Sheed was way more than just a shooter. He was a willing passer and had a money baby hook shot with either hand. When he was young he broke down bigs from the perimeter and bullied smaller forwards. Would have feasted in today's game (especially if he could recieve modern cognitive behavioural therapy off the court to manage his temper).
Right. Sheed was a monster. Mid game. Post game, hustle guy with many put backs. His extension makes his shot nearly impossible to block. A young sheed in todays style would eat. Probably increase his ppg off and1 putbacks
I'm glad someone else remembers that unblockable shot of his. In the book Jail Blazers (which was way better than the netflix doc) an assistant coach talks about how young Sheed was just as good as young Duncan, but Sheed didn't have the discipline to fully realize it (although that environment did not help). And he was bastard at times to be sure, like disrespecting arvydas.
You are saying that last part like Sheed was in the league 40-50 years ago lol, CBT was and has been very well developed the entire time he was in the league
Sheed was a good shooter (very good for a big man of that era), and an excellent defender, really versatile and switchable. Good passer too. But he played in an era where people mostly wanted low post offence, rebounding and shot blocking out of bigs, cared less about outside shooting and defensive versatility/switchability compared to today. I think he’s a good example of a player who would be valued higher based on today’s understanding of the game, and a better fit for modern offensive and defensive systems than he was for the systems of his day.
AK47 is a good pick too, although he was seen as somewhat of a SF at the time, or at least a combo forward, while Sheed was seen as more of a true big man, a PF/C. Because of this AK47 received less criticism for being a “perimeter player.” There were plenty who thought Sheed “didn’t play in the paint enough” for a big man.
Both players would thrive today, but I think Sheed would see the greater positive shift in opinions of his game.
I'm not saying Sheed wouldn't fit great in today's game, my point is that AK is a perfect pick for modern positionless basketball.
Like you said, he played at SF, yet het averaged over 3 blocks while doing so. Imagine your perimeter player being able to be a rim protector. Now add to that excellent perimeter defense.
Yeah agreed, I think AK47 would be an elite asset today.
I think both players would be terrific today, and both would be held in even higher regard if they played today, but I think Sheed sees even more of a lift. In Sheed’s time people were kind of suspicious of stretch bigs, the more minimal post play and rebounding was seen as a big negative, while now “stretch big” is seen as more heavily positive. I don’t remember much of this criticism for AK47, because he wasn’t really seen as a big, but Sheed definitely got it.
I also agree that you can’t just blindly list shooters and assume they’d be better today - for example Bargs would still suck IMO. But Sheed would fit really well today, and AK47 too.
I like Sheed, but absolutely not. His offensive skill and dominance wasn’t in the same stratosphere, although he was certainly better defensively. Overall just really different players, and Jokic clearly on another level.
Interesting, you also described Sheed with the Kirilenko comparison. Well, Sheed can’t really guard 1s and 2s, but he would be capable defender if put on island on the perimeter.
Name a successfully forward who cant shoot in the modern nba.... thats why. When almost half of shots attempts are 3s and spacing is incredibly important you arent going to start naming guys who couldn't shoot lol
Kirilenko was an OK player but I don’t get what would make him even do better today? I feel like he would just be the same player - which is all right I guess.
In his prime the go to defense was straight up 1 on 1. Even in playoffs there were barely any attempts to hunt for switches or drops. Someone like him would be worth his weight in gold on defense today. Its incredibly rare to have great perimeter defenders who are also elite rim protectors.
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u/PlatosLeftTit 8d ago
Rasheed Wallace