Two frames to look at this. I think both of you are right.
What teams our doing is sinking their zones in to the paint. This doesnt allow dribble penetration.
If you have a big guy working down low, the zone would hopefully collapse on him, or he would have an easy move to the hoop.
If the zone collapses, you have one pass to a wing guy, then hopefully the zone collapses on him, leaving a lane open for the next guy who gets the ball.
I believe i explained that correctly... basically a big will force them to focus on him, which allows for dribble penetration if you use him as a sort of screen.
Again, I fully understand the importance of a big man. I consider myself well-versed in basketball, and in his original post he stated the role of a big man in a dribble-drive scenario is to " open the lane for them for a layup ".... That's just wrong.
One of the reasons (not the only one) the Cavs didn't win the title the year they had Lebron, and Shaq is because Shaq's big a$$ was in the lane preventing Lebron from doing what he does best... Penetrating the paint, and getting to the rim.
It's actually of the utmost importance to get the big man out of the lane in a dribble-drive situation, that's why that position (Center, Power Forward) is almost always the position that sets the ball screen.
---- And by "getting the big man out of the lane" I don't mean make him stand behind the 3 pt. line, I just mean to get out of the paint.... Standing there waiting for a putback is not an offense....
