Dwight Howard Exposed? 1-6 FG!

[Dasher]

Kevin Willis was not close to being the defender that Dwight is, and when it comes to athleticism they are not really close. Kevin Willis was incredibly stiff, and mechanical. Dwight is explosive and plays above the rim, and anchors his defense in a way that Kevin never could. Note Kevin Willis was never much of a shot blocker, and was at best an adequate post defender. Dwight can play behind his man, and is one of the best roving defensive centers in NBA history. Kevin Willis' field goal percentages are low, you know why? Because he was not as proficient in the post as you are making him out to be, and his physique would make you think he was stronger than he actually was. Kevin Willis has never been as good as Dwight is now.

[Bigsmoke]

Amare>Dwight

hows Amare's defense?

[Legend of Josh]

Amare>Dwight

Blasphemy. At one point in time sure, Amare was considered an up-and-coming superstar but if anyone has been exposed it's him. Amare is a softie and when it comes to heart there's an ever glowing question mark. Unfortunately, he'll continue and finish his career a solid player, maybe even bank some all-star appearances along the way but that's about it.

As for Dwight - he's already proven he's a superstar in this league for years to come, especially when you take into account his superior athleticism. No, I doubt he'll ever really blossom into a 25ppg machine, but take into account his godly ability to crash the boards and play the best defense from a center this league has seen in quite some time I think it's safe to say Delight has not been exposed, and sure as hell Amare isn't worthy of that > sign you put before him.

Everyone is susceptible of having a bad game. Like Dasher pointed out, also notice how many times he went to the line. Bottom-line, Orlando as a whole played sh[COLOR="Black"]i[/COLOR]tty and the Lakers' D played phenomenal.

[WoGiTaLiA1]

hit and miss basically.

Well done. You successfully put into words that every shot ever attempted has two possible outcomes, that is to hit or to miss. A revelation no doubt.

Offensively, Dwight is quite stoppable for the Lakers. He will still defend the paint well and be the best rebounder in the game, however. No question that he is the most important player on the Magic. But offensive threat, he is not.

Yes and no. Dwight is a force offensively as long as he has space to operate. I mentioned in another thread that the Magic are not inside out or outside in, they are a balance and without one the other does not work. Dwight cant work if the shooters aren't hitting and vice versa, though Dwight is more dependent on the shooters. Dwight is more athletic than anyone that guards him, if he has the space to be able to either face up slower players or post up smaller players he is an effective scorer, if you take his space away and force him to places, you effectively kill him. He is the most guardable unguardable guy going around.

Yao Ming when healthy is the best center in the NBA, better than Dwight easily.

No, he is not. Yao is a more polished scorer and a far better shooter and passer, but his post game is no more effective than Dwights. Yao often struggles to establish position and can have problems with quicker guys. He also limits a team's options offensively, you cant switch up and run with him the game because he cant keep up.

It is on defense however where the biggest gap is. Dwight's athletic ability allows him to be far more influential than Yao. Dwight is generally a dominant defensive player, Yao is a good man to man defender and a solid help defender, Dwight is an elite help defender and a good man to man defender.

Rebounding they are pretty equal. Yao is a far better technical rebounder, he boxes out and plays his role as a rebounder, Dwight is an aggressive go getter of a rebounder who relies very heavily on his athletic ability. Dwight will put up better numbers, Yao will get the rebounds he should and not allow his opponent to get rebounds he shouldn't.

Kevin Willis was never the passer, overall defender, or shot blocker that Dwight Howard is, when doubled Dwight damn near always makes the appropriate pass.

Are we watching the same Dwight? Dwight is a very poor passer. He is a reluctant passer and makes very slow decisions. His passing is his worst skill or at least a tie with his shooting. Willis was certainly a better passer.

Willis was also a better man to man defender. He wasn't half the help defender that Dwight is and that is because Dwight is a better leaper and more agile. Willis was very athletic though, not quite on the Dwight level, but certainly not far, definitely close enough that you say it is his genetics that lead to Dwight.

Kevin Willis' field goal percentages are low, you know why? Because he was not as proficient in the post as you are making him out to be,

What? I'm pretty sure that Willis was a 50% shooter in an era where he actually had to go against players who could defend the post. Willis' offensive game was very similar to Dwight's, it was not refined and relied more on athletic skills than technical skills, but compared to Dwight, Willis looks like Hakeem in the post. I get the distinct feeling that you never saw Willis as a part of the Hawks.

He wasn't a more dominant player than Dwight and he wasn't more athletic or as good as a help defender but you stick Dwight in the early 90s and he is just a more athletic with shot blocking version of Willis. Willis for a 5 or so year period was a damn good player, his era was stronger so comparatively he was not near Dwight's level, doesn't stop him being a damn fine player though.

Plus you seem have taken what was clearly said in jest and reacted like a Kobe fanboi would, Dwight's a great player, Kevin Willis was also a damn good player. Plus they look the damn same, have the same style of game and even shared a city right around when Dwight was born....

[WoGiTaLiA1]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o84RivTdS2s

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Igsb0_YdlJI

A couple of Kevin Willis vids for your viewing pleasure, as I said, not quite the leaper that Dwight is, but certainly a comparable player.

