Hoops Lab: Top 10 Frontcourts in NBA History

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Updated on February 10, 2016 9:53PM EST

This is the second part of last week's article when we looked closer at ESPN's top-10 point guard and shooting guard rankings, comparing them with another set of rankings from a group that I participated in, and also linking to a TYT Sports video JasonRubin and I debating the rankings. This week I'll provide the same type of information for the small forwards, power forwards and centers.

Small Forwards

ESPN Top-10:LeBron James, Larry Bird, Julius Erving, Kevin Durant, Elgin Baylor, Scottie Pippen, John Havlicek, Rick Barry, James Worthy, Dominique Wilkins

RealGM Player Comparison Forum Top-10 (2014):LeBron James, Larry Bird, Julius Erving, Scottie Pippen, Rick Barry, John Havlicek, Elgin Baylor, Kevin Durant, Paul Pierce, Adrian Dantley

GREATEST Small Forwards Of All Time [LeBron James BEST SF All Time?] https://t.co/MJwkTYnE56 with @jasonrubin91 @ProfessorDrz
— tytsports (@tytsports) January 31, 2016

There is a lot of similarity between these two lists, with the biggest initial difference being the placement of Kevin Durant. This is very similar to the question I addressed last week of where to put Stephen Curry among the point guards. Durant's been in the NBA a little longer than Curry, but he's still a young player with a much shorter resume than the legends that he's up against. If he retired today, would Durant really be the fourth-best small forward of all-time? I'm not sure about that. Durant is a monster, and by the time he's done I could see

Small Forwards

ESPN Top-10:LeBron James, Larry Bird, Julius Erving, Kevin Durant, Elgin Baylor, Scottie Pippen, John Havlicek, Rick Barry, James Worthy, Dominique Wilkins

RealGM Player Comparison Forum Top-10 (2014):LeBron James, Larry Bird, Julius Erving, Scottie Pippen, Rick Barry, John Havlicek, Elgin Baylor, Kevin Durant, Paul Pierce, Adrian Dantley

GREATEST Small Forwards Of All Time [LeBron James BEST SF All Time?] https://t.co/MJwkTYnE56 with @jasonrubin91 @ProfessorDrz
— tytsports (@tytsports) January 31, 2016

Other than that, our list had Pierce and Dantley instead of Worthy and 'Nique. I think a good debate could be had on the merits of any of the four over the others, so I don't see much controversy there. But it is interesting that the RealGM group chose two players whose games weren't so aesthetically pleasing but had really good analytics, whereas the ESPN group went with glamour players from the Golden '80s who got a lot of TV time. It could be an indication that the RealGM group was doing a bit more research, while the ESPN group was going more off impressions.

Power Forwards

ESPN:Tim Duncan, Karl Malone, Dirk Nowitzki, Charles Barkley, Kevin Garnett, Kevin McHale, Bob Pettit, Elvin Hayes, Pau Gasol, Dennis Rodman

RealGM Forum (2014):Tim Duncan, Kevin Garnett, Dirk Nowitzki, Karl Malone, Charles Barkley, Bob Pettit, Kevin McHale, Dolph Schayes, Pau Gasol, Elvin Hayes

Greatest POWER FORWARDS Of All Time [Where Should Dirk Nowitzki Rank?] https://t.co/roDiVb0NAC with @jasonrubin91 @ProfessorDrz
— tytsports (@tytsports) February 1, 2016

This is the position where there is the most divergence at the top. There is a clear separation between the top-5 historical power forwards and all of the rest, but in the ESPN group The Mailman was ranked second whereas in the RealGM group it was The Big Ticket. Again, I think this is one that comes primarily down to the difference in approaches. The RealGM group went hard core into the analytics, really trying to tease out which players were making the largest impact on the court outside of the accolades and hype. With a deep-dive approach that really looks at the whole game, it's really hard to justify ranking Garnett as low as the ESPN group did. He very arguably had the biggest impact of any power forward, but even if Duncan's consistent excellence earns him the No. 1 slot then Garnett isn't far behind. Malone, Nowitzki and Barkley were all historic players as well, but none of them had games as complete or impacts as deep as Duncan and Garnett.

In the second half of the top-10, the RealGM group seemed a bit higher on the super-old school players, with Pettit a couple of slots higher and Schayes earning the nod over Dennis Rodman. Meanwhile, both groups agreed that Pau Gasol, often somewhat unheralded in his own time, is clearly one of the top-10 power forwards that have ever played.

Centers

ESPN: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Wilt Chamberlain, Bill Russell, Shaquille O'Neal, Hakeem Olajuwon, Moses Malone, David Robinson, Patrick Ewing, George Mikan, Bill Walton

RealGM Forum (2014): Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Bill Russell, Wilt Chamberlain, Shaquille O'Neal, Hakeem Olajuwon, David Robinson, Moses Malone, Patrick Ewing, George Mikan, Artis Gilmore

Greatest CENTERS Of All Time [Kareem vs. Russell vs. Wilt!!!!] https://t.co/fW4iDNVcJ2 with @jasonrubin91 @ProfessorDrz
— tytsports (@tytsports) February 2, 2016

Now, the big boys. More so than any other position, center is the one littered with the most greats. At least half of the names on the top-10 centers list generally find themselves on most all-time top-10 lists from all positions. Both lists have the same five players at the top, with the only difference being the order of Russell and Wilt at two and three. Personally, I have Russell in the top spot among centers and maybe No.1 all-time overall. His in-era impact is unmatched by any player in history, and he was an absurdly athletic beast with a ridiculous basketball IQ, which convinces me that his impact would translate across eras. But nevertheless, the tops of both lists are pretty solid.

