Dwight Howard is no longer the NBA's best center.

[syfy9]

So your saying that if Orlando called LA and said "Hey lets swap Bynum for Howard" that LA would say "No thanks, we have the best center in the league, you keep howard, were gonna stay with bynum"?

That was at the beginning of the season, when Bynum's health was a

If I were Jerry, I would not trade Howard for Bynum - He has too much potential. Sure, there's a risk of injury, but he is 2 years younger and already in Dwight's class - with a more polished offensive game.

Bynum is thug . He is the king of cheap shots. DH is king of the can't concentrate on basketball , head not into the game , playing games with the coachs and media.

Far as offense, Bynum , he is better than DH , more polished , and of course can shoot freethrows decent.

Interior defense , its hands down DH.  He compeltey changes the game , sorta like Shaq did.  He can pretty much shut down the inside for long periods on teams....IF ..IF he wants. He is so much faster and quicker and can leap like a 6'5" guard.

Just becasue of Bynums freethrow abilitiy I would give the nod to him....becasue he can STAY IN THE GAME  for his team and be an asset the last 5 minutes and not a liaibility.

DH kills his team the last quarter of a game. 

That is the biggest difference. Bynum knows how to make his free throws. He is not the liability Howard is. That is a very good point you made.

Howard does have the better interior defense, but if you had the choice of driving to the paint with either Howard or Bynum looming over you, you'd pick neither. They are both big, and Bynum is just as good as a shot morpher as Howard, though his presence is not as powerful.

[OmarSekou]

Bynum's more polished in the post but that doesn't even make him a better offensive player than Howard. He's not as strong or explosive and he can't run the floor. Bynum's numbers are similar to Howard's but Howard faces double teams on a regular basis.

Then there's the whole defense thing...

[Yoki_IsTheName]

For me it's 1 and 1a really.

Dwight dictates the defense and dominates that side of the floor while not really as skilled offensively.

Bynum is the opposite. If only Kobe would feed him the ball more.

(oh no, did I just told the Lakers how to win?)

[Tai]

So your saying that if Orlando called LA and said "Hey lets swap Bynum for Howard" that LA would say "No thanks, we have the best center in the league, you keep howard, were gonna stay with bynum"?

I feel like that's essentially what's happened though, no? I do agree that at face value, Howard and Bynum aren't that far apart. Howard's just the bigger name, to me.

[indeedproceed]

Bynum's more polished in the post but that doesn't even make him a better offensive player than Howard. He's not as strong or explosive and he can't run the floor. Bynum's numbers are similar to Howard's but Howard faces double teams on a regular basis.

Then there's the whole defense thing...

This. Especially considering that Howard, as the 1st option on offense, still keeps a comparable shooting % despite the more focused attention.

[syfy9]

Bynum's more polished in the post but that doesn't even make him a better offensive player than Howard. He's not as strong or explosive and he can't run the floor. Bynum's numbers are similar to Howard's but Howard faces double teams on a regular basis.

Then there's the whole defense thing...

The fact that Howard facing double teams is not relevant - Bynum gets double/triple teammed just as much. If you were the opposing coach, would you want either 280+ lbs big to bully your team?

Howard gets more touches because he's the star player. If Bynum was the star player, he'd go to the line more, and thus, shoot more free throws at the rate +20% better rate than Howard. That's my reasoning. You are not going to find a center as dominant as Bynum who can make his free throws (e.g Shaq).


Larry Bird was not exactly the most explosive player either, yet look at how he dominated. Bynum gets the job done inside just as well as Howard. If dunking ability is what makes a player great, than Blake Griffin is better than Larry Bird.

Athleticism is not relevant if both players are near 7 feet tall, weight 280+ lbs, and make everyone else look like Kevin Hart. The post game, though, is what separates Hakeem Olajuwon and Kevin McHale from Hasheem Thabeet and Cole Aldrich.

[BballTim]

The major error of your article is that fact that Howard has been the most dominant big man for several consecutive seasons now. Where as this is definatly the emerging year for Andrew Bynum and he will be the dominant centre of the West if he stays healthy.

  No, the major error of the article is claiming that Bynum getting a similar amount of blocks means he's a comparable defender.

[OmarSekou]

Bynum's more polished in the post but that doesn't even make him a better offensive player than Howard. He's not as strong or explosive and he can't run the floor. Bynum's numbers are similar to Howard's but Howard faces double teams on a regular basis.

Then there's the whole defense thing...

The fact that Howard facing double teams is not relevant - Bynum gets double/triple teammed just as much. If you were the opposing coach, would you want either 280+ lbs big to bully your team?

Howard gets more touches because he's the star player. If Bynum was the star player, he'd go to the line more, and thus, shoot more free throws at the rate +20% better rate than Howard. That's my reasoning. You are not going to find a center as dominant as Bynum who can make his free throws (e.g Shaq).