[Dasher]

The balanced offense that The Magic run would not be possible if Dwight could not pass well out of double teams. He is patient and makes the correct reads and plays. Kevin Willis was a mediocre post player offensively. We have to also note the rules advantages that big men of the past had. Dwight and other bigs have to accelerate their moves because of the Charles Barkley rule. Give Dwight the ability to camp in the lane on defense and dribble the air out of the ball on offense, and you will have a player that is even more effective than the current iteration of Dwight.

Where did I even react to the Kevin Willis/Dwight Howard Maury Povich scenario? I rip apart the silly comparison of the two being equal players. They are very dissimilar. Dwight is closer to a shot blocking Wes Unseld with a dash of Shawn Kemp than he is to Kevin Willis who was a fairly pedestrian big man.

[beau_boy04]

Thanksfully the performed poorly and hopefully the Shaq comparison will finally stop!!! Dwight is not Shaq by any measure.

[mbell75]

Well Bynum played him physical and at 7'1 and near 300 pounds, hes bigger than Howard for sure and just as strong. Something Howard hasnt had to deal with yet in these playoffs. Although Gasol isnt as big and strong, Howard played terrible against him and Pau went off last year when they went against each other. I fully expect Howard to have some big games though.

[D-Rose]

Dwight was exposed but give Bynum and the "softy" Gasol credit for manning up and playing him one-on-one.

[NewYorkUSCtrojan]

I hope Bynum and Gasol continue to foul Dwight..They do not need to give D12 any dunk to get going..They both have 12 foul, used them...

However, Bynum and Gasol just needs to push D12 out 5ft from the basket. There's no need to foul him..

[HeyIt'sMe]

Kevin Willis was a highly underrated player, but he had T-Rex arms. The fact that he was able to be a well above average post player in this league despite the fact that he had incredibly short arms is a testament to his ability.

Dwight, OTOH, has a huge wingpsan and enormous length and reach. This allows him to be a far more effective shot blocker and finisher than Willis was.

I will caution to anyone who is jumping on the Dwight is overrated bandwagon to give it more than one game. Yes, he had a bad game, but he had several good looks that rimmed out on him and he made good passes all night to his teammates, who just flat out couldn't hit shots. I didn't think he played THAT badly.

[lakerfreak]

Yao Ming when healthy is the best center in the NBA, better than Dwight easily.

Instead of repeating the same line over and over with no facts or evidence to support your case, why don't you give your reasons why you think so?

Come up with a nice post thats well thought out instead of sounding like you have an agenda.

[RocketGreatness]

No, he is not. Yao is a more polished scorer and a far better shooter and passer, but his post game is no more effective than Dwights. Yao often struggles to establish position and can have problems with quicker guys. He also limits a team's options offensively, you cant switch up and run with him the game because he cant keep up.

It is on defense however where the biggest gap is. Dwight's athletic ability allows him to be far more influential than Yao. Dwight is generally a dominant defensive player, Yao is a good man to man defender and a solid help defender, Dwight is an elite help defender and a good man to man defender.

Rebounding they are pretty equal. Yao is a far better technical rebounder, he boxes out and plays his role as a rebounder, Dwight is an aggressive go getter of a rebounder who relies very heavily on his athletic ability. Dwight will put up better numbers, Yao will get the rebounds he should and not allow his opponent to get rebounds he shouldn't.

Um that is wrong. Yao's post game is way more effective, just go look at there head to head matchups. There's a reason why Howard struggles against teams with above average defensive big men. Because he's only a sub par scorer. He's an excellent dunker, but he's a sub par scorer. That's why Perkins owns him, Yao shits and jizzes on his face and Bynum probably will be doing that now.

Yao's defense and rebounding is closer to Dwight's, than Dwight's offensive game is to Yao's. That's why I say Yao is better. It's SERIOUSLY that simple.

People act like Howard is the only player on Orlando. He's the most famous Magic, but he's not the only reason why they made it to the Finals. He needs to thank those 4 3 point shooters of his in the starting lineup, his underrated backup center and his smart coach. He's no better than Tyson Chandler in terms of post moves.

[giantgonzolez]

Shaq was allowed UNLIMITTED ILLEGAL OFFENSIVE FOULS(Elbowing defenders in the face and using his shoulders as a battering ram) by David Stern when he was in LA but is not allowed those moves in Pheonix. Howard would average 40PPG and 65% FG if he was allowed to use those same moves.

Yes. This is why I laugh, at people, who say Dwight > Shaq. Shaq was a beast, who could actually plow his way, at will, to the basket. The only way to stop Shaq was to Hack a Shaq.

Let me repeat this.. Prime Shaq would never go 1 for 6, from the field, in the NBA Finals.

So, to everyone saying Dwight > Shaq or Dwight will be better than Shaq, etc. It's not happening and never will happen.

This is to everyone who says Dwight > Shaq or Dwight will be better than Shaq. I like Dwight, but he isn't better than Shaq.

and he's not better than Yao Ming. Period.

A healthy Yao Ming >> Dwight. Not even worth arguing.

[cured]

Shaq got away with a lot of bulldozing but it wasn't overly excessive. And if they would have called games with Shaq fairly, the other team's entire frontcourt would have fouled out by the end of the 3rd quarter. He got fouled a TON.