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Our mid-season All-NBA Team ends with the big men. The centers who you should typically target are ones that provide you with a high FG %, blocks a decent amount of shots, brings down rebounds, and can score with the best of them. This season there appears to be one or two centers that are lacking in one area or another, but I’ll award them as I see fit…
C Amare
C
Stoudemire was a no-brainer for first team honors as he and Raymond Felton have single-handedly transformed the Knicks from jokes to Eastern Conference Contenders (Pretenders?). Prior to the start of the season, skeptics were wondering if Amare could succeed without Steve Nash. What do you think? With Felton doing his best Steve Nash impression in Coach Mike D’Antoni’s offense, Stoudemire is averaging career highs in PPG (26.2), BPG (2.2) and APG (2.7). Even though it seems Stoudemire routinely is putting up 30-10’s night in and night out, he’s actually only averaging 8.8 rebounds per game. A 50% FG shooter this season, Amare has even added a few three-pointers in for good measure. Stay tuned to see if Stoudemire can keep it up in the second half. Gasol, a double-double machine, has thrived in the Lakers offense since the Grizzlies gift-wrapped him for a pack of Skittles during the 2008 season. What makes Gasol stand out from the rest of the Center pack are his passing skills. He’s always been a gifted passer as he routinely averages around 4 APG each season. It’s an added bonus for the big man who’s averaging 18.3 PPG, 10.5 RPG and 2.0 BPG.
Surprised Dwight Howard didn’t earn first team honors? Then tune in to see where he landed after the jump…
Second Team
C Al Horford,
C Dwight Howard,
Horford should be the starting center for the all-underrated NBA Team. When discussing the league’s top big men, how often does Horford’s name come up? Putting up 2nd round numbers, Horford has gradually improved his game each year he’s been in the league. The 4th year big man even deserves to be considered for the All-NBA First Team as he is averaging career highs in PPG (16.2), APG (3.5), FT % (81.3), FG % (a ridiculous 57%) to go along with his 0.8 SPG and 1.1 BPG. If Free Throw Percentage isn’t a standard category, or if you play in a league without percentages, go ahead and rank Howard # 1 on this list. Howard is a blocks and rebounds monster who can carry your team at will. The immense downside to owning Howard is throwing the FT % category. You won't find a bigger liability in the free throw category, although Blake Griffin is giving Howard a run for his money. Howard kills you because he gets to the line so often (11.4 times per game) and only makes his shots 58.5 % of the time. Otherwise Howard is an absolute monster based on his 57.9 FG %, career-high 22.4 PPG, his 13.6 RPG, 1.2 SPG and 2.2 BPG.
C Al
C Joakim Noah,
It seems Jefferson still has a little ways to go before we see the explosive 20-10 player we saw in
Honorable Mentions
C David Lee,
C Marcus Camby,
C Nene Hilario,
C Tyson Chandler,
PF/C Elton Brand,
Lee has stepped his game up lately, but for the purpose of midseason awards, it’s too little, too late. The aforementioned Boozer would make the third team if he was strictly center-eligible. Any players you disagree with?