Better Team: Golden State Warriors or Houston Rockets?
Center
Dec 4, 2012; Houston, TX, USA; Los Angeles Lakers center Dwight Howard (12) reacts after scoring a basket during the third quarter against the Houston Rockets at Toyota Center. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports
Well, this one is clear but the discrepancy between the two big men is less than you may think. While they both suffer from various health issues, Andrew Bogut’s seem much more systematic, be it from bad luck or being injury-prone. When both are healthy, Dwight Howard is the statistically better center and is arguably the best center in the league. The question is not who is better, but by how much better is Howard than Bogut.
Bogut’s only meaningful stats of the seasons came during the playoffs, and even those are still limited by his injuries. The Australian big man averaged 7.2 points, 10.9 rebounds and an impressive 1.8 assists.
He also demonstrated his defensive prowess with 1.5 blocks, but he contributed past just the stat line. Bogut’s ability to clog the paint and affect shots was remarkable and it was refreshing to see such defensive grittiness on a team not very well-known for it’s play on that side of the court.
Bogut put up those numbers while just averaging 27.3 minutes per game. If you normalized his stats to 36 minutes, Bogut would have averaged 9.5 points, but more impressively 14.4 rebounds and two blocks. His passing ability as a seven footer can also not be overlooked, as he would have averaged 2.4 assists in 36 minutes.
To give you a sense of Howard’s dominance at rebounding, the 6’11’’ center lead the league in defensive rebounds this year despite only playing 76 games. He was second in total rebounds, trailing by just nine rebounds to Omer Asik, who played 82 games. Howard’s rebounding accolades do not end there. He has lead the league in defensive rebounds every year since the 2007-08 season, and has never been lower than second since the 2005-06 season. He has never been lower than second in total rebounds since 2005-06 as well, and only came in twice in two of those eight seasons. Of all active players, he leads in rebounds per game, averaging 12.9 boards per game over his nine year tenure.
The prep-to-pro players defense does not end there. Of all active players, Howard is third highest in the blocks per game category with 2.20. Only Marcus Camby and Tim Duncan are higher. On the other side of the court, Howard has the second highest field goal percentage of all active players, and has the fifth highest of all players who have ever played in the NBA, with a career percentage of 57.7 percent.
Perhaps the most impressive aspect of Howard’s game is his skill in the crunch and his ability to lead a team in the postseason. He lead the Orlando Magic to the NBA finals in the 2008-09 and contributed to four consecutive 50 plus win seasons. He was one win away twice from tying the franchise record of most wins, with two back-to-back 59 win seasons in 2008-09 and 2009-10. The former Laker averaged 27 and 15.5 in the 2010-11 playoffs and shot an insane 63 percent from the field on an average of 13.5 shots.
Clearly Howard is the better center, and when he needs to, he can become the go-to, franchise player. During the last three games of the season, during which Kobe Bryant was injured, Howard averaged 23.3 points and 14 rebounds, with 1.7 steals and 2.7 blocks per game. He shot 57.9 percent from the field on an average of 12.7 attempts. Though not quite at the level of his Magic days, Howard demonstrated that he still has a 30 and 15 performance in him if he is healthy.
Edge: Rockets