IT IS HARD to believe how much respect NBA teams have lost for the big man in the middle.
Centers, at least the historical center, have not gone the way of the NFL fullback, but the desire for them certainly doesn't seem to be what it used to be.
There was a time, even in the last decade, that the big man – you know, the 7-foot monster who could dominate the paint on both ends of the court – was considered as valuable as a top-of-the-rotation lefthanded starter in baseball.
The team that had a Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Moses Malone, Patrick Ewing, Hakeem Olajuwon, David Robinson or Shaquille O'Neal was at a minimum going to be a determining factor in the fight for the championship.