New Orleans and Denver each have one of the NBA’s rarest commodities: A true, mobile center.
Supposedly a dying breed, the center position has morphed in recent years as big men, formerly confined to the paint, stretch their offensive limits beyond the 3-point line.
The Nuggets’ cornerstone is shooting 40 percent from deep, which isn’t a fluke after knocking down 39 percent of his 3-pointers last season. And Anthony Davis, who is out for Monday’s game against the Nuggets with a right elbow strain, is hitting 57 percent of his treys. Neither is a volume outside shooter — Jokic is at 3 attempts per game; Davis is at 1.8 — but the threat of them along the perimeter frees the lane and opens up offenses. As stewards of the trend, itap notable that neither center is in the top-five in terms of made 3-pointers per game.
“I think with those two guys, you’re talking about guys that are leading the league as far as their ability to change the game as far as what they do offensively and what they do defensively,” Pelicans coach Alvin Gentry said at Monday’s shootaround. “You can facilitate your offense through those guys and both of them can step out on the floor and play. That seems to be the new breed of centers in the league.”
Davis, an MVP candidate, is averaging 27.3 points, 13.3 rebounds and a league-leading 3.75 blocks for the Pelicans (4-1). Monday’s contest was supposed to be the first of four compelling matchups this season between Davis, a perennial MVP nominee, and Jokic, who has entered the MVP conversation early this season.
Nuggets coach Michael Malone was skeptical of reports claiming Davis was out.
“I’ll believe it when I see it,” Malone said. “We prepare like they’re all going to play. Why he’s a special player is he impacts the game at such a high level on both ends of the floor, not just offense. His rebounding, his shot blocking, his ability to get steals with his length, if he’s not able to play, obviously, not many people have another Anthony Davis on their roster.”
Itap a coach’s job to be concerned and account for all scenarios. Even with Davis out, Malone didn’t want his team taking the Pelicans, who own the NBA’s highest-scoring offense, lightly.
“You always worry if a guy like Anthony does not play, you don’t want to see a letdown,” Malone added. “‘Oh, he’s not playing.’ Well look what happened last game. Utah went down there and beat them bad because Davis didn’t play. Well we’re not Utah. We have to worry about what we can control regardless of who’s playing for them.”
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