# Where would you rank Sam Dalembert...



## Ras (Jul 25, 2005)

(sorry, in Ballscientist mode tonight)....in terms of centres and overall worth. He's averaging *9.2 ppg/10.0 rpg/3.37 bpg/56.0 FG%/30.5 mpg*. That's first in the NBA in blocks per game and he would be 7th in the NBA in rebounds per game if he played more total games or had more total rebounds (he doesn't fit the criteria). He'd also be first in the NBA in field goal percentage, but he either hasn't played in enough games or doesn't have enough total points (probably the latter). So far this season, out of the handful of Sixers games I have watched, his mid-range jumper has looked decent, and though his defense is bad at times, it can look good (so far in the Sacramento game he looks solid defensively and stayed out of foul trouble while doing it, not to mention 8 boards and 4 blocks by half-time).

Thoughts?


----------



## P-Dub34 (May 19, 2005)

The common misconception about Dalembert is that he's a good defender. He gets a lot of blocks and is a presence inside, but his man defense isn't really that great, at least from what I've seen. Plus, his court IQ is just awful (at least one goaltend per game, taking shots he can't make). He rebounds well. It's sad that he can't even muster 10ppg even with his freakish athleticism. That contract they gave him was ridiculous, but somebody else would've given it to him had the Sixers not.


----------



## cambyblockingyou (Nov 26, 2005)

below average center, but not quite a scrub.


----------



## P-Dub34 (May 19, 2005)

He's not below average for a center.


----------



## cambyblockingyou (Nov 26, 2005)

P-Dub34 said:


> He's not below average for a center.


disagree.

edit: talking about starting centers.


----------



## Ras (Jul 25, 2005)

Agreed, his IQ is awful. One of the games I've seen this season, he made one of the most obvious travels I've ever seen; he took 3 full steps into a wide open lane to dunk it.

And although his man defense isn't that good, it can look ok at times. It has looked good at points in this Sacramento game at least.


----------



## Ras (Jul 25, 2005)

cambyblockingyou said:


> disagree.
> 
> edit: talking about starting centers.


Name 15 starting centres better than him.


----------



## JoeOtter15 (Apr 22, 2005)

well id take him over jason collins any day


----------



## GNG (Aug 17, 2002)

In order...

Camby
Wallace
Shaq
Yao
Ilgauskas
Okur
Miller
Mourning
*Dalembert*
Magloire

And then, not really in order...

Kaman
Curry
Bogut
Krstic
Pachulia

There are guys who could be in the conversation for Top 15, like Pryzbilla, Mutombo and Brown (actually now that I think of it, I'd take any of those three right now over Zaza...and maybe Nenad), but on the whole, everyone else who plays center in this league is an oversized joke.


----------



## cambyblockingyou (Nov 26, 2005)

starting centers who are definitely better:

Nenad Krstic
Ben Wallace
Z Illgauskas
Jamaal Magloire
Shaq O'Neal
Dwight Howard
Zaza Pachulia
Marcus Camby
Chris Kaman
Brad Miller
Yao Ming
PJ Brown

that's 12. so i guess average is fine with me. i also think Przybilla, Kurt Thomas, Tyson Chandler and others are about the same in terms of impact.


----------



## futuristxen (Jun 26, 2003)

I'd take every center except for Pachulia over him from Rawse's list. He's average at best. Kind of a broke man's Theo Ratliff(when Theo played for Philly).

A healthy Theo is still better. So is Mutombo.


----------



## LuckyAC (Aug 12, 2004)

cambyblockingyou said:


> starting centers who are definitely better:
> 
> Nenad Krstic
> Ben Wallace
> ...


Think those 16 are all better than Okur?


----------



## P-Dub34 (May 19, 2005)

*Nenad Krstic*
Ben Wallace
Z Illgauskas
*Jamaal Magloire*
Shaq O'Neal
Dwight Howard
*Zaza Pachulia*
Marcus Camby
*Chris Kaman*
Brad Miller
Yao Ming
*PJ Brown*

The bolded ones are most certainly not "definitely" better this year. Arguments can be made for them, and I might agree, but not decisively.


----------



## futuristxen (Jun 26, 2003)

Magloire is DEFINITELY better than Sam. You're looking at stats too much. He plays next to another good center in Bogut, and neither are primary offensive options. I think Bogut and Magloire are both better than Sam.


----------



## Ras (Jul 25, 2005)

futuristxen said:


> I'd take every center except for Pachulia over him from Rawse's list. He's average at best. Kind of a broke man's Theo Ratliff(when Theo played for Philly).
> 
> A healthy Theo is still better. So is Mutombo.


You make it seem like he's almost worthless. He's basically a 10/10/3 player in only 30 minutes, which isn't bad. Not to mention him being a shot-blocker does intimidate players from driving the lane, which is a very valuable to a defence. Also he can get you 10 rebounds a night, one of 7 players to be doing so.

