Center is Bargnani’s best position in the NBA
Since Andrea Bargnani [7-0, 250] was selected by the Toronto Raptors with the No. 1 [overall] Pick in the 2006 NBA Draft, he has been an enigma.
While some might want [or choose] to believe that he has the personal attributes [i.e. physical, mental and emotional] and the specific skill-set required to play effectively at more than one position in the NBA [e.g. Center, Power Forward and Small Forward], the fact is … this perception of him is far from accurate.
If you take the time to complete a Basketball Player Evaluation Chart like the one you see below:
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BASKETBALL PLAYER PHASE SPECIFIC SKILL-SET EVALUATION, BY POSITION |
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No. |
OFFENSIVE |
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DEFENSIVE |
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REBOUNDING |
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01 |
Fills transition lane quickly |
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Gets back in transition |
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Boxes out check |
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02 |
Transition drives, R |
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Denies check ball |
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Goes to get ball |
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03 |
Transition drives, L |
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Defends vs cutter |
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Reads ball coming off rim |
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04 |
Half-court drives, R |
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Defends vs ball w/out a pick |
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Energy & will to retrieve misses |
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05 |
Half-court drives, L |
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Hedges vs Pick |
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Consistent awareness and effort |
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06 |
Perimeter catch & shoots |
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Switches vs Pick |
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SUB-TOTAL |
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07 |
Perimeter shot fake & drives, R |
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Traps vs Pick |
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08 |
Perimeter shot fake & drives L |
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Vs post-ups |
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09 |
Mid-range catch & shoots |
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Rotates to help |
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10 |
Mid-range shot fake & drives, R |
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Rotates to help-the-helper |
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11 |
Mid-range shot fake & drives, L |
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Rotates to block a shot |
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12 |
Pull-up jump-shot, right |
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Rotates to draw a charge |
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13 |
Pull-up jump-shot, left |
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Blocks shots from off ball |
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14 |
Consistent finish at the rim |
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Blocks shot, on ball |
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15 |
Draws fouls |
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Vs ball in switch mismatches |
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16 |
Free throw scorer |
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Deflections |
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17 |
Post-up scorer |
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Steals |
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18 |
Perimeter passer |
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Recovers loose balls |
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19 |
Interior passer |
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Checks 1.5 positions off ball |
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20 |
Lay-off passer |
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Physically tough |
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21 |
Drive and kick passer |
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Mentally tough |
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22 |
Passer out of post |
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Emotionally tough |
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23 |
Creates shot for teammate |
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SUB-TOTAL |
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24 |
Drives off pick, right |
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25 |
Drives off pick, left |
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26 |
Screener |
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27 |
Picker |
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28 |
Cutter |
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29 |
Uses screen[s] to get open |
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30 |
Gets open without screen[s] |
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SUB-TOTAL |
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SUMMARY |
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OFFENSIVE SUB-TOTAL |
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Out of 150 |
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X .33 |
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DEFENSIVE SUB-TOTAL |
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Out of 110 |
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X .33 |
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REBOUNDING SUB-TOTAL |
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Out of 25 |
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X .33 |
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TOTAL |
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for Andrea Bargnani, pertaining to each of the Center, Power Forward and Small Forward positions [i.e. by giving him a rating from 0 to 5, with 0 being "very poor" and 5 being "very good"], what you will find is that:
1. His Offensive Rating decreases slightly as he shifts down from C to PF to SF;
2. His Defensive Rating decreases substantially as he shifts down from C to PF to SF;
3. His Rebounding Rating decreases slightly as he shifts down from C to PF to SF;
4. His Overall Rating decreases significantly as he shifts down from C to PF to SF, due primarily to the increased difficulties he has Defending and Rebounding within these latter two roles.
When the following description of Bargnani’s specific strengths and weaknesses was provided to SI.com, in October, by their infamous “NBA Secret Scout”:
Andrea Bargnani has to become more “NBA-ized.” By that I mean he still has a lot of that European stuff to his game. He doesn’t get back fast enough defensively, he doesn’t get physical enough and he settles too much for the jump shot as a 7-footer. He should be more of an asset inside, especially as a rebounder, though I did see signs of him trying to do that last year. He hasn’t shown that he’s a real tough, hard-nosed guy. He’s very skilled and he knows how to play, but he needs to be more in tune with what it takes to be successful in the NBA.
Right now, Bargnani can’t defend any position other than the 5, so he has to get stronger and do his work early defensively rather than wait for his man to take position in the post and then try to guard him, because by then it’s too late. He doesn’t move his feet well defensively, and that needs to be addressed in order for him to take it to the next level and be a starting center for a playoff team. As a 4 man, he can’t guard the position at all. I guess he needs to model his game after Mehmet Okur, a perimeter-shooting center who can handle himself physically inside. I trust Bargnani as a shooter. If it’s not a highly contested shot, I feel like it’s going to go in. He has a great release, form and arc with great range and pretty good quickness to get the shot off.
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what he did is correctly identify the ONLY position at which Andrea Bargnani can play effectively, at this time, in the NBA … i.e. Center … due to his overall INABILITY TO DEFEND adequately at the Power Forward position, never mind going further down and out to the perimeter as a Small Forward.
Those who would like to see the Raptors use Bargnani at a different position, other than Center, simply do not understand the role that adequate Defense plays in the NBA, the specific skill-sets required within this particular phase of the game, by position, and the general order in which these skills are prioritized for the high end teams.
Tags: Andrea Bargnani, Toronto Raptors