i keep forgetting that you don't need a dominant big man to have a low post scoring threat in the nba...

like for instance, i keep wondering why people say the bulls JUST need that low post scoring option, and then they'll jump from being just a really good team to a contending threat. insert talks about possible trade rumors with minnesota or memphis. the dissent comes from the fact that not every team needs to be power forward or center-oriented to be good.

then i watched saturday's game where miami came to town(of course, not "came to town" = whupped them, glad that chicago won), and it suddenly dawned on me that NOBODY on the bulls can post up. at all; we're not even talking about ben wallace or pj brown, but gordon can't do it, deng can't do it, noccioni COULD do it, but doesn't right now. their offense is very fundamental; jumpers, driving and kicking to the open man. it's great when their jumpers are coming down and they're getting wide open looks, but the strength of being able to post defenders up means that you always have a chance of getting an in-close(hence easy) bucket. i guess maybe the suns might qualify, but really they just beat everybody else because they play at a speed no one else can match.

it made realize(again) that you don't need the low post option on an nba team to come from the 4 or 5. when jordan was on the bulls, they didn't have that dominant 4 or 5, but jordan near the end of his run as a bull had developed such a good low post game thanks to his unguardable fadeaway and the options that it created for him that if they ever needed that option, they allowed him to go 1-on-1 deep in the post.

my favorite eastern conference team, the modern-day pistons are also a case in point; while they did acquire rasheed for his low post offense, and he did turn out to be the missing piece, he rarely goes down into the paint to work unless it's really necessary. but chauncey is so bulky, that in many cases he can be the primary post offense for them; i might've been one of the few piston followers who is awed by chauncey's offense more for the fact that he can post guards up and just push them closer to the basket rather than his long range 3s.

you also have the beloved warriors, where baron davis, due to his bulk, is a great post-up player. there were numerous times during game 1 when they wanted to keep the lead, and just isolated davis on one side and let him work, pushing opponents like george and harris towards the basket.


i do though, still struggle with the thought of point guards and shooting guards posting people up though even if they are bulky, because you want to post people up to get a close, hence higher percentage shot. so it works in theory with big men, because they're already close to under the basket to begin with, and don't start the offense, so they can post up in a good position, then receive the ball, so they get a REALLY close shot. but point guards and shooting guards have to start further outside, and usually have the ball in their hands to begin with, not thrown down into them, so due to starting further outside, they have to shoot from further away, or have the entire team on the opposite side so help defense has less of a chance of flustering the posting player. plus, i see many 1's and 2's really liking the fadeaway off of a post, making me wonder why they posted in the 1st place, as they didn't really get any closer doing so.