Marv wrote:maybe it's weight training. kareem and parish were big on martial arts and both played into their 40's. wilt's training regimen consisted of ****ing, which is good for you too.

That does keep you in good shape without the stress on the legs.

Nalod wrote:Bynum got that Marvin "the human eraser" Webster thing about him!

Briggy, I think for the most part centers were 22 and had their man strenght when they came in the league. Their legs are not strong enough even at 19 to be pushing around night after night.

finesse players like Kareem and the chief lasted longer than the power guys.

That's debatable. I wonder how much the funny cigarettes have to do with prolonging their respective careers. I can think of two guys that was able to maintain good years after years of battling in the paint. Ewing whose game goes in between manage to do a lot on his bad knees for a long period himself. I think it is about training like earlier suggested.

martin wrote:I don't mean to spark another age-limit debate, but could one of the reason these types of injuries are occurring is that the players are younger when they come into the league? Stressing the body when it is not ready?

I think it comes down to the individual player. I mean you have some other guys who came into the league and manage to stay relatively healthy. I think Cosmic maybe accurate with Bynum being injury prone. Didn't he have injuries in HS?

Im not sure I understand you PharZone, there are many exceptions of course.

I also was trying to dance around age limits also. You need some serious lower body strength to keep in the paint in the NBA. Emeka Okafor had lower back problems early until he grew into it. And he was 21-22 when he came out. Eddy, Tyson chandler, and Odom are great examples.

The Big Z had bad foot problems for years. Dirty Kurty Thomas forst 5 years int he league were problematic for him but he fixed up pretty good.

We asssume Throwing Jhill out there for a full season might not have hurt him? Never know, but these teams have stregth tests and perhaps formulas for players based on height and weight and don't want these young guys blowing outearly in the season. Jordan Hill might not have had his NBA legs yet. Blow out a knee or heal and his trade value plummets.

Nalod wrote:Shaq at 38 has remained longer than I thought he could. Wilt had some problems but played thru it like Ewing. Wilt became a rebounder and shot blocker later in his career. He could not hit a foul shot either which limited his late game touches.

Im not sure I understand you PharZone, there are many exceptions of course.

I also was trying to dance around age limits also. You need some serious lower body strength to keep in the paint in the NBA. Emeka Okafor had lower back problems early until he grew into it. And he was 21-22 when he came out. Eddy, Tyson chandler, and Odom are great examples.

The Big Z had bad foot problems for years. Dirty Kurty Thomas forst 5 years int he league were problematic for him but he fixed up pretty good.

We asssume Throwing Jhill out there for a full season might not have hurt him? Never know, but these teams have stregth tests and perhaps formulas for players based on height and weight and don't want these young guys blowing outearly in the season. Jordan Hill might not have had his NBA legs yet. Blow out a knee or heal and his trade value plummets.

Yeah, I miss your point about age being a factor. I was purely pointing at from a banger vs. finesse player in the post. Age could be a factor but I think it is on a person to person level. I would be interested to know how Bynum trains in the off-season. He seems very stiff at the beginning of these seasons.

Reality: Bynum is mostly a dunking machine. If he had to face double-team defense like Gasol or be the focus in any way you would see that while he is a solid player he is not "special" like a Dwight Howard or Bosh etc.

Add to that he is injury prone.

I'm not crying about not drafting Bynum. I am crying, however, about not drafting Jennings.

oohah

oohah wrote:Bynum is no superstar talent. his entire career, he has had the luxury of having Kobe be triple teamed and having the big man guarding him collapse on Kobe's drives, while he faces virtually no defense. Then the Lakers acquire Gasol who is also double-teamed for much, yet Bynum is still inconsistent.

Reality: Bynum is mostly a dunking machine. If he had to face double-team defense like Gasol or be the focus in any way you would see that while he is a solid player he is not "special" like a Dwight Howard or Bosh etc.

Add to that he is injury prone.

I'm not crying about not drafting Bynum. I am crying, however, about not drafting Jennings.

oohah

Before Bynum got hurt his first time--he was becoming the dominant C in the NBA. Even after he took the injuries--he can still avg 20+ 10+ 2 + on any team in the NBA except the Lakers when Pau is playing. When Pau was out Bynum was avg 21-11-2 the first 20 games. When you say he is just a dunking machine--that tells me you have watched the Lakers very little. He has multiple post up moves and an excellent jump hook. Any retort is stupid--I watch the Lakers all of the time. Jennings isnt even better than Toney Douglas. I would NOT trade TD for Jennings. Jennings may be the 5th best PG in this last draft. Listen the Knicks made one hecuva call with Douglas--its not TDs fault that MDA hasnt played him but he is a terrific prospect on both sides of the ball. Dejuan Blair is a nice player but I wouldve made mistake picking him over Douglas.