בא לי לדבר עם עצמי היום, יום הולדתי. על מה אדבר? על אשתי הנהדרת? מה יש לדבר עליה?

-אשה נהדרת עם לב זהב (פלוס גדול)

-אם נהדרת לבנות ולבנים (פלוס גדול)

-סבתא שאין טובה ממנה לנכדות ונכדים (פלוס גדול)

-סבתא-רבה לנינים ונינות (פלוס גדול)

-אוהדת לייקרס (מינוס גדול, גדול, גדול, גדול – שניתרל את כל הפלוסים!)

טוב, נעזוב את העניינים האישיים בצד. אני מאושר עם חיי, עם אשתי, עם בנותי, נכדותי, וניני. אני בריא. אני אוהב את אמריקה. אני אוהב את ישראל. אני בריא ובכושר מצויין לזקן כמוני בן 76 (הרופא אמר לי אחרי ה-'פיזיקל' וכל בדיקות הדם שהגוף הוא של אחד בן 50, אבל המוח…המוח של בן 5!)

אז בואו נעזוב את זה ונעבור לדבר החשוב באמת – הופס. חשבתם פעם על הגאון שהמציא את הכינוי HOOPS לכדורסל? מעניין מי הוא.

אז משום מה בא לי לדבר עם עצמי על הפאור פורוורדס של הליגה. למה? כי לדעתי זו העמדה החזקה ביותר היום בליגה, כשרק הפוינט גארדים מגיעים – אולי – לדרגתם. אבל למי בא לדבר על גמדים כשיש גברים אמיתיים לדיסקוס?

קודם כל, מי הוא הפאור פורוורד הטוב בליגה? אני לא יודע 'מי הטוב ביותר'. אבל אני יודע את מי הייתי בוחר ראשון.

1. קווין לאב

אני הולך עם קווין לאב. אני יודע שהוא החמיץ את רוב עונת 2012-13 אבל זה רק מוסיף למסתוריות. הוא הוורסטילי מכולם. כשיחזור בריא העונה הוא יהיה הפאור פורוורד עם ה-SIZE הטוב ביותר: לא גבוה מדי ולא נמוך מדי. גוף מצויין להגנה והתקפה, ובשניהם הוא הריבאונדר הטוב מכל מספרי 4. הוא גם השוטר הטוב מכל 4 אחר בליגה. החולשה היחידה שלו היא בשמירה אישית 'אחד-על-אחד', אבל אם תשאלו את מומי, אז אפילו למונה ליזה ישנם חסרונות (ואם תשאלו את הדוק הקשיש, לדעתי היא אחת הנשים המכוערות שחיו באירופה).

 

ust give Anthony Davis another year, and he'll be a lock for the top 10.

The Unibrow was fantastic (offensively and in terms of help defense) during his injury-plagued rookie year. More comfort against the big bodies of the NBA will do him wonders, as will avoiding too much missed time.

 

Kenneth Faried, Denver Nuggets

Kenneth Faried is a rebounding monster, but he's become more than just a glorified role player with the Denver Nuggets. He's a budding offensive player with good defensive instincts, and he runs the court as well as anyone.

Plus, he's still only 23 years old.

 

David Lee, Golden State Warriors

Defense counts.

As good as Lee has been offensively—and he's undoubtedly one of the best offensive power forwards in the game—I just can't overlook how porous he was on the less glamorous end. Defense is half the battle, and Lee can't be truly elite until he recognizes that.

 

Paul Millsap, Atlanta Hawks

The undersized big man is a fantastic energy player, and he constantly manages to embarrass bigger players with his ridiculous reserves of energy.

Millsap will never blow anyone away with a set of highlight plays in quick succession, but he's a consistently excellent producer of points, rebounds and defense.

ge: 23

Per-Game Stats: 13.2 points, 7.7 rebounds, 0.5 assists, 0.4 steals, 3.0 blocks, 19.4 PER

 

In my book, Serge Ibaka was a little overrated throughout the opening stanza of his career. He capitalized on the most glamorous of defensive plays and convinced the world that he was a standout defender just because he swatted away more shots than anyone else.

