preface:
The season has come to an end, the attribution of the major season awards has begun to see, it is expected that the regular season MVP award will be produced between Embiid and Jokic, and this season's scoring champion is also won by the center player after nearly 20 years, Embiid won the scoring king. There is no doubt that the inside players have far outperformed the outside players this season, so does that mean that this era is no longer the era of small ball? This is not the case, it is still the era of small balls, but this small ball era is also the era of the center.
Center defender
Why is it that when the small-ball era was just prevalent a few years ago, the presence of the center forward was getting lower and lower, largely because the playing style of the center at that time could not adapt to the playing style of the small-ball era, because for an interior line without projection, it would become an invisible cash machine for the projection defender on the field. Almost the role of the field is to protect the frame and rebound, if they score, in addition to eating cake, there will be no other point, so the role of the center is getting weaker and weaker, so that people think that in this league now, no center can also win the game, as long as there are forwards and defenders can win the game, but the center can not always stand still, big men appear every year, and they are constantly updating the past style of play.
So this season, we can see from the two most outstanding centers that the center guard has become a very common phenomenon, take the Nuggets inner line Jokic for example, this season Jokic's assists ranked at the forefront of the league, as an inside line, he even has to assume the responsibility of the guard on the court, from the backcourt dribbling to the front court to organize the attack, etc., all the things on the Nuggets field are done by him, from Jokic's body, we can see the shadow of Westbrook, the same big package of the same omnipotence, This would never have happened to a center in the past. That's why he's at number one on the MVP list, because Jokic has done so much that he can even do the job of a defender, so that the player deserves more praise.
And another inside player Embiid can be said to be an offensive all-rounder, his play is not at all like an inside line like a shooting guard, the outside three points can be against Curry, the invincible Europe does not lose Harden, the inside back skills are still available, and the middle distance can also be easily obtained. Embiid now scores like drinking water, because he has basically no dead ends in the attack on the field, he has the defensive offensive technique inside, the delicate footsteps of the line, Embiid can also do it, it can be seen that his attack is not limited to the inside, but from the inside to the outside, like a real defender.
In fact, from the perspective of the interior players who have performed well this season, they are almost not traditional interior players, they are all modern center forwards, Jokic, Embiid, Downs, or the alphabet song in the big forward position has also practiced a hand of three points, these interior players are not eating the old, they are also adapting to this league, although the ball is always in the hands of defenders, dominated by defenders, and what the interior players can do is change their playing style and adapt to today's trend, obviously these big men have done it.
Basketball is the sport of the elderly
Basketball is undoubtedly the sport of the elderly, because the higher the height, the closer to the basket, the closer to the basket is also easier to score, in the NBA's nearly 70 years of history, the time when the guard ruled the league can be said to be minimal, most of the time the league's voice is in the hands of the inside, in the 90s there was a period of guard rule in the league, and in the second decade of this century, Curry came out, so that the guard once again on the top of the league stage, but in fact, whenever the guard emerges, There's always a top interior line out there to break their dominance of the league, like O'Neill and Duncan after Jordan, and Jokic and Embiid after Curry.
Now the big men have regained control of the league's right to speak, which is also the embodiment of conforming to the trend of history, because they will eventually change with the times, the NBA is a stage that eliminates a strong company, especially for the center, the ball is not in their hands, their elimination rate is the highest, in this case, it means that they need to work harder, more adapt to this league, in order to gain a foothold in the NBA, otherwise it is impossible to persist, now, The big man dominating the interior is also a testament to the arrival of another era in the NBA, that is, the era of small ball dominated by centers.
Of course, the small ball era is the big trend of the league, this is impossible to change, basketball development to this point, but also in the continuous innovation, especially a variety of ideas are constantly changing, so what the inside players can do is in this era can also get a piece of the pie, so they have to change themselves into the most suitable for this era, that is, can shoot three points, can hold the ball, can organize the offense, in short, the inside players will become all-powerful, their influence on the court is also getting bigger and bigger, So much so that the inside big man has received more attention in the past two seasons. In fact, the inside players have ruled the league for nearly four years, since James Harden, the league's MVP is basically won by the center and the big forward, but the championship MVP is in the hands of the small forward, and this season the center will go further into the championship, and only the real championship can prove that the center wants to rule this era.
epilogue
So don't look at the small ball era now, but it will also become the center era, and when the center is also adapted to the small ball play, there is really no other position for the player to do anything, because the center has the advantage of talent, so that they can stand in this league. Which center will be the first to win the cup? Now it's quite possible that Embiid will be that person!