Building a Team: Dwight or Alonzo Mourning?

[necya]

Zo can shoot 3s?

don't remember his 3 3pts shots in the 4th QT of G1 of 1995 first round against the Bulls ?

[Carbine]

An argument could be made that Dwight's lack of comp at the center position actually hurts his game. He doesn't have to be focused night in and night out to know he's going to likely dominate his opposition for that night.

Look at Dwight's stats vs. Duncan & Shaq back when Dwight was still a baby and Duncan was just exiting his prime and Shaq as well. He did work playing against those guys....and they're two of the top 10 players ever.

Plus the rules and pace of the game back then would've really helped out Dwight. Keep that in mind when comparing numbers cross era.

[abuC]

First off, those guys all NEVER simultaneously averaged "15-20 ppg" in the same season, so you're full of it on that one. Second:

So, you have to cherry pick years in order to come up with a halfway decent argument? And yeah, those guys did average 15-20ppg in the same season, unless you want to magically just forget the top 4 guys he had to play against in Shaq/Hakeem/Ewing/Drob.

A "bum" like Dino Radja averaged 19.7ppg 9.8rpg in 95-96, Rik Smits that same year put up 18.5ppg, how many centers this year put up those numbers. These guys would be getting max contracts today

[Micku]

Why are people talking about Zo's leadership? What Alonzo Mourning was known for, for much of his career was losing his temper and blowing a gasket. I don't call that leadership.

Zo and Shaq were the vocal leaders of the Miami Heat team that won in 06. It was in a documentary when they won the championship and Wade talks about it.

To main topic:

Zo is more polish to start off with. I believe he is also better defensively. He could go inside and out. He could make jumpers, but he wasn't like Ewing good.

Howard hasn't reached his peak yet, and he could get better. He already improved on his offensive game. He is a better finisher.

Both are not outstanding offensively though, I think that Mourning do bring intangibles, good as well as bad ones. You can't go wrong with either one.

[wang4three]

You are probably too young to have seen 'Zo in his prime, or you didn't watch the vid of him I posted.

He was damn near as graceful as a ballerina, and was able to handle the ball and take people off the dribble.

Dwight is simply catch and dunk. He has far fewer post moves and far inferior athleticism or quickness than prime 'Zo did.

This is not debatable, and I expect any pro' bball analyst would agree with me.

I don't sit around judging talent off of youtube highlights. I watched actual games. When they happened. I was plenty around when Zo was in his prime. You are highly overrating him to an unnerving degree.

[Cali Syndicate]

I would take Zo but mainly because he is a more balanced player.

Zo is obviously the better offensive player. There is no ifs or buts about it.

Defensively, Zo was a beast but had a tendency to get into foul trouble too often. Dwight gets into foul trouble as well but I feel like refs have some vendetta out against him. Zo was just eager to swat everything in sight, which he was very good at as he had exceptional timing, but it got him in trouble. The defensive anchor needs to be in the game to be effective. IMO Dwight is the more disciplined defender. His superior athleticism also allows him to be more mobile around the paint.

But the discrepancy between the two on defense isn't nearly as wide as it is on offense which is why I'd take Zo.

[SilkkTheShocker]

I don't sit around judging talent off of youtube highlights. I watched actual games. When they happened. I was plenty around when Zo was in his prime. You are highly overrating him to an unnerving degree.

This.

[Duncan21formvp]

Which big man would you rather build around in your prime? This debate is a lot closer than people think. Even for superstar, Dwight is very underrated.

Give me Zo. He came into the league averaging 21 ppg , 10 rpg and 3.5 bpg as a rookie.

[Bigsmoke]

Give me Zo. He came into the league averaging 21 ppg , 10 rpg and 3.5 bpg as a rookie.

I'm guessing Derrick Coleman > Kevin Garnett since we are only comparing each player's rookie seasons.

Dwight is better and only Dwight haters or people blinded by nostalgia disagree

[Duncan21formvp]

I'm guessing Derrick Coleman > Kevin Garnett since we are only comparing each player's rookie seasons.

Dwight is better and only Dwight haters or people blinded by nostalgia disagree

We aren't talking about Derrick Coleman or KG here.

[andgar923]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IYmpP...eature=related

Dwight would get murdered by prime Zo.

[swi7ch]

Zo

At least he wasn't dumber than a rock like Dwight.

[Horatio33]

Pretty similar players. I'd take Dwight for longevity. Well, um, until he hurt his back and might be out until Christmas.

[Ne 1]

Zo used to be one of my favorite players, while I am mostly indifferent to Howard, but I would say Howard is in the tier just above him.

He's closer to a Pat Ewing than to Alonzo Mourning, and when it's all said and done might be regarded as the Moses of his era (not talking about style of play here, just tiers).
In addition to having led an average team to the NBA Finals at a young age, Dwight is a more dominant presence on the court: not only does he anchor your defense (and it's not just about accumulating blocked shots) but he commands double teams on offense. He's also a better rebounder.

Some will argue that Zo played against better competition (and it's true that so far Dwight has had no one in his conference and only Yao, Gasol and Bynum in the opposing conference), but let's not forget that his career coincided with Shaq who is often criticized for dominating inferior centers.
Even though he played in the same decade, he's not from the same generation as Hakeem, DRob and Ewing - several of his prime years occurred when those were old and washed up.

Great post.

Also the "better centers" argument completely ignores that that the majority of games weren't played vs a star center and that Zo really struggled in some series that the opposing team had a role player at center. Or that star centers often aren't always guarding other star centers and when they do, often receive help so they can avoid foul trouble often not making it tougher to score against a guy who also has to average 20+ ppg than it vs a guy whose primary job is to stop the opposing center.

[Ne 1]

btw people romanticizing the state of 90s big men need to take of their rose colored nostalgia glasses. There was about a 3-4 year period where you can say big men were ruling the league, 1992-93 till 1994-1995 and maybe you can even add 1995-1996 but before/after was kind of bleak. Still better than today's league, but not quite the same because it was never deep. Top heavy, but not deep and the center talent declined greatly post-'95 actually.