However, Ibaka often played with reckless abandon, and his rejections came at the expense of defensive positioning. He was a shot-blocker, but he wasn't a true rim-protector.

According to Synergy Sports (subscription required), Ibaka allowed 0.88 points per possession during the 2011-12 season. That's good for…282nd place. So I suppose it's not really good at all. Ibaka was terrible closing out on spot-up shooters and really struggled with solid post players, largely because he was too busy seeking more blocks.

In 2012-13, his overall defense stayed at just about the same level (he moved up to No. 256), but that's because he had even more trouble with spot-up shooters. He

 

*********************

 

Jordan White, Hardwood Paroxysm: Kevin Love. Love's limited season robbed us of one of the NBA's best young players, one who is capable of posting a 20-point, 20-rebound line on any given night. He has improved enough on the defensive end to where he's no longer a liability, and is in fact decent in man-to-man situations. Still, his calling card is on offense, where he can do equal damage from inside and out and on the boards.

 

2. Who's the most underrated power forward in the NBA?

 

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Christensen: Kevin Love. He doesn't have the sexiest game and is coming of an injury plagued season in which he played only 18 games. Love is a very good free throw shooter, an above average 3-point threat for his size and a double-double machine. Show him some love.

 

Levy: LeBron James. Underrated and LeBron don't usually overlap, but the only reason he isn't my answer to the first question is the lingering shadow of traditional positional designations. He played the majority of his minutes as a power forward last season, but it was difficult to tell because he single-handedly redefined the standards of versatility.

 

Polk: David West. I love the contrast between West's studied, schematic midpost game and his bricklayer attitude. The dude is just a house of pain.

 

Shelburne: Al Horford. He's been forced to play center and go up against much bigger guys the past couple of seasons because of Atlanta's limitations, but still managed to hold his own and grow his game in relative anonymity. I would've loved to see him paired up with a true center like Dwight Howard (so would the Hawks, by the way) but it was not to be, and now he faces an even bigger challenge without Josh Smith to help protect the rim.

 

White: Ryan Anderson. Perhaps it was New Orleans' miserable season that caused Anderson to fly under the radar, or maybe it was the misconception that Anderson is simply a 3-point specialist. True, his long-range sniping is his specialty (he shot 38 percent from deep last year), but he also moves very well without the ball and is a surprisingly efficient rebounder, averaging 7.5 rebounds per 36 minutes last season.

 

3. Who's the most overrated power forward in the NBA?

 

 

Christensen: Blake Griffin. The human highlight reel is all about power and thunderous dunks. However, he still has ways to go with his jumper and his post game is lackluster. He has gotten better with his free throw shooting but is still under 70 percent.

 

Levy: David Lee. His ability to hit the midrange shot, score in the post and operate from the elbows make him an important offensive cog. But Lee's defensive deficiencies are so significant that it's often a wash. He's a useful player, but just looking at point totals inflates his value.

 

Polk: Serge Ibaka. Yes, Ibaka is a menacing shot blocker, and yes, he has nice touch from 15 feet. But his shot-blocking has always distracted fans from his team defensive shortcomings. And last year's playoffs revealed just how limited his offensive game still is.

 

Shelburne: Andrea Bargnani. It's a little odd to be dumping on him after one of his worst seasons as a professional, but such is the life of a former No. 1 overall pick. Bargnani is positioned for a nice rebound season with the Knicks, if he can stay healthy. Tyson Chandler will cover up his liabilities as a defender and rebounder, Carmelo Anthony will alleviate the pressure Bargnani has always faced to live up to that No. 1 pick status. Or at least one would hope so, as Bargnani's 11.27 PER rating last year was dreadful.

