NBA bigs making noise

LOS ANGELES -- Watching the Grizzlies win over the Cavs on Monday night, it dawned on me. During crunch time, offenses were running through the bigs -- Jonas Valunciunas and Andre Drummond, respectively, until the coup de grace -- a Dillon Brooks 3-pointer. The importance of centers in the league has come into question with the proliferation of the 3. Hmm. That's interesting. Nikola Jokic leads the league in assists and triple-doubles. Joel Embiid scored 45-points in the Sixers overtime win over Miami on Tuesday night. James Wiseman's development battling league-leading block shot artist Myles Turner (4.2), the previously mentioned Joker, and Chris Boucher is riveting. Boucher has scored 20 or more in three of his last four, via 65 percent from the floor up from career averages of seven points and 49 percent. Christian Wood inspires all undrafted players scoring 27 points and securing 15 rebounds in the revamped Rockets win at San Antonio last night. Without scratching the surface on their defensive impact, those are just a few observations. "The rumors of my demise have been highly exaggerated," Mark Twain said, and so it can be said of big men in the NBA.