Wednesday, April 18, 2018

Basketball's linemen

Pity the plight of the poor offensive lineman in football! He never gets to touch the ball (unless it be to recover a fumble), and so his name never gets called over the loudspeaker - unless he is the one who committed the penalty. He never gets recognized unless he does something wrong. Why would anyone want to be an offensive lineman in football?! They are the epitome of "team players," because they rarely, if ever, get any positive individual public recognition.

It is not quite as bad in basketball for inside players, but it is edging steadily in that direction. As the game becomes more and more perimeter oriented, big men are more and more relegated to the position of role players. Yes, they get rebounds, but they do not get their name called out for that. They do get announced when they make baskets, but fewer and fewer baskets are being scored by big men - and those baskets to not receive the special pizzazz (THREEEEEEEE POINTS!) that the hotshot guards receive as they blast away outside with no danger of anyone pounding them when they take the shot.

Take heart, big guys - your team appreciates you. (I guess they do. You wouldn't know it by the number of times they feed the ball inside to you.)

No comments: