The first game of the NBA Finals is in the books, and the league got to witness two outlier big men duke it out with the highest stakes. Karl Anthony Towns and the New York Knicks took the advantage over Victor Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs with strong performances across each respective roster.
However, this game also showed how important it is to have a highly-skilled big, a luxury some teams don’t benefit from.
The Houston Rockets have an all-around, highly skilled big man in Alperen Şengün. The two-time All-Star has shown that his creativity offensively is his best attribute. He can lead an offense by hitting open teammates, he has scoring ability in isolation sets, and the pick-and-roll involving Şengün is still Houston’s most efficient offensive play.
However, Şengün is not a 7-footer, putting him at a natural disadvantage to some of the floor stretching, rim-running bigs who are dominating the NBA landscape.
The term ‘unicorn’ began with the draft of Kristaps Porzingis to the Knicks, emphazing his driving and shooting ability as a 7’+ player. Now, many players have games focused on creating three-poitn shots and getting into the paint with their own ball handling.
The Western Conference Finals featured Wembanyama and Chet Holmgren, a player who did not have the series he was hoping for when it began.
Both players are elite offensively, obtain guard skill that helps them take advantage of slower bigs, and a jump shot that extends beyond the three-point line. Wembanyama’s current matchup, Towns, is taking advantage of his same abilities: forcing players to take away his shooting ability and then driving right by to the rim for layups and passes.
Nikola Jokic, Joel Embiid, and Anthony Davis are more examples of extremely tall bigs who can dominate on offense. Giannis Antetokounmpo is another example; despite his inability to shoot from deep range, there isn’t a faster player near his height in the NBA.
These bigs are some of the most dominant forces in the league. While there is still room for elite wings and guards to make an impact in the league, it seems teams capable of winning a championship are putting a lot on making sure they have a big man who can do multiple things on offense and still provide quality paint defense.
The Rockets are working with a direct disadvantage there. For as skilled as Şengün is, his individual game isn’t at a level to fully match with some of the best bigs in the league. It’ll take more craft and more creativity to get the entire team involved, but finding a solution against the top teams and their unicorn bigs is something the Rockets will need to focus on moving forward.
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