The second half of both lists is also similar. The ESPN list has Mr. Fo Fo Fo, Moses Malone, at six while RealGM had him at seven. This small difference again likely arises from analytics, which paint Robinson in a friendlier light than Moses. The RealGM list then has Gilmore rounding out the top-10, while ESPN goes with the Big Redhead, Bill Walton. Walton, at his best, was better than Gilmore. Heck, it can be (strongly) argued that Walton at his best might have been better than Kareem (ask me about that some time). But Walton was only at his best for one semi-healthy season, and he was never able to replicate it. I'm glad that he got the shoutout, but it's really hard to rank one season, no matter how great, as one of the top-10 center contributions of all-time.

Once again, let me know below if you strongly agree or disagree with any aspect of any of these rankings or my comments, as this whole process is just one big barbershop conversation….which you all know is right up my alley!

Around the NBA

• Another week, another head coaching change in the NBA. A couple weeks ago we were talking about David Blatt in Cleveland. Last week we were talking Jeff Hornacek in Phoenix. This week it's Derek Fisher who is making his exit from New York. And as always, what fantasy players really want to know is, "how does this affect my squad?"

Jeff Erickson and Chris Liss asked me that on Monday in my slot on Rotowire Fantasy Sports Today, and my answer is that the coaching change alone doesn't always tell us a huge amount. Especially if the interim coach comes from within, as is usually the case. A coaching change can affect fantasy fortunes if they implement an entirely new offense with different philosophies; I gave the example of someone hiring Mike D'Antoni to replace Jeff Van Gundy, which would really speed up the pace and give more fantasy opportunities. Or if a new coach comes in and initiates a youth movement and thus starts playing the rookies big minutes instead of sitting them for veterans. Or if the new coach really likes a certain player that was in the previous regime's doghouse, that could be good to know.

But with Kurt Rambis replacing Fisher, we really don't have anything drastic to report. There are no huge reasons to expect big changes. Even still, it is worth monitoring the situation in Gotham because the more subtle changes that Rambis may implement could still bear fruit, and it is worth paying attention in case that happens.

• Marc Gasol was diagnosed with a fracture in his right foot and is out indefinitely. At a minimum he is out several weeks, and it is possible that he could be out for the season. Foot fractures are extremely dangerous in big centers, as there is so much mass their feet have to support that it is difficult for the fracture to heal, and it is easy to re-injure. While Gasol is out, presumably Zach Randolph will slide over and spend more time at center while Jeff Green and Matt Barnes could see expanded roles in the frontcourt.

• Jimmy Butler has been battling a sprained knee and has been ruled out for three-to-four weeks after his Tuesday examination. This is obviously a big blow for both the Bulls and for his fantasy owners, as he appears to be done until at least early March. In his absence, his minutes are likely to be distributed to E'Twaun Moore, Tony Snell, Doug McDermott and/or Mike Dunleavy.

• Blake Griffin can't catch a break. Err, well, I guess that was a poor choice of words. Griffin broke his hand when he punched a Clippers staffer in the face, which is why he's currently on the shelf. Now, the organization has added an additional four-game suspension to Griffin's absence because he punched a fellow-employee. We may never know why he threw the infamous punch, but we do know that his absence because of it will last at least an extra week even after he's healed.

• Tyreke Evans is expected to undergo surgery on his right knee, which would likely end his season. This isn't shocking news, as Evans has been out since Jan. 25 with lingering issues in his previously surgically-repaired knee. If he does get the surgery, it will be his third on his right knee since last May. Expect Jrue Holiday and Norris Cole to continue to be the primary recipients of Evans' minutes in the short-term, until Eric Gordon comes back and re-claims his role.

• Manu Ginobili is reportedly out for four-to-six weeks with an injury described as a groin injury. However, as RotoWire's Jeff Stotts points out, Ginobili's actual injury is testicular trauma due to getting kneed in that very sensitive area. Words can't express how horrified I am by this injury, and even in writing this up I've had to pause and walk off sympathetic pain at least three times. Nevertheless, Ginobili is likely out until the end of March, which is close enough to the end of the fantasy season that he is worth dropping.

Back-to-backs 2/9– 2/11
TW: Celtics, Warriors, Rockets, Spurs, Jazz
WT: Pelicans
All-Star Break

New Additions and DFS Values

Darren Collison (59 percent owned in Yahoo! Leagues): Collison has been very productive in his own right of late, averaging 16.1 points, 2.3 assists, 1.9 boards, 1.0 steals and 1.0 treys in 25.7 minutes per game over the last two weeks. But he also has the upside that Rajon Rondo's name is steadily floated in trade rumors. I don't put too much credence into rumors until something happens, but since Collison is worthy of a roster spot even as a backup, that type of rumor-based upside only makes him more worthy.

Evan Turner (47 percent): Turner has settled into a 30 minute per game role for the Celtics in which he contributes across the board. Over his last five games he has averaged 12.8 points, 7.6 boards, 6.8 assists, 1.0 blocks, and 0.6 steals on 45.3 percent shooting from the field and 94.1 percent shooting from the line. He doesn't hit three-pointers, but other than that he is positively contributing to just about every other box.

P.J. Tucker (41 percent): Tucker has been borderline own-able all season, as he has primarily started, though youngster T.J. Warren was breathing down his neck. But with Warren out for the season, Tucker has been playing 38 minutes per game over the last week, which allows him to produce the kind of garbageman across-the-board stats that keep him rosterable.

E'Twaun Moore (12 percent): Moore has shown himself to be a capable producer when given starter's minutes. Over the last seven games, all on the road, he has averaged 12.4 points, 2.7 assists, 2.6 boards, 1.7 treys, 0.9 blocks and 0.9 steals in 33.1 minutes per game with Jimmy Butler in and out of the lineup. With word that Butler is likely sidelined for much of the next month, Moore is worth a short-term add/DFS pick.