 

White: David Lee. Yes, he's very good on offense, but any work he does on that end is essentially negated by his production (or lack thereof) on defense. Lee is a defensive sieve, letting opponents have their way in the post or further out, ranking in the bottom five in proximal field goal percentage, allowing opponents to shoot 53 percent against him.

 

4. Who's the most promising power forward in the NBA?

 

 

Christensen: Anthony Davis. Playing for New Orleans, it is easy to fly under the radar, but Davis had a very decent rookie season. He averaged 13.5 points, 8.2 rebounds, 1.8 blocks and 1.2 steals. He still has to get stronger and develop his post game, but he will definitely be one the best power forwards in the NBA in seasons to come.

 

Levy: Anthony Davis. His promise is covered with the brightly patterned paper of defensive dominance and wrapped with a ribbon of supreme athleticism. Any frontcourt player who can single-handedly control the paint on defense will always find NBA success, and Davis can be that a thousand times over, to say nothing of his untapped potential at the offensive end.

 

Polk: Anthony Davis. At age 19, just two years removed from high school, battling injury and with very little refinement in his game, Davis still managed to be a relatively efficient NBA scorer and rebounder. And with that serpentine body and the ridiculous things he can do athletically, Davis has the potential to be a crushing defender.

 

Shelburne: Blake Griffin. That sounds like a strange answer for a guy whose made the All-Star team in his first three years in the league, but as Chris Paul noted the other day, Griffin is still far from reaching his ceiling as an NBA player. As talented as he is, Griffin is still working to improve his midrange game, timing with the pick-and-roll and defense. At best, he projects to a Karl Malone-type player. At worst, he's Shawn Kemp.

 

White: Anthony Davis. This is a somewhat circumstantial answer, as the Pelicans could easily move Davis to center full time if his body fills out. However, given that Davis played most of his minutes at power forward last season, I'll give him the label of most promising at this position. He displays a preternatural sense of timing on defense, which, when combined with his tremendous length, makes him a shot-blocking terror and overall menace at that end.

 

5. Who will be the best power forward in the NBA in five years?

 

 

Christensen: Kenneth Faried. Probably the most exciting player to watch in the league. He is a fierce rebounder and hustles at all times. He moves well without the ball and doesn't necessarily need the rock to help his team win. When he develops his offensive game, he will be the best power forward in the NBA.

 

Levy: Anthony Davis, again. He shows the most promise, and I haven't seen any reason to think he won't deliver on that promise.

 

Polk: Anthony Davis. I considered Love, but I worry that the incredible effort required to do the things he does will hamper his rebounding production down the road. So I'm going to gamble on Davis' defensive potential and say that, at 25, he'll be combining an efficient offensive game with the ability to destroy anything an opposing offense tries to do.

 

Shelburne: Blake Griffin. I repeat myself, but in this case it's because I know the man's work ethic and desire to be great. Plus, there's the matter of Chris Paul pushing him every day. There's a good argument to be made for Love, Davis, or Aldridge, but in terms of ability, talent and ceiling, it's Griffin all the way. Love and Aldridge pretty much are what they're going to be, and Davis projects out to a Kevin Garnett-type, if he can add a post game and midrange jumper. But Griffin has the talent and drive to surpass all of them, if he continues to develop.

 

White: Anthony Davis. Again, this comes with the caveat that Davis is of the rare hybrid power forward/center breed and, in five years, could easily be a center. That said, Davis is already a terrific defensive player in the frontcourt and hasn't even begun to scratch the surface of his potential on offense. His rookie year per 36 averages of 16.9 points, 10.2 rebounds and 2.2 blocks already foretell of a dominant two-way player.

 

ESPN.com and the TrueHoop Network

Sebastian Christensen covers the NBA for ESPN Deportes. Ramona Shelburne covers the NBA for ESPN Los Angeles. Ian Levy, Benjamin Polk and Jordan White are part of the TrueHoop Network.

• Follow the NBA on ESPN on Twitter | On Facebook | On Google+

 

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