

Honorable Mention - (BMOtN) Enes Kanter: 31/22/1/0/0 versus Seventy-sixers

 

[kingsboi]

I wonder, who was the last non-all star player to put up a 30/20 game?

 

[Mr. S£im Citrus]

Karl-Anthony Towns.

 

[Mr. S£im Citrus]

12/26 Big Man update:

(BMOtN) Andre Drummond: 21/18/3/1/0 versus Pacers
Hassan Whiteside: 7/8/0/1/0 versus Magic
Marc Gasol: 18/6/0/1/4 versus Suns
Nikola Jokic: 13/7/5/1/0 versus Jazz

 

[Mr. S£im Citrus]

12/27 Big Man update:

Dwight Howard: 12/17/3/1/2 versus Celtics
(BMOtN) Anthony Davis: 33/11/2/1/6 versus Nets
DeMarcus Cousins: 27/14/5/1/1 versus Nets
Nikola Jokic: 22/9/4/2/1 versus Timberwolves
Karl-Anthony Towns: 14/13/6/0/4 versus Nuggets
Marc Gasol: 11/9/5/0/3 versus lakers

 

[Mr. S£im Citrus]

12/28 Big Man update:

Andre Drummond: 17/18/5/1/3 versus Magic
Karl-Anthony Towns: 22/5/4/1/1 versus Bucks
Joel Embiid: 29/9/3/0/1 versus Trailblazers

Honorable Mention - Pau Gasol: 17/11/7/0/0 versus Knicks
Honorable Mention - (BMOtN) Jusuf Nurkic: 21/12/1/1/1 versus Seventy-sixers

 

[Mr. S£im Citrus]

Anthony Davis is seven feet tall. It took him thirty-one minutes to get his first rebound of the game.

They're playing at home, against the Mavericks.

I don't even understand what's happening.

 

[Mr. S£im Citrus]

12/29 Big Man update:

Hassan Whiteside: 17/8/0/2/1 versus Nets
Anthony Davis: 33/5/2/2/0 versus Mavericks
DeMarcus Cousins: 32/20/8/2/5 [6 to] versus Mavericks
(BMOtN) Dwight Howard: 29/13/7/2/0 versus Warriors

Honorable Mention - Lauri Markkanen: 32/7/1/0/0 versus Pacers

Cousins was the most impressive big man last night, by a mile, but his team lost at home to the Mavericks, and Howard's team won on the road against Golden State, so Howard gets BMOtN.

 

[ESP47]

Cousins can fill the box score up like no other player can. I've always wondered what really kept him from just being able to will a team to the playoffs the way a guy like Westbrook can and I think it may be because he not only fills up the good parts of the box score, but he routinely fills up the bad parts as well. He usually has a bunch of fouls and a ton of turnovers to go along with his huge offensive numbers. I wonder how much that really affects his impact on the game?

 

[Mr. S£im Citrus]

It's a lot easier for a PG to "will" a team to the playoffs in the modern NBA than a C, because:

1. Rule changes (e.g., no hand-checking, legal zone defenses) now make it easier for guards to dominate than in decades past, and harder for centers. Those same rule changes also make it harder to defend someone who's facing the basket than in years past.
2. Guards are smaller targets, and it's harder to take the ball away from them.
3. Referees don't know how to officiate big, strong guys, because incidental contact from them "looks" like excessive contact to the official, and vice versa. So, they end up getting hammered a ton, without getting calls, while also getting fouls called against them, that wouldn't be called when committed by smaller players. This is, of course, exacerbated by the fact that Cousins gets no benefit of the doubt, because of his reputation.

Bigs of Cousins' generation also had the bad luck of having their formative years occur while the NBA was at the precipice of a transition period. Back when they were being taught how to play, bigs were still being taught to play like traditional bigs, even while the sport was transitioning to a completely different play style, so they've had to adapt pretty much while on the job. Clearly some have had more success than others.

As to the turnovers, it's a combination of Cousins trying to do too much, and Gentry being an imbecile: he has two point guards that he doesn't trust in many game situations, and so Cousins, who is arguably (albeit inexplicably) the second-best ball handler on the team, is asked to facilitate too much of the offense. New Orleans' offense is ridiculously predictable, and defenses often do a good job of putting Cousins in situations where he has to make a predictable pass which, since he's usually passing from the post, out the perimeter, become easy transition scoring opportunities for the other team. I've said for years that Cousins needs to play with a pass-first point guard, but the problem with Rondo is that the defenses know that he's not a threat to score, so Gentry doesn't like to play him, and Nelson only knows how to run a pick and roll.

Unless you also have the explosiveness of a LeBron James, the NBA is no longer a league that rewards being bigger and stronger than the other guy, and that works to Cousins' detriment. IMHO, it is also to the detriment of the league itself.

