Sixers Insider

Roster Review: Center

Last Season:

Holding down the middle of the lane again this season was six-year veteran Samuel Dalembert. Calvin Booth, rounding out his ninth NBA season, and rookie Jason Smith also saw some action at the five.

Dalembert continued his growth from last season, becoming a dominant shot-blocker and a defensive presence. Dalembert averaged 10.5 points and a career-high 10.4 rebounds, becoming one of nine players among qualifiers to average a point-rebound double-double for the season. Dalembert also posted a career-high 33.2 minutes per game, due largely to a stronger effort to keep himself out of foul trouble, something that plagued the Haitian center early in his career. Dalembert was the Sixers' anchor on the defensive end of the floor; clogging the lane, deterring opponents from driving and matching up with the opposing team’s top post player. Early in the season when the Sixers were having trouble preventing dribble penetration, Sammy was there to thwart easy dunks and lay-ups. As the Sixers got better defensively, so did Dalembert. He was able to match up one-on-one with some of the best big men in the game (Tim Duncan, Dwight Howard and Kevin Garnett) down the stretch. His ability to guard one-on-one meant his teammates could stay at home on shooters, thus helping the Sixers become a lock-down defensive team. Dalembert’s swatting prowess was certainly evident, as he finished fourth in the league in blocks with 2.34 per game.

Calvin Booth gave great leadership to the Sixers and provided Head Coach Maurice Cheeks with another big man to match-up against teams like the Suns, Magic, Pistons, and Spurs. Booth also gave good advice to the young big men - Jason Smith, Thaddeus Young, Shavlik Randolph and Louis Amundson.

Rookie Jason Smith spent most of his time at power forward but did see some time at center as well. Learning both positions, Smith was able to diversify his game, getting minutes while guarding some of the best post players in the league and learning the nuances of post play in the NBA. Offensively, Smith gained confidence shooting over much bigger opponents, giving the Sixers a reliable option for a mid-range jumper.

Next Season

With Samuel Dalembert in the middle, the Sixers won’t need to do much this offseason to address the five. Dalembert grew significantly as a player last season, and his defense and rebounding become a large asset the Sixers came to rely on as the season progressed. Cheeks has said that Dalembert is the key to the team’s defense; without him on the floor the Sixers have a much harder time denying penetration, but with him they have the ability to be an elite defensive team.

Although Smith will mostly play at the four, he will certainly see minutes at the five as well. He will need to continue to work on his jumper, which began to show a lot of promise. Being able to hit a 12-footer on call will draw defenders away from the bucket, opening lanes for Andre Iguodala, Lou Williams and Thaddeus Young. Defensively, Smith can make progress by getting stronger so that he can not only hold off bigger opponents but also give himself the strength to box-out while rebounding.

Options

President and GM, Ed Stefanski, has said he wants a power forward, but if a center comes along who possesses the skill set that he is looking for, especially consistent scoring from the low post, the Sixers could go in that direction. Pairing up Dalembert with another center would give the Sixers a formidable frontcourt.

With the 16th pick in the June 26th draft, the Sixers could also look to draft a young low-post player that the team can build on. Some of the options include PF Darrell Arthur, C Kostas Koufos, C Roy Hibbert, C Javale McGee or C Maureese Speights.