The Sixer Sense
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NBA Centers Are Still A Key Piece To The NBA Championship

By Bret Stuter

Dec 11, 2015; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid (R) and center Jahlil Okafor (M) greet Detroit Pistons forward Stanley Johnson (L) prior to game action at Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 11, 2015; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid (R) and center Jahlil Okafor (M) greet Detroit Pistons forward Stanley Johnson (L) prior to game action at Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports /
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Dec 11, 2015; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid (R) and center Jahlil Okafor (M) greet Detroit Pistons forward Stanley Johnson (L) prior to game action at Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 11, 2015; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid (R) and center Jahlil Okafor (M) greet Detroit Pistons forward Stanley Johnson (L) prior to game action at Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports /

Despite the Detractors and Decriers, the 2016 NBA Playoffs Prove that NBA Centers Are Still A Key Piece To An NBA Championship

Placing a “For Sale” sign on two of the potential star NBA centers of the Philadelphia 76ers has drawn more interest from fans and pundits alike than placing a saucer of milk on the porch is to stray cats.

Everybody wants some.

This is the same group of centers that these same persons scoffed at, ridiculed the former general manager of the Sixers for drafting because the claims came in that the center position of the NBA was a dinosaur, an antique, a throwback to the days of yesteryear that simply could not keep pace with the modern NBA teams.

I believe the story of the demise of the NBA center is premature.

Yes, the Golden State Warriors have evened up their series with the Oklahoma City Thunder to the point where they can advance.  The reason?  The Golden State Warriors ABANDONED their small ball lineup and tossed big men onto the floor, a strategy that has enabled them to win two playoff games and tie up the series.

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Where are you now, decriers of Sam Hinkie and his strategy of stockpiling centers?

*crickets*

You see, every team knows the key to continued success in this NBA is to have a solid post game.  In the end, big wins.   And that is why Hinkie was always too happy to select a center in the NBA draft, repeatedly.

He understood that eventually, the phone would ring and another NBA team would be required to pay a premium to obtain one of the Philadelphia 76ers’ centers.

The first public announcements of current team president of Bryan Colangelo keyed in repeatedly on  the issue of the team in need of veterans, and referring to the Philadelphia 76ers as an “asset farm”.  It’s obvious he hasn’t an inkling of what the strategy has been all along.

The key to any successful strategy: whether military, business, political, or simply professional sports, is to secure rare assets early in the campaign.  In military, that translates into air superiority.   In business, its claiming ownership to raw materials.  In politics, its the states with the most votes.  In sports, it’s the position that is the key to winning.  In baseball, you go pitching.  In hockey, goalie.  In football, you go franchise quarterback.

In basketball, you go center.

Next: The Real Strategy