 

[Mr. S£im Citrus]

12/30 Big Man update:

Andre Drummond: 14/21/6/3/0 versus Spurs
Hassan Whiteside: 9/13/4/0/0 versus Magic
Anthony Davis: 31/9/1/0/5 versus Knicks
(BMOtN) DeMarcus Cousins: 29/19/4/1/0 versus Knicks
Marc Gasol: 27/6/1/2/0 versus Warriors
Nikola Jokic: 19/13/6/1/3 versus Seventy-sixers

 

[Telemachus]

It's a lot easier for a PG to "will" a team to the playoffs in the modern NBA than a C, because:

1. Rule changes (e.g., no hand-checking, legal zone defenses) now make it easier for guards to dominate than in decades past, and harder for centers. Those same rule changes also make it harder to defend someone who's facing the basket than in years past.
2. Guards are smaller targets, and it's harder to take the ball away from them.
3. Referees don't know how to officiate big, strong guys, because incidental contact from them "looks" like excessive contact to the official, and vice versa. So, they end up getting hammered a ton, without getting calls, while also getting fouls called against them, that wouldn't be called when committed by smaller players. This is, of course, exacerbated by the fact that Cousins gets no benefit of the doubt, because of his reputation.

Bigs of Cousins' generation also had the bad luck of having their formative years occur while the NBA was at the precipice of a transition period. Back when they were being taught how to play, bigs were still being taught to play like traditional bigs, even while the sport was transitioning to a completely different play style, so they've had to adapt pretty much while on the job. Clearly some have had more success than others.

As to the turnovers, it's a combination of Cousins trying to do too much, and Gentry being an imbecile: he has two point guards that he doesn't trust in many game situations, and so Cousins, who is arguably (albeit inexplicably) the second-best ball handler on the team, is asked to facilitate too much of the offense. New Orleans' offense is ridiculously predictable, and defenses often do a good job of putting Cousins in situations where he has to make a predictable pass which, since he's usually passing from the post, out the perimeter, become easy transition scoring opportunities for the other team. I've said for years that Cousins needs to play with a pass-first point guard, but the problem with Rondo is that the defenses know that he's not a threat to score, so Gentry doesn't like to play him, and Nelson only knows how to run a pick and roll.

Unless you also have the explosiveness of a LeBron James, the NBA is no longer a league that rewards being bigger and stronger than the other guy, and that works to Cousins' detriment. IMHO, it is also to the detriment of the league itself.

It is also easier to"will" a team to victory that is already used to winning than to take a losing team and turn it into a winner.

 

[Mr. S£im Citrus]

12/31 Big Man update:

(BMOtN) Karl-Anthony Towns: 18/14/4/2/6 versus Pacers
Marc Gasol: 7/2/3/0/4 versus Kings
Dwight Howard: 8/10/2/2/0 versus Clippers
Joel Embiid: 22/9/5/1/2 [7 to] versus Suns

Honorable Mention - Julius Randle: 29/15/6/0/1 versus Rockets

 

[Mr. S£im Citrus]

Big Man of the Month of DeMarcus Cousins. He and Andre Drummond were tied with 4 BMOtN designations each during the month, so I went with team record during the month as a tie-breaker: The Pelicans went 7-8, the Pistons went 6-9. Nikola Vucevic, Karl-Anthony Towns and Anthony Davis were tied for second, with 3 apiece.


Big Man of the Month, season-to-date:
October: DeMarcus Cousins
November: Joel Embiid
December: DeMarcus Cousins

 

[Mr. S£im Citrus]

1/1 Big Man update:

Karl-Anthony Towns: 16/13/1/2/1 versus lakers

Only one top big man played tonight, and he wasn't terribly impressive. No award tonight.

 

[Mr. S£im Citrus]

1/2 Big Man update:

Marc Gasol: 11/5/5/1/0 versus Clippers
(BMOtN) Dwight Howard: 20/8/0/1/1 versus Kings

Honorable Mention - Skal Labissière: 17/15/0/0/0 versus Hornets

 

[Mr. S£im Citrus]

1/3 Big Man update:

Joel Embiid: 21/11/4/1/4 versus Spurs
Hassan Whiteside: 10/4/2/1/1 versus Pistons
Karl-Anthony Towns: 16/10/0/0/0 versus Nets
(BMOtN) Anthony Davis: 29/15/4/3/1 versus Jazz
DeMarcus Cousins: 19/11/1/2/1 versus Jazz
Nikola Jokic: 14/9/8/2/0 [6 to] versus Suns

 

[Mr. S£im Citrus]

1/4 Big Man update:

TNT Thursday. Which, as usual, means no top-tier big men played tonight. But, we do have a 'write-in' candidate for BMOtN, so congrats to DeAndre Jordan, who put up 26/17/1/1/0 in a loss to the Thunder.

 

[Mr. S£im Citrus]

1/5 Big Man update:

Andre Drummond: 10/8/5/1/0 versus Seventy-sixers
Joel Embiid: 23/9/0/0/1 versus Pistons
(BMOtN) Karl-Anthony Towns: 25/23/1/0/2 versus Celtics
Hassan Whiteside: 12/7/0/0/2 versus Knicks
Nikola Jokic: 8/10/4/1/0 versus Jazz
Marc Gasol: 17/11/5/0/5 versus Wizards
Dwight Howard: 15/10/1/0/2 versus lakers