Dwight Howard’s Trade to Los Angeles Lakers and comparison with Andrew Bynum – NBA feature (Part-2)
Los Angeles Lakers are one of the eight teams that is in the green zone when it comes to positive earning, as mentioned by the league officials. Hence, the Lakers can offer Orlando a good price for Dwight Howard and that is the
very reason, several rumours have been circulating about them interested in Howard since the last few months.
Even if you are the most pessimistic of persons, it would be hard to deny these sorts of conjectures, as there is always a fair chance that these rumours can become reality. For the time being let’s compare Howard and Bynum in
order to determine, who can benefit his team more.
Low Post Game
Both Andrew Bynum and Dwight Howard did well when it came to field goal shooting last season. There isn’t much difference in their previous season field goal percentage, as Bynum shot .574 percent while Howard was pretty close
to achieve 60 percent (.593 percent).
Although, the numbers from the field look similar but their approach in this regard is totally different. One of the reasons behind the difference is that Howard comes to the court as Orlando’s first choice on the offense, while
Bynum is considered as the third option on the Lakers offense after Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol. In fact, in the last season, Bynum expressed his frustration at being ignored on the front court and demanded a greater role in the Lakers offense.
Howard on the other hand, is most often than not, the sole offensive weapon for Magic. So much so, that over the years, Stan van Gundy, the Orlando Magic coach has formulated an offensive system featuring three perimeter shooters
with Howard in the centre. This puts the opposing teams in a mix as to whether they double team the ‘Superman’ or to take him one on one.
Howard has a strong offense as compared to Bynum. His distance from the post is usually not more than ten feet. That allows Howard to attack the basket without doing much hard work. In contrast to him Bynum has to cover a lot of
distance as he usually does not occupy the top of the key.
On defense though, Howard doesn’t have much range as Bynum. However that is also for as reason. Over the years, the reason for Howard’s success on the D is that he has kept his game plan pretty simple. Howard usually receives the
ball under the rim and doesn’t need to indulge in dodging, dribbling or complex foot work.
So, whether you compare Howards’ career average or previous season’s scoring rate with Bynum, Dwight is way ahead of Andrew. Howard’s ability to single handedly ruffle the best defensive systems in the league makes him more of
a dominant player than Bynum.
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article do not represent Bettor.com’s editorial policy.
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