I heard Fitz and Brooks on KNBR about to do a segment on overrated or underrated. So I thought, why not bring that over to GSOM and see what the community thinks. We'll look at a particular topic and vote on whether that topic (player, team, etc) is overrated, underrated, or just right.
For this one, let's look at our starting center, Andris Biedrins.
Rating AB
Is he underrated? A lot of Warrior fans think he's going to be a future All-Star center. They point out that he's still so young and will have lots of time to continue to develop. From mid-season 2 years ago until now, he’s improved by leaps and bounds from where he was his first 1.5 years. He’s got great footwork and soft hands which helps explain why he’s one of the best on the pick and roll because he can move his feet well and find the open space to receive the ball. After he gets it, if he’s anywhere within a few feet from the bucket, he makes the shot which explains his high FG%. On defense, his quick feet and speed for a big man allow him to be a superior help defender.
Is he overrated? He’s got a lot of room to grow. Right now, it doesn’t look like he’ll ever be a guy who you can consistently give the ball to in the post to demand a double team. If he can get to the point where teams have to double team him, I’d consider him to be a potential All-Star. Fact is, he can’t create anything on his own. Sure there are times where they throw the ball into him on offense and he makes a nice post move to score, but it rarely happens. He doesn’t take anything outside of 3 feet. I don’t think he’s ever going to develop a nice jumper from about 7-8 feet. Either his arms, legs and body need to get in sync because they sure aren’t on his free throws or he needs to develop some touch. We’ve seen flashes of potential in touch, but not enough. Then you look at his defense. While he’s a great help side defender, he could use some improvement in his 1 on 1 defense. When he gets separation from the offensive player and can use his length, he does well. But when the offensive player can body him up and use his strength Andris struggles. I think if he adds some muscle, he can become a better defender.
Verdict
I struggled with this one, and I’ll probably get killed for this, but I’d have to say overrated. I’ve heard too much about him being a future All-Star and I just don’t see it. I think he’s going to be a nice player and is already a starting center but I don’t see him becoming an All-Star center, not with Yao and Amare in the way. He’s just not in their class. Heck, he’s ranked as the 17th best fantasy center. Not that it means anything.
The thing is, I love Andris. He’s worked hard and you can see his improvements. He works hard in the offseason to get stronger, faster, and become a better player. I’m looking forward to what he’s done this offseason to improve his game. I just don’t see him becoming an All-Star center or as untouchable as many make him out to be. He’s extremely valuable on the Warriors because he’s one of our only reliable and productive big men, but in the context of the entire NBA, there are plenty of big men I’d take over him.
I’ve been dead wrong about Andris before, so I hope I’m wrong again.
Overrated? Underrated? Just Right?