Larry Bird was not exactly the most explosive player either, yet look at how he dominated. Bynum gets the job done inside just as well as Howard. If dunking ability is what makes a player great, than Blake Griffin is better than Larry Bird.

Athleticism is not relevant if both players are near 7 feet tall, weight 280+ lbs, and make everyone else look like Kevin Hart. The post game, though, is what separates Hakeem Olajuwon and Kevin McHale from Hasheem Thabeet and Cole Aldrich.

I honestly don't have stats to back up that Howard gets doubled more but I think it's true, and if so it matters.

If I'm an opposing coach I worry about Kobe and Pau as much as if not more as Bynum. I let Bynum answer those "ifs" about his game.

Athleticism isn't everything but it matters when you know how to utilize it like Dwight does. Because it means he doesn't need to be as skilled as Bynum to get the same result in the paint. Also, there's more to the game than being able to score in the post. Dwight is better in the majority of those categories. Not to mention that he's more durable.

[OsirusCeltics]

I agree with this
1. Bynum
2. Nene
3. Howard
4. Marc Gasol
5. Roy Hibbert

And the last two is gaining up on Howard and haven't reached their potential yet

[wdleehi]

Howard is only 2nd on one list in the current NBA,


2nd best player in the league after Lebron.




There is talk on ESPN radio about the Lakers are likely to trade Bynum in the offseason because they are sick of his immaturity.

[indeedproceed]

Bynum's more polished in the post but that doesn't even make him a better offensive player than Howard. He's not as strong or explosive and he can't run the floor. Bynum's numbers are similar to Howard's but Howard faces double teams on a regular basis.

Then there's the whole defense thing...

The fact that Howard facing double teams is not relevant - Bynum gets double/triple teammed just as much. If you were the opposing coach, would you want either 280+ lbs big to bully your team?

I don't think there should be any doubt as to who gets more of the opposing teams' attention. Howard gets more, a lot more, because he's the best player on his team and the best offensive weapon.

Howard gets more touches because he's the star player. If Bynum was the star player, he'd go to the line more, and thus, shoot more free throws at the rate +20% better rate than Howard. That's my reasoning. You are not going to find a center as dominant as Bynum who can make his free throws (e.g Shaq).

That's a possible scenario, but its not the current reality. All we have here is the actual reality, and that is that Howard and Bynum shoot from the field at nearly the same %, despite Howard facing more resistance.

Interesting note though: per 36 minutes, their #'s are almost identical from the field. 12.7 FGA's at 58%. The biggest difference is that Howard goes to the line more, but he makes less of those attempts.

Larry Bird was not exactly the most explosive player either, yet look at how he dominated. Bynum gets the job done inside just as well as Howard. If dunking ability is what makes a player great, than Blake Griffin is better than Larry Bird.

Dunking ability doesn't in and of its self make a player great, his ability to help his team win makes a player great, and right now Dwight Howard does more for the Magic than Bynum does for the Lakers.

Athleticism is not relevant if both players are near 7 feet tall, weight 280+ lbs, and make everyone else look like Kevin Hart. The post game, though, is what separates Hakeem Olajuwon and Kevin McHale from Hasheem Thabeet and Cole Aldrich.

Come again? Athleticism is not relevant because they're big? Athleticism in a big man is the difference between Scott Pollard and Shaquille O'Neal.

Plenty of guys have size. A very small fraction of those people have the athleticism to be 'slow' in the NBA. An even smaller fraction of those guys have the elite athleticism and size to be gamechangers, ala Shaq, Hakeem, etc...

Athleticism absolutely does matter. Howard is more athletic, Bynum is a little more skilled in his post game. They're both elite centers, but Howard is the better overall player if you look at both ends of the floor. Offensively, because of Howard's greater odds of drawing fouls (which isn't just about making FT's but is also about getting the other team in the penalty faster), and his vastly superior play on the defensive end, he's the better player.

[OsirusCeltics]

Howard is only 2nd on one list in the current NBA,


2nd best player in the league after Lebron.




There is talk on ESPN radio about the Lakers are likely to trade Bynum in the offseason because they are sick of his immaturity.

I hope his immaturity gets him traded to the Celtics

[Smutzy#9]

Just go to the NBA site and look under the players stats, look at the stats OVER THE CAREER in points rebounds blocks, Dwight is by far the better player.

Bynum maybe more polished offensivley yes, but Dwight is the better player.

If you were a GM im sure 95% or more would take Dwight over Bynum as a franchise or star player. Why? he has proven himself year in year out, hasnt been injured (which is important for a big man)

Yes Bynum is emerging this year and has been a beast, not taking that away from him, but Dwight is still the better C.

[scaryjerry]

not personally a fan of either but nope id have to disagree strongly

[GreenFaith1819]

What?