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Originally Posted by Tokey41
Diop fits in better with this roster, and hes more athletic so he could be chasing down guys like Amare and the younger fast big men than Bradley could dream of being which are everywhere right now. Bradley would do what? Block a few shots? Damp and Diop get theirs just fine even if Bradley was a pretty decent role player in his day... but when your that tall your expected to get those blocks AND do more, you know like not get dunked on by Tmac.
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Bradley did a hell of a lot more than just block shots (although he is arguably the best shotblocker to ever step foot on the NBA hardwood). He was also a damn fine rebounder in his prime. He could hit the mid range jumper better than any center on this roster. He was adept at passing out of the post. He was one of the best free throw shooting centers in the NBA for most of his career. He was skillful at the outlet pass, initiating many a Maverick fast break. He had an absolutely unblockable hook shot. He was deceptively physical, inspiring hundreds of technical fouls and disqualifications from opposing centers. He caused dozens of injuries with his pointy elbows flaying at orbital socket levels.
I could go on.
And if Dampier and/or Diop can do anything against nimble power forwards like Amare, I haven't seen it. Both of them are slow of foot 7 foot centers. Forcing any true center to guard Amare (or Dirk, or Gasol, or Garnett) will cause major problems.. Where Bradley excels, and where both Dampier and Diop fail, is in defending the basket. There is a reason Bradley got dunked on so much, it's because he did not shy away from contesting shots and prided himself in protecting the basket... something neither Dampier nor Diop seem to be willing to do with any consistency. Our perimeter defense has improved greatly under Avery. I often wonder how great the team defense would be with Bradley down low patrolling the paint.
You can say Diop is more atheletic than Bradley, but I don't think you can say the same about Damp. Sure, he's stronger, stronger than most post players in the NBA in fact. But he's still a stiff. It's a good thing he's not white, or he would have been booed out of here faster than you can say Erick Montross.