Welcome to the Morning Shootaround, where every weekday you’ll get a fresh, topical column from one of SI.com’s NBA writers: Howard Beck on Mondays, Chris Mannix on Tuesdays, Michael Pina on Wednesdays, Chris Herring on Thursdays and Rohan Nadkarni on Fridays.
Life as an NBA power forward in the early 2000s was pure hell.
One night, Tim Duncan is footworking you into oblivion. The next, Kevin Garnett is slam-dunking and sneering you into submission. Or Karl Malone is crushing your ribs and your will. Or Rasheed Wallace is drowning you in turnaround jumpers.