Hoops Habit
Fansided

NBA Power Rankings: All 30 Starting Centers

By Shane Young

Oct 30, 2013; Houston, TX, USA; Charlotte Bobcats center Al Jefferson (25) controls the ball during the second quarter as Houston Rockets center Dwight Howard (12) defends at Toyota Center. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 30, 2013; Houston, TX, USA; Charlotte Bobcats center Al Jefferson (25) controls the ball during the second quarter as Houston Rockets center Dwight Howard (12) defends at Toyota Center. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
11 of 31
Next
Mar 31, 2014; Salt Lake City, UT, USA; New York Knicks center Tyson Chandler (6) defends against Utah Jazz center Enes Kanter (0) during the first half at EnergySolutions Arena. Mandatory Credit: Russ Isabella-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 31, 2014; Salt Lake City, UT, USA; New York Knicks center Tyson Chandler (6) defends against Utah Jazz center Enes Kanter (0) during the first half at EnergySolutions Arena. Mandatory Credit: Russ Isabella-USA TODAY Sports /

21.  Enes Kanter — Utah Jazz

One young 22-year-old was done completely wrong at the University of Kentucky.  Kanter was ruled ineligible to play for the 2010-11 NCAA season due to illegal recruiting issues (go figure) and he just outright entered the draft in 2011.

Everyone knew he was ultra-skilled, but didn’t have any college tape of him against American competitors.  Thus, Utah took the gamble at No. 3 overall in 2011, and it’s been a reaction of excitement and humdrum results since he arrived.

For some, including myself, he’s the ideal size to achieve as a big man in the league, with a bulky upper-body and finesse legs that can get him around the paint with ease.

There’s never really been any disgusts with his offensive style, as he appears to be a proficient scorer certain weeks throughout the year.  Others, such as in the month of December last season, expectations are not matched and Utah supporters may have even jumped to the conclusion of the B-word when describing his fit with the Jazz.  Chill, it’s “bust,” as in getting the reputation of not panning out.  Last December, Kanter scored just 8.6 points per night, grabbed just 5.3 rebounds, and shot just 41.7 percent overall.

In just three years working next to Derrick Favors in the eccentric duo they’ve created, Kanter painted beautiful footwork in the middle, and constant determination to get to either side of the rim:

Something that has to dramatically switch to the positive side for Kanter this year is his level of care for rebounding.  Kanter finished 28th overall in centers in Rebounding Rate, at just 16.1 percent.

With the Jazz returning the same group — for the most part — they can’t continue to keep what they’ve been doing.  In the West, it takes drastic changes and improvements from each member of the roster.  Favors has already started the climb, and now it’s nearly that time for Kanter.