guys pushing their way around in the paint is about weight distribution, not strength.
strength wasn't that important in 1988, and it's even more over rated now.
speed, handle, touch, and instincts, are what matter. (once you're strong enough to have range).
and again, how many muscle bound guys have you ever seen with a great handle and shooting touch?
a small list at most.
lots of skinny guys over the yrs who could flat fill it up and defend and rebound though.
I think Malik's pictures are leading to some of us to frame this entire conversation incorrectly.
First of all, those pictures are a little misleading. I'm guessing picture 1 was taken before any sort of workout, with no intent to make Malik look "ripped". Picture 2 though, I'd bet a lot it was taken after a lifting session, and he was flexing. He looks like a pro wrestler/body builder in the 2nd picture. If it was a true side by side, I would bet the difference wouldn't be nearly as striking. Maybe his abs would be popping a little more, there'd be some more definition in his arms, his chest is probably a little bigger. The point is, Malik won't look like a body builder when the games roll around. He didn't gain 30 pounds of muscle like football players do for certain positions.
So I think this conversation is leaning towards a comparison between Kevin Durant and Myles Garrett.
I like the comment TheVid made about strength having diminishing returns in basketball. And I think those returns start to diminish at different points, depending on position, skillset, role, etc...
A PG who's strength is speed and quickness doesn't need to, and shouldn't, pack on 10-15 pounds of muscle and risk losing some of his biggest strength. But adding 4-5 pounds of good muscle would likely help him hold his lines better, keep people on his hip, finish better through contact, etc...
Conversely, a big, who's strength is his height and length, touch around the basket, his footwork, etc... he might benefit from 15 pounds of muscle. The added weight alone would allow him to hold positions better, to move opposing players off their spots easier, it'd help him create more space before taking his interior shots...add the strength aspect to that added muscle, and it just compounds those improvements, and helps to negate some of the speed he might have lost from the added weight. Malik is the perfect example for this, actually. He was already strong and big for a freshman. He struggled, at times, with positioning. And one of his bigger weaknesses was defending without fouling. Strength and any weight he might have added, will help him with both of those things, in all likelihood. And if he can defend without fouling, and use the added strength to more consistently give himself better looks, he's going to be REALLY, REALLY good this year.
But Malik isn't going to look, or play, like Myles Garrett when we watch him play, like his side by side photo makes it look like.
