Roy Hibbert: An Offensive Version of Mutumbo

If Mutumbo turned back the clock, played basketball at Georgetown in 2007 and concentrated on offense, he would be Roy Hibbert.

Hibbert has the same kind of lumbering, mechanical approach. He has the same labored gait as he pounds up and down the court, appearing to die with each stride. Like Mutumbo, Hibbet makes easy plays look hard and seems incapable of making the simplest on-court task look routine.

For the real-life Mutumbo, that was fine because it is much easier to play like a hack if you are primarily rebounding and blocking shots. It is quite another thing to have the touch of a stevedore while you are trying to score. Anyone who's ever played a pick-up game at the local park knows this: if you have the coordination of PeeWee Herman you can always rebound and play defense, if you have the will. Putting the ball through the hole and hitting a jumper will be another matter.

But Hibbert is primarily an offensive player.

Though he does block a few shots and he does seem to aggressively guard his space defensively, offense is his real focus. As a result, it is tough to imagine him having any real success in the pros. If you were to paint him a pale color and put him in a Utah or Wyoming uniform he would look like another in the long line of awkward, failed 7 foot white centers who somehow always enthrall NBA GMs to the point where they will pass on great 6'5" players to gamble on the big guy.

Hibbert's real saving grace is that he does seem to have a real passion for the game. He does seem to really care; he tries hard. A good coach might be able to reorient his focus, from offense to defense, hone his meager physical talents, tap into that passion and convert him into a second coming of Dikembe Mutumbo.

Not the best center in the league, certainly, but definitely one worth investing in and keeping around.