I don't think he's the best centre out there, but he's not the worst.


----------



## ATLien (Jun 18, 2002)

damn, all this zaza hate is getting ridiculous. can a georgian get some love?


----------



## cambyblockingyou (Nov 26, 2005)

LuckyAC said:


> Think those 16 are all better than Okur?


not all of them, but Okur doesn't start at center nor does he play the game of a center.


----------



## P-Dub34 (May 19, 2005)

> Magloire is DEFINITELY better than Sam.


Actually, I'd probably agree. I was skeptical about bolding Magloire, but I did anyway. And I'm not saying the other ones are or aren't better, but it's not a landslide either way.


----------



## cambyblockingyou (Nov 26, 2005)

PJ Brown is the most underrated center in the league.


----------



## Ras (Jul 25, 2005)

futuristxen said:


> Magloire is DEFINITELY better than Sam. You're looking at stats too much. He plays next to another good center in Bogut, and neither are primary offensive options. I think Bogut and Magloire are both better than Sam.


You're forgetting Sam plays next to Chris Webber, who's almost a 20/10 player. Also, Sam is far from an offensive option.


----------



## cambyblockingyou (Nov 26, 2005)

Dalembert just doesn't impress me at all. He's not any good at offense in the half court, not very good at defense, basically nothing but a weakside shotblocker who grabs boards. Big deal. And it's not like he's an intimidating player in the paint the way Camby is or Deke used to be. And his basketball IQ is atrocious. Like i said he's basically an average center. i don't hate him but I think the ways that he helps the team aren't that much more than the ways that he hurts them.


----------



## Ras (Jul 25, 2005)

cambyblockingyou said:


> Dalembert just doesn't impress me at all. He's not any good at offense in the half court, not very good at defense, basically nothing but a weakside shotblocker who grabs boards. Big deal. And it's not like he's an intimidating player in the paint the way Camby is or Deke used to be. And his basketball IQ is atrocious. Like i said he's basically an average center. i don't hate him but I think the ways that he helps the team aren't that much more than the ways that he hurts them.


I don't see how he's not intimidating, he's leading the league in blocks and can get up phenomenally quick.


----------



## Mr. Hobbes (Jul 1, 2005)

I'd be crazy about this guy if he was a rookie or a sophomore. But after 3+ years in the league, his ball IQ is still below average. He's a good role player, and definitely a good fit for Sixers. He's a center that can keep up with up-tempo players. Decent centers like those don't come in very often.


----------



## Like A Breath (Jun 16, 2003)

I hope NBA GM's learn something from Tyson Chandler and Sammy Dalembert. What that is, I don't know how to articulate but you get the point.


----------



## cambyblockingyou (Nov 26, 2005)

Like A Breath said:


> I hope NBA GM's learn something from Tyson Chandler and Sammy Dalembert. What that is, I don't know how to articulate but you get the point.


Why would they learn anything from chandler and dalembert when they didn't learn anything from Raef LaFrentz?


----------



## P-Dub34 (May 19, 2005)

> Raef LaFrentz?


If not for the injuries, Raef would've been fine. Not worth the contract, but he would've put up something like 15/7. People forget he was an elite shotblocker before injury.


----------



## cambyblockingyou (Nov 26, 2005)

P-Dub34 said:


> If not for the injuries, Raef would've been fine. Not worth the contract, but he would've put up something like 15/7. People forget he was an elite shotblocker before injury.


Well he played for my team so I know a lot about his abilities. We didn't want to get rid of him but it was just sort of necessary to dump van exel's sorry ***. but he was never worth close to that contract. much of it was based on potential, he was still young at the time (heck he's pretty young now for a guy people treat like an over-the-hill veteran).


----------



## P-Dub34 (May 19, 2005)

He was never worth the contract, agreed, but people act like he was useless his whole career. Denver's old coach appeared in an article saying that he felt he ruined Raef's career with the way he treated him. Like I said, he woulda been 15/7 or so with a couple blocks. Bigs get paid out the butt for those kind of numbers.


----------



## Diable (Apr 26, 2005)

Dalembert just doesn't have the basketball experience many good school seniors do.He never even owned a pair of sneakers until he was in junior high.It's easy to criticze for doi ng stuff that looks really stupid,but you have to recognize that he doesn't know any better.Tim Duncan didn't know the game very well when he came to Winston-Salem from the US Virgin Islands,but he learned how to play the game extremely well.I don't see where Dalembert has learned that much and I don't know enough to assign blame to him or his coaches.

As for P.J Brown,he's one of my favorite players(mostly as a person) and I think he's an underrated player,but he has always been a power forward that could play center and never really been a center save by necessity.If he were he'd be obscenely overpaid